DifficultCharacter17

DifficultCharacter17 t1_j548fro wrote

I actually agree with you. I think Amy is a much better match for Laurie than Jo. Jo is too hot headed as is he. Also, both Jo and Laurie need more conventional partners to help them navigate society. The two of them together would have been cast off from polite society within 5 minutes of them getting married.

Also, I think the book is clear that Jo never saw Laurie as anything more than a brother, and she never really wavered on that point. Amy also always had a bit of a crush on Laurie. The book burning happens because she wants to go out with Jo and Laurie. She interacts with him only when she goes to stay at Aunt March’s the first time Beth gets sick. He organizes all the boys to buy her artwork when it gets relegated to a lesser table at that fair/bazaar, I can’t remember exactly what they called it. She is brave enough to call him on his Lazy Laurence behavior and tell him he is behaving like a big baby. And they are both able to grow together in their grief when Beth dies since they are away from the rest of the family. There is a thread of the two of them together through the whole book that makes them seem plausible once they got together.

I just think Jo is everyone’s favorite so they want her to have the rich handsome husband instead of the old, kind of unkempt professor. I think he works for Jo because Jo loves him for the teacher with the big heart that he is. They are true partners with their school going forward. Their paring reminds me somewhat of Jo’s own parents. It always seemed like Marmee was the more practical one of the two and Mr. Laurence was more the dreamer. I think I may be in the minority but I never wanted Jo to end up with Laurie.

Edited to add: I meant Mr March was a dreamer! Marmee wasn’t married to Mr. Laurence! Sorry!

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