Some thoughts on "Little Women" and the "Little House" books

In the endless discussions by Little Women fans of the issue of "Jo vs. Amy," I've noticed a slight recurring theme, both when Amy's defenders discuss Jo and when certain Jo fans put Amy down. It's the idea that the books' narrative inherently favors Jo and is biased against Amy. That Jo is the character whom readers are clearly "supposed to identify with," as if Louisa May Alcott expected most of her young girl readers to be free-spirited, ambitious tomboys who struggle with gender expectations. And that Amy's portrayal is "negative," or at least that we're supposed to view her femininity and love of refinement as slightly silly and annoying.

Not too long ago, I found similar sentiments in an essay by a woman writing about her childhood experience of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books. She wrote that she never identified with spunky, tomboyish Laura, but as a girly girl and as an eldest daughter who felt pressured to be "the responsible one," she related more to Mary. Then she complained that the books seem to expect readers to identify with Laura, and that we're "not supposed to like Mary."

I'm not sure those claims ring true for either of these literary works.

Both Little Women and the Little House books are autobiographical. Louisa May Alcott based the March family on her own family and Jo on herself, while Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote explicitly about herself and her family without changing the names.

In Little Women, I don't feel as if Alcott expected readers to identify more with Jo than with the other three sisters. Yes, Jo gets the most emphasis of them all, but that's because Alcott personally identified with her. Likewise, in the Little House books, Laura is the protagonist because she was the author. It's only natural that she wrote about her childhood from her own viewpoint, not because she thought readers would relate more to her than to her sisters.

Nor do I think Little Women is overly biased against Amy. Is her portrayal complex, and does it reflect Alcott's complex relationship with her sister May? Yes. Does Alcott use Amy to make fun of May's childhood foibles? Yes. Does she make it clear that May often drove her crazy when they were young, and does her envy of May's charms and social life sometimes bleed through the text? Of course! But none of it seems really mean-spirited; her affection and respect for May also come through clearly. Besides, she's just as willing to use Jo's foibles to make fun of herself.

And in the Little House series, do we really think Wilder set out to insult the memory of her beloved and by then deceased sister Mary? Just because she was honest about their childhood sibling rivalry and made readers feel for her envy of her "perfect" sister doesn't mean she wanted the readers to dislike her.

Maybe I'm giving these authors too much benefit of the doubt. But "An author writes about her own family, makes herself the protagonist, and honestly portrays both her closeness and her sibling rivalry with a sister who was very different from herself" doesn't inherently mean "The author expects all readers to identify with her self-insert and dislike her sister."

 If I had a remembrance book, I would mark down how it was when we left our little house in the big woods to go west to Indian Territory. We had to go, Pa said, because so many people had come to live in the big woods, there wasn't enough game anymore for him to hunt and he feared we might go hungry. Ma said we might never again see Grandma and Grandpa, or Aunt Docia and Aunt Ruby and Uncle George. Though it made me sad, I still thought it a fine thing to go where there had never been a road before. We'd go where the land was more bountiful, he said, and he sold our house and land and cow, and packed whatever would fit in the wagon. I was glad Pa took his fiddle, for it makes a joysome sound. Mary was afraid to go, but I knew nothing bad could happen as long as we had Pa and Jack. Jack is my best and truest friend and Pa says there has never been a better watchdog. I knew there would be rivers to cross and hills to climb, and I was glad, for this is a fair land and I rejoiced that I would see it.

—Laura Ingalls, Little House on the Prairie, "Pilot"

50 Years of the Ingalls Family ❤️

i had to

Little House On The Prairie

Little House on the Prairie 1x07: Town Party, Country Party

Little House on the Prairie + Onion Headlines (and one Tweet)

little house on the prairie as headlines & textposts (2/2)

inspired by @trumanjo !

part 1

i don't think we, as a society, talk enough about the scene at the piano in season 4, episode 22 (i'll be waving as you drive away part 2) of little house on the prairie, which is, in my opinion, one of the most romantic scenes in television history for so many reasons. it reminds me so much of the phone scene in it's a wonderful life, with its quiet intimacy, with the way you can really feel the longing between mary and adam, how they're sitting so close, but they can't quite touch. they're sort of hovering, being very careful with one another, until it becomes too much, and i just love the hesitation, the slow burn, the pining!!! but also it's the first time they really allow themselves to realize what they mean to one another.

it starts like any other lesson, with her doubting her ability to learn how to play piano because she's blind and his reassurance that she can do anything she wants to do; he offers to teach her, and his sitting so close to her isn't that unusual in this context (he sat right next to her and touched her hands when teaching her Braille earlier), but then the context changes when she admits that it isn't just her being blind that's dissuading her from learning how to play. there also isn't the time. and you can see his face fall, you can see the sadness on his face when she reminds him that her family is coming to take her home. because before this, they spent so much time together, and they always had so much more time to come. but for the first time, they're faced with the idea that they won't be together anymore. and we, the viewers, can see how her leaving is affecting him, but obviously she can't, so she tells him that she's scared. and she's scared explicitly because he won't be there to help her.

and for a moment, he's back in teacher mode and tells her she can't depend on him forever (which we, the viewers, obviously know isn't true), but this only lasts a moment, because he knows this isn't Mary's usual self-pity and self-deprecation. this isn't her usual way of trying to get out of something she finds too difficult, that she's too afraid to try, and she doesn't need tough love; this is a moment of real vulnerability, and, as if in effort to make her feel better, he reveals he'll be leaving too (which i genuinely believe that he would not have gone to winoka had she stayed at the burton school but i digress).

to which she responds that she's glad she's leaving, if he won't be there anymore.

and then we get The Moment, where, faced with both of their impending departures, they can't hold their feelings in anymore. and she laments, so quietly and gingerly, the fact she's never seen him. and he takes her hands and tells her to look at him. and he brings her hands to his face!!!! the way he closes his eyes and leans into her touch! her little smile! the way her voice cracks when she asks what color his hair is!!

the music swells and then it ebbs and we hear adam, his voice barely above a whisper, ask what she looks like. because, he tells her, he's never seen her, either. and she takes his hand and brings it to her face, and there are tears in her eyes! and she's holding his hands even as he caresses her face! and his fingers linger over her lips! and he laughs in disbelief at this revelation, that his feelings are requited!

but it's more than that for mary! because this is the first time she realizes that adam is also blind! that he actually does understand her!! and not only does he understand her, but all of his preaching, all of his lectures on how blind people are just as good as anyone else, how they can do anything they set their mind to, how important it is for her not to make excuses for herself, were not the condescensions of a sighted man, but lessons he wanted to share with her from his own years of struggling with himself and his blindness!! and that offers her hope, that she will also overcome her current struggles, and that she can achieve self-actualization just as he has! i don't think it's just love of adam that allows her to reconsider her dream of becoming a teacher, though obviously his support is helpful! but she moves to winoka without being engaged!

and it's also just so tender! the way they caress each other! how happy they are! and the new understanding they gain of one another through this scene!

it's the first time they're "seeing" each other, and it's also the first time they're seeing each other. and i wish so badly that tumblr was around when lhotp was airing because i want so many gifsets of this scene

I remember watching Little House on the Prairie as a kid and while love scenes between Mary and Adam, there was this huntingly beautiful yet sad melody playing in the background.

I assume it must be by David Rose who composed most if not all of the show's score and soundtrack.

Does anyone know what this love theme of Mary and Adam is called? Can you buy it on CD or vinyl?

Mary

Mary Ingalls :)

My eBay wig arrived today. As soon as I got home, it was opened and put on Mary.

okay so melissa sue anderson left little house on the prairie bc she thought they exhausted all of mary’s storylines and there was no more for her character but she was WRONG so i complied a list of writing choices the show writers could’ve done to extend her story the rest of the series:

1. mary and adam could have adopted james and cassandra cooper

to me, it would’ve made so much more sense if mary and adam adopted james and cassandra, rather than ma and pa (bc of space + money reasons). this would’ve keep mary in the show longer bc they could’ve have episodes focusing around the kids adjusting to life with mary and adam being their new parents (BAM, happy mary episodes). there would be episodes of the kids at school and mary helping them and such (which would ofc bring more mary and laura interaction bc i loved their sister bond). and of course they’d still visit ma and pa (esp with cassandra being carrie’s only friend and james looking up to albert), so mary would get tons more screen time, even in the eps that don’t revolve around her.

(also, i love cassandra, she’s super cute and a great addition to the show, but like. she takes a lot away from carrie i feel, and i don’t think it would’ve been that way if mary and adam would’ve adopted cassandra (and james) instead)

2. mary could’ve gotten pregnant again and the baby could’ve lived

she lost her first one before it was even born and she lost her second to a horrific house fire, the least the writers could do is give her a baby that lives!! the real mary ingalls never got married, never got children, so i found it unnecessarily cruel that they give the fictionalized character two and then take them both away for what? shock value? stupid imo. a part of me believes that they tried to give her a happier ending than the real mary ingalls, but honestly this seems worse than never being married or having children at all. ANYWAY, with the trauma of losing her first two children, having another would bring on a great, long-term storyline of her and adam being paranoid of any harm that may hypothetically come to it (which would be subtly weaved into mary-centric episodes about her and adam having a family) but by the end of the series, the child would still be happily alive and she’d be HAPPY!!!! and still living in walnut grove of course <3

3. mary and adam could’ve moved back to sleepy eye

adam could’ve gotten a job at that one firm (remember the one Important Lawyer Guy wanting him at his firm after the land case??), and mary could’ve kept the blind school open and teach with hester sue (what she’s wanted to do HER WHOLE LIFE). i think the stupidest thing the writers did to her story was to introduce this wonderful teaching opportunity, have her fall in love with all her students and with teaching, having the perfect life, JUST to rip it all away bc stupid-ass adam got his eyesight back and decide he doesn’t give two shits about the blind school or the kids bc now he can be a lawyer despite all the work they went through continuously to keep the school going. who cares what mary wants?? adam sure doesn’t. and idk, mary not giving much of a fight to stay in sleepy eye and continue to teach never sat right with me, it’s not in her character and honestly feels like an injustice to her. i feel her having the opportunity to go back and fight for her school to reopen would be more true to how she’s been established all these years and would definitely get her a two-parter and keep her in the show (even if we only see her on the odd ep when they travel to sleepy eye for work. better than nothing 🤷)

4. (my personal fave and not an option for the show but can’t a girl dream) mary could’ve left adam bc he doesn’t respect her life and wishes, and go back to sleepy eye to reopen the blind school. there, she could’ve eventually fell in love with one of the female townsfolk and finally live her best lesbian life surrounded by people who love and appreciate her

if i hadn’t made it clear yet, i hate adam and i love any alternative where he is most definitely not a part of mary’s life lmfao. sure, they had their cute moments but i cannot get over the fact that more often than not, he’s an asshole and i can’t stand him <3 the complete disregard for her wishes (taking her away from TEACHING) really irks my ass and not for a second did he stop and think “is there anyway i can achieve my dream without taking away mary’s?” no. no he didn’t, he didn’t care, he didn’t even ask her. like. dude. i feel this would be the perfect ending for her, and many episodes could be used to show her befriending the female townsperson, becoming good friends, and eventually fall in love (and this lady would APPRECIATE HER!!) all the while reopening the blind school and finally getting her happy ending!!!!! idk, it’s perfect to me, there’s no flaws in this one but ik the 80’s (and honestly today too) were too homophobic for this 🙄 it’s real for me, it’s canon idc.

final notes

i’m well aware there’s probably a million more ideas i can come up with and when i do i’ll just rb an addition, but these are the best i’ve got right now!! and notice how i was able to add to her storyline without giving her unbearable anguish?? wish the writers could’ve done that!! but no!! alas, i work with the cards i’m dealt, and i’ve spent a lot of time thinking of these alternatives which helps sooth the pain of awful writing choices.

i guess i’m just upset they took a character with so much potential (and one of the most interesting storylines imo) and just give her nothing and reduce her to nothing more than a wife. by the end of her story, it seemed like she was just there to be adam’s side-piece which doesn’t sit right with me. she deserved better than that and melissa sue anderson deserved better than that (she is SUCH an amazing actress, and it really sucks to see her put on the back burner since s5)

anyway, ik im yelling into the void here but idc i needed to get it all written down lol

"You're not supposed to be reading, you're supposed to be sleeping. Now blow out that light before it wakes Ma." - Laura Ingalls, Little House On The Prairie.