A Mother’s Day Writing

For My Marmee:

Over the time of nearly a hundred years of filmmaking, one classic book has been brought to the screen over and over, again: Little Women. Every film version has its own style and interpretation of the Louisa May Alcott classic. I’ve seen nearly all of them, my favorite being the ’94, Winona Ryder release. In 2018, in honor of the book’s 150th anniversary, some clever workers of magic in the film industry decided that Little Women could be brought into the 21st century, with little changes done to the original story. They were right, and they brought forth a well-done, theatrical release, starring Sarah Davenport!

It seems to me that the story of Little Women has become more dear to me over the years, as I have truly grown up with it. I’ve watched versions of Little Women ever since I was a child younger than the youngest March child, Amy, starting with the Katharine Hepburn and June Allyson classics. By the time Ryder’s version came out, I was the age of the young Jo March. With the 2018 release, I was, probably, the age of the mother, Marmee!

I think every woman can find herself in at least one of the March women, and, perhaps, a mixture of all, or some, of them. I used to see myself in the introverted, happy-to-stay-home-with-my-toys-and-pets Beth. As my passion for writing and individuality grew, I, of course, saw much of Jo in myself.

The day before this Mother’s Day, I watched the 2018, Davenport, modern version. I was surprised by how much it moved me. Not in seeing myself, this time, but in seeing my own mother in Marmee. If you’re not careful, you can overlook Marmee; she’s a bit like her eldest, Meg: in the background, faithful wife and mother. She has a bit of her third daughter, Beth, in her: happy to be at home, surrounded by those she loves. Perhaps, before she married Mr. March, she had some of her youngest, Amy, in her: dreams of romance and becoming a great lady, living in grandeur. And, I think, she must have the fire and determination of her second born, Jo, in order to keep it all together and raise four, independent individuals, mostly, by herself. The bottom line is, none of the March children could have achieved their dreams if Marmee forced them into a mold of her own design or that of the world’s.

Watching this movie, with this new perspective, made me a bit emotional. It made me think of my own “Marmee”, and all she gave for me and my siblings in order to always be there and available for us. As in the 2018 movie, my own “Marmee” opened the way for us to reach our “castles in the air” and encouraged us to “fill them wisely”. By raising us according to our individual bents, and making the only request that we put God first, we were allowed the freedom to discover the completion of the sentence unique to each of us. For me, that sentence, “I, Sarah Shere…” continues with my heart echoing Jo’s, “I…will be a very successful writer,” then goes beyond, to things I would have never dreamed I could possibly do or be. For me and Jo, attaining those dreams (or even having the courage to dream them, in the first place) are a credit to the hard work, love, support and encouragement of our own “Marmee”s.

I see, too, now that there is much of Beth in my mother. Perhaps she is “My Beth” to my inner Jo: the one whom I can always confide in; the one who always believes in me; the one who supports all my crazy dreams and goals.

Like Beth, My mother would say to her husband and children, “This is my castle, just being here with all of you.”

This Mother’s Day, I want to say thank you to my Marmee, my Beth, for always helping each of us reach our castles, no matter where they ended up being.