6 Timeless Quotes From the Film 'Little Women'

One of our all time favourite stories is ‘Little Women’.  First published in 1868, Louisa May Alcott penned the tale of how the March sisters,Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy journeyed from childhood to womanhood.

With the book being adapted into film 7 times, we had ample choice when it came to choosing our favourite quotes from the movie. However, after watching the 2019 version starring Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet and Emma Watson, we found 6 timeless quotes we could not wait to share. Let's start with an absolute doozy.  

“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they've got ambition, and they've got talent, as well as just beauty. I'm so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for." - Jo.

Can you hear the collective cheer of women worldwide? These three powerful sentences made us want to shout, ‘Yes Jo Yes!!!’. It is almost incomprehensible to think that there was once  a time when a woman needed to say such an obvious thing as ‘women, they have minds’ but the reality is these words are just as needed today. Basically, Jo was saying, women are human, living, breathing, thinking, feeling, and doing humans, just as human as men and should be treated as such.

“Don't go quietly, fight! Please fight to the end, be LOUD! Don't just quietly go away!” - Jo.

For anyone who has seen the 2019 adaptation, the scene with Jo and Beth when Beth has scarlet fever is heartbreakingly unforgettable. We felt each of these words, especially the line, ‘please fight to the end’. It brought to mind all the brave women in our world who are fighting sickness and our need to show them that we are with them all the way. Although we all journey through hard times in unique ways, we love the thought of ‘not going quietly’, of taking up all the space we need and living the truth of our lives out loud. 

“I can't say "yes" truly, so I'm not going to say it at all.” - Jo.

Don’t you love Jo's integrity! We love a woman who means what she says, and says what she means. We know the importance of being honest about what we want and need and like Jo, we think any response that is half-hearted is not the right one. Sure there are times when we have to do things that we don’t want to do, but when we do have a choice, may we only engage in activities where the response is truly a ‘hell yeah!’

“Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Forgive her and start again tomorrow.” – Marmee

Of course, here Marmee’s first line is a quote from the bible. Her second line however, is what really caught our attention. Firstly, nobody finds it easy to forgive. The feeling of forgiveness is something that takes time. Marmme is encouraging her daughter to make the choice to forgive which is an entirely different thing. She wants her daughter to make this choice so she can start again. It’s our willingness to forgive, despite our feelings that allows us to free ourselves from the unkind and unjust actions of others. 

Be good to each other. -Marmee

So simple, yet so wise. Being good to each other looks like being courteous and respectful. It also looks like seeing that justice is not solely given to the privileged. Similar to Marmee’s words are the words ‘love each other’ which we proudly print on tees with positive messages to champion the message of kindness and togetherness. 

"The World Is Hard On Ambitious Girls." - Amy

I’m sure many of you can relate. Have you ever felt like your drive and ambition were interpreted wrongly? Has your desire to succeed ever caused someone else offence? Have you ever felt like you have held yourself back because of how your success might be perceived? Well Sister, hear this, you're not alone.  We say, be ambitious baby! Take your dream by the scuff of the neck and live it!