Little Women Character Review: Laurie Laurence

*Warning: This post contains spoilers in regards to the narrative and characters from the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Read at your own risk if you have not read the book or have seen any of the adaptations.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Little Women to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

First love is an experience that stays with us always. While it is more than likely that the relationship does not grow beyond youth, that person will always have a place in our hearts. In Little Women, Theodore Laurence, known as either Teddy or Laurie, is the boy next door. He has been besties with Jo March for years and has secretly been in love with her for most of their friendship.

On paper, Laurie would be a good match for Jo. The world that Laurie and Jo live in is still ruled on a certain level by social rank and income. The Laurence family, being of a higher social rank and a higher income than the March family, would be a step up for Jo. But despite Laurie’s best efforts, Jo turns him down. She understands that their marriage would not be a happy one. Laurie initially sulks like a school boy after Jo turns him down, but ends up going to Europe. While is Europe, he reunited with Jo’s younger sister Amy, whom he does fall in love with and marry.

To sum it up: Sometimes, as we grow up, we have figure out who is best for us. We may wish, hope and pray that our first love, whomever he or she will be, will be our last love. But for many, learning that our first love will not be our last love is often a painful growing experience. As writers, when creating this experience for our characters, it is incumbent that we demonstrate why this couple is not meant to be. If we do not demonstrate why this couple is meant to be, the writer has not done his or her job and leaves too many questions unanswered.

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Throwback Thursday-Trading Spaces (2000-2008)

Nowadays, it’s not too hard to find a home makeover show. But in the early 2000’s, the concept was defined by one show: Trading Spaces.

Based on the BBC series Changing Rooms, the concept of the show is as follows: two couples will work with a designer to renovate a room in each other’s houses. They have two days to complete the renovation and a budget of $1,000. Neither couple is aware of what has been done to the room in their house until the big reveal. The results of the revelation are sometimes interesting to say the least.

While Trading Spaces did fall within the category of reality television, it was family friendly and not as out there as other reality shows from the era.

Recently, the show was rebooted. While I have not seen the new episodes, it looks to still be Trading Spaces with some minor changes.

Do I recommend it? Yes.