Little women love triangle

                                                                  Warning spoilers ahead !

Honestly I never got love triangles.  It was always so obvious who would end up with whom.  Sorry but Bella and Jacob or Katniss and Gale was never going to happen.  Also love triangles just seem to distract from the main point of the plot. Unless the novel is actually classified as a romance I really don’t want two hundred of the three hundred pages to be about who Miss Mary Sue is kissing. Love triangles also seem to make fans of the series act like this…

Don’t believe me look up fan fiction. Yep, case closed. There is one love triangle though that I can’t actually hate. One that was so impactful, and so heart breaking  that it had girls of all ages in different centuries ,sobbing . The Jo/Laurie/ Bhaer (or Jo/laurie/Amy) love triangle.

           To truly understand why Bhear won , you need to know the author Louisa May Alcott's view point. The book we call “Little Woman” is actually Little Women and it’s sequel Good Wives combined.  The original Little Women cut off after Meg agreed to be married but before she actually was.  So at that point none of the pairings were permanent. This was kind of a bad choice in the fan’s opinion. nI Louisa May Alcott's own words...

 “Jo’ should have remained a literary spinster but so many enthusiastic young ladies wrote to me clamorously demanding that she marry Laurie, or somebody, that I didn’t dare to refuse & out of perversity went & made a funny match for her. I expect vials of wrath to be poured out upon my head, but rather enjoy the prospect.” From the letters of Louisa may Alcott

So forth Jo and her odd match Professor Bhear fell in love while Laurie was stuck with Jo’s younger sister Amy. Making fans everywhere miserable. For this I’ll never be able to forgive Louisa May Alcott.  Jo and Laurie belonged together.

Laurie was the rich, mischievous, dashing boy next door who like Jo herself was out of place in crowds. The two of them even met hiding from society behind curtains at a party. They both were into art. Laurie wanted to be a musician while Jo dreamed of being an author.  Laurie was just as high spirited and adventures as Jo.  He would have been by her side to make life interesting, exciting.

Professor Bhear was older, wiser and much more of a mentor figure then a friend.  Bhear helped Jo become a better writer, and somehow won her love in the process. Bhear seemed to genuinely care for Jo, but was also dull and boring. Someone I could see Jo regretting marrying, in a few years. Jo was far to adventures for the old Professor!

It better fit Jo’s personality to pick Laurie.  She wanted excitement, adventure, live ! Her romance should have been passionate and thrilling ! 

Often I hear two arguments that justify Louisa May Alcott’s reasoning’s for picking Bhear.   Both actually said in  said in the book.  The first is, Jo and Laurie are too similar. They would bicker and fight like cats and dogs.  This is a vialed point, but I’d like to point out that there aren’t any perfect couples. Jo and Laurie may be similar but that helps them connect. They have the same feelings, temper and interests.  They understand each other in a way Bhear never could get Jo. I feel like Bhear’s older calmer personality contradicts far to much with Jo.

The other common reason people don’t think Jo and Laurie belong to together is just so utterly ridicules, it’s hard for me to type.  They say Jo is to different for Laurie. They think Laurie needs a nice pretty wife that is beloved by society and wouldn’t make the blunders Jo does. They think Jo’s scribbling and passion for writing would annoy Laurie.  

Laurie was never good at society either.   He never wanted to have to deal with money and business. His dream was to be a musician, an artist like his father. Unfortunately his grandfather would never let that happen.  So why would Laurie try to stop Jo from writing. He always encouraged her about it. Why would Laurie care about what society thought? When we met Laurie he was hiding form society. The only time Laurie started to care about his wealth and other’s opinions was after Jo rejected him. He was so distraught and depressed he pretty much became another person. Without Jo beside him Laurie didn’t have the strength to rebel. Laurie settled in to the life of a wealthy business man and toke Joe’s bratty and spoiled sister as his wife. He never achieved his dreams or goals.  Laurie’s future was actually pretty pathetic.

Jo later opens up a school for boys with Bhear were she plays Marmee to them all. Jo does also become an accomplished author. She lives peacefully, and seems happy. Although  now maternal, and loving Jo doesn’t have nearly as much spark of adventure in her.  

I sincerely wish it could have been otherwise, I wish the love triangle in Little Women would have ended like it first seemed to, with Jo and Laurie happy together. Sadly the author had another plan… still Little Woman Is one heck of a great book with  the best love triangle I ever read.  

What side are you on Laurie or Bhear ?
                                                                                             Fare thee well ~ Milady