A S’nooze Movie Review

Jo March: A writer (in love with) writing

I wasn’t surprised that my heart alternately melted and soared as I watched Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women.” I know the story well enough to know that Amy is going to crash through the frozen pond and Marmee is going to help the poor who are even poorer than she is. I know that Beth is going to be sweet and suffer terribly, and Meg will be dependable. And I knew I’d love Jo because—well—because every bookish girl ever has loved Jo.

But the scene that stole my heart was when Jo pads around her attic studio late into the night, pacing in her stocking feet, rearranging pages of her manuscript, which are laid out in rows on the bare floor. It is rare, after all, to see an onscreen depiction of a woman involved in the gritty work that goes into creating smooth lines of prose.

Gerwig shows us Jo writing—and suffering over her writing. We see her receive cutting criticism and survive the heartache of losing a draft of a novel to licking flames. We see her sit up nights writing new pages, shaking out her wrists when her hands cramp, and we see her giving up, then giving herself over to the work. We see her arranging and rearranging her words with the determination that other heroines reserve for arranging their hair and dress. Jo chases her passion for literature, the way other women chase their proscribed happily ever after’s in the shape of a man.

Jo, as we all know, doesn’t fall in love with suitors as easily as her sisters do. Her writing, is of course, in part to blame. It demands sacrifice, and she exists in a time and place when women were expected to put everything into their roles as wives and mothers. And back then (and it’s only incrementally better now) women were rarely given their due, as Gerwig makes plain in the movie, for their genius.

This movie came just at the right time for me. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on my choices as a writer, and why I am drawn to the connections between dreams and writing. The thing is, I love the process of writing as much as—if not more than—the thrill of publication. I like the poetic sensibility of being a writer, as much as the poems themselves. The commitment to a life of thinking, reflection, and revelation; the slog of selecting, ordering and reordering the words on a page, have a romantic pull for me—with all of the triumph and tragedy that the word evokes.

My output reflects my priorities: I’ve filled about 10 journals with dreams and musings for every book I’ve published. Writing and dreamwork are a lifestyle that has turned into a profession and a life-long commitment.

So, while I’ve seen my share of movies about writers, I can’t recall one where the heroine wrestles words to the page the way Gerwig’s Jo March does, or whose tempestuous love story is between herself and her work. Sure, there are suitors for Jo, but there’s also this: A woman engaged in—and engaged to—the writing life.

For all of this and more, I give Gerwig’s Little Women two enthusiastic (and ink-stained) thumbs up.

© 2020 Tzivia Gover

A renewed commitment to Dreaming on the Page

My devotion to the practice and process of writing and dreamwork has inspired me to launch a new series of Dreaming on the Page workshops and courses for writers, dreamers, and creative souls. Connect to your writing and honor your dreams with an online or in-person course at https://thirdhousemoon.com/events and at https://dreamingonthepage.teachable.com/ .