(MGM Studios / 20th Century Fox Films)
Let’s talk leading ladies in fiction. When the term ‘strong female character’ comes up in conversation, there’s your Buffy Summers [Sarah Michelle Gellar] of the WB’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003), your Agent Dana Scully [Gillian Anderson] from Fox’s “The X-Files” (1993-2002), and Hermione Granger [Emma Watson] in Warner Bros’ Harry Potter franchise (2001-2011). People seem to really associate the ‘strong’ aspect with physicality, as seen with countless online listicles on the label just ranking fantasy and action/adventure female protagonists. Nothing against these gals, as Buffy was one of my favorite TV characters as a tween, along with Melissa Joan Hart’s Sabrina Spellman from ABC’s “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” (1996-2003). But I have grown to prefer female leads who show strength with their minds more than their bodies. Sometimes you can get a woman in film who personifies both qualities [see: Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling in Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991)]. But for those of us whose fave genres aren’t sci-fi, horror, or action; our strong female characters can be found in dramas, comedies and romances, starting with the classics.
(Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures)
During a brief, past stint when I was writing my own fiction, I found I tended to gravitate toward three famous characters: Scarlett O’Hara of Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 epic novel Gone with the Wind, Jo March of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 ensemble book Little Women and Danielle de Barbarac in Andy Tennant’s romantic feature Ever After (1998). Scarlett is the fiery, raven-haired heroine of late Civil War era Georgia; Jo is the opinionated, second oldest sister in a post-war New England family; and Danielle’s story is actually Cinderella, but with all of the magic replaced with more personality and a serious, historical context [i.e. 19th century France]. It wasn’t until I was halfway through my own stories that I even realized I was subconsciously being inspired by these characters. And it wasn’t until a bit later I noticed all of these literary leads actually have a bit in common. Scarlett and Jo both come from families with mostly women, they get along well with their mothers [Ellen and Abigail/Marmee], have feuds with one of their sisters [Suellen for Scarlett, Amy for Jo], have dark hair, have trouble controlling their tempers and both of their love lives are messes.
(20th Century Fox Film Corp.)
Danielle also lives with female relatives, but unlike Scarlett and Jo, she only gets along with one nice stepsister [Jacqueline], while her high class stepmother, [Rodmilla], and other stepsister [Marguerite] openly resent her. Danielle and Scarlett sadly end up losing both of their biological parents in Gone with the Wind and Ever After, while Jo’s mother and father are around for all of Little Women. Not surprisingly, Margaret Mitchell and L.M. Alcott took a lot of elements from their real lives for Scarlett’s and Jo’s stories, though fortunately, the books don’t come off as too transparent. Screenwriter Susannah Grant along with Andy Tennant and Rick Parks found inspiration from the then-recent girl power phenomenon in the late 1990s for Danielle’s motives in her world. On paper, Scarlett, Jo and Danielle have all the qualities a young girl could idolize: brains, beauty, drive, courage and strength. These traits could quickly make them ‘Mary Sues’ with too much perfection. But thankfully, the creators of these characters know what they’re doing.
(Selznick International / MGM Studios)
Victor Fleming’s 1939 film adaptation of Gone with the Wind is the only screen version of the story, and Ever After is the one time we’ve seen Danielle and her cohorts, though obviously we have plenty of direct and loose interpretations of Cinderella. Little Women on the other hand, has many variations. The first version I ever watched was Mervyn LeRoy’s 1949 picture, which I still have a soft spot for today. The cast included June Allyson as Jo, Mary Astor as Marmee and Elizabeth Taylor as Amy. The most popular adaptation is probably Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 feature starring Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Kirsten Dunst. In 2019, actress-filmmaker Greta Gerwig gave a rather unique shot at the famous tale with Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern and Florence Pugh. Of the three, I think June nailed Jo’s personality best on film, though she was a bit too old for the role [31 while playing teens to early 20s]. She also matches Jo’s ‘plainness’ in looks, while Winona and Saoirse are technically too naturally good looking for the tomboyish young woman. Vivien Leigh’s Oscar winning performance also contradicts introduction of Scarlett on the first page of the novel where the southern girl is described as ‘not beautiful.’ Danielle is intended to be naturally pretty, but like with the traditional fairytale, no one notices until she gets her elaborate makeover. Making Drew Barrymore perfect since she can already work both casual and glamorous attire on her own.
It can be very easy to unintentionally [or lazily] turn for an author to turn their protagonist into a self-insert. Since I’m more interested in visual storytelling, I haven’t actually read Margaret’s original novel since high school or LMA’s since middle school. Somewhere in the back of my room is an old, promotional novelization of Ever After I read in 4th grade; but I’m guessing Wendy Loggia’s writing isn’t at the same standard as MM’s or LMA’s through adult eyes. So my familiarity with Scarlett, Jo and Danielle is from their screen portrayals. One of the reasons the three fictional ladies hold up as well-crafted characters, in my opinion, is because of how the actresses were directed and play them. Even though English based Vivien is gorgeous, she not only pulls off her first attempt at an American accent, but also all of Scarlett O’Hara’s mannerisms from her stubbornness to her determination. We’re frustrated as readers and viewers that she’s constantly pinning over unavailable Ashley Wilkes [Leslie Howard], when the more interesting and charming Rhett Butler [Clark Gable] is right there and interested. Next to the warm and caring Melanie Hamilton [Olivia de Havilland], Scarlett comes off a bit, well, bratty and self-centered. But even when we see why Scarlett irrationally resents Melanie for marrying Ashley and takes for granted her husbands, children and plantation slaves; we still get examples of Scarlett’s commitment to making sure everyone from Melanie to her sisters to Mammy [Hattie McDaniel] and Prissy [Butterfly McQueen] are saved during the worst of the Civil War. She’s foolish until the very end regarding her intuition, but chooses to be optimistic about the future. And all of this can be viewed clearly through Vivien’s face and vocal delivery.
Jo March is stubborn as much as Scarlett, but with different goals. Scarlett is a woman of her generation, and isn’t thinking much of things like feminism, even though she ends up running her own business and doesn’t let anyone boss her around. Jo, on the other end, doesn’t even want to get married anytime soon and even says she wishes she could be like a boy [more likely referring to male privilege than transgenderism]. She’s fiercely trying to prove her independence without settling for submission, like older sister Meg [Janet Leigh in 1949, Trini Alvarado in 1994 and Emma Watson in 2019]. Jo has two love interests in Little Women, but the one readers and viewers have always preferred is Theodore Laurence [Peter Lawford in 1949, Christian Bale in 1994 and Timothée Chalamet in 2019]. Jo/Laurie is one of the most popular—if not the most popular pairing in fiction to not actually get together, with an iconic ‘friend zoning’ scene where Jo rejects Laurie’s proposal. It’s become a joke between young women over the years that reading/watching this scene is a fan favorite because it’s the perfect example of romantic angst; but also torture because their favorite pair is being denied by the author. Even now, I don’t understand why LMA would give Jo/Laurie so much chemistry and have Jo choose an older professor while Laurie marries Amy, of all people. The fact that Winona & Christian and Saoirse & Timothée both work off each other wonderfully makes it sting even more. Over time, I have grown to appreciate Prof. Bhaer [Rossano Brazzi in 1949, Gabriel Byrne in 1994 and Louis Garrel in 2019]. But I still can’t get on board with Amy/Laurie.
It’s easy to see why so many tween-to-teenage girls like Jo all these years later. She’s average looking, outgoing and adventurous, creative, and doesn’t feel like she’s ‘normal’ most of the time. Essentially, she’s relatable. Though no one buys Winona and Saoirse as plain looking, they fit all of the other qualities perfectly. As is evident in scenes where Jo doesn’t see eye-to-eye with her family or when she’s more interested in writing than taking care of the house or courting boys. June really is the best at pulling off the rough-around-the-edges vibe of the character though, not just with her looks, but also her husky voice and brashness. All three actresses fit in with the 1880s lower middle class, period setting appropriately, and so does Vivien during the war scenes of GWTW when Scarlett is supposed to be at her most down and out. Danielle in Ever After is a mix of both Scarlett’s and Jo’s backgrounds. She’s born high class like Scarlett, but is forced into labor after her father dies and her stepmother insists she be a part of the house servants. Like the other two female characters, Danielle isn’t afraid to speak her mind or confront people. She doesn’t mind being dirty, even when she was a child of wealth. Her love interest is high class like Laurie, but as high as you can go since Henry [Dougray Scott] is Prince of France. And like Rhett/Scarlett, the feelings are mixed on first meeting. I think Dougray is good match for Henry opposite Drew’s Danielle. Unlike Rhett, where we can sense he’s more experienced and mature than Scarlett, there’s no indication Henry isn’t roughly close in age to Danielle. Drew is seen as more of a personality these days because of her talk show and make-up lines; but if you were to look back at her acting credits, Ever After would rank pretty high.
These principal characters are beloved to me, but I’m not oblivious to some flaws in their stories either. Whether it’s the politically incorrect narrative on the old south’s race relations and politics in GWTW; or Ever After going with the amusing trope of having Hollywood actors speak with fake English accents while playing French characters. I liked many parts of Greta Gerwig’s interpretation of Little Women, but wasn’t a fan of her deciding to go meta with the 3rd act. But in terms of personality and character development, I can’t think of three I prefer more.
Miss. Drew. Barrymore.
The 1949 Little Women is my favorite movie! It had a lot to do with June Allyson’s performance.