Script Analysis: “Little Women” — Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

• We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
• By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
• A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

Today: Little Women (2019). You can download the script here.

Written for the screen by Greta Gerwig, base on the novel by Louisa May Alcott.

Plot summary: Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters — four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms.

NOTE: Italicized content is in the present. Not italicized is the past.

Little Women
 Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
 By Laura Bolton
 GoIntoTheStory.blcklst.com

P.1–3: Jo March sells a scandal story to Mr. Dashwood, the publisher of the Weekly Volcano in a New York City Office. He will publish it anonymously, as per Jo’s wishes. For the next story-“If the main character is a girl, make sure she ends up married or dead.” Jo hightails it down a New York City Street for the joy of it.

P.4–5: Jo writes in a large boarding house, her dress catches on fire and in walks, Friedrich Bhaer. (Dynamic question: Will Jo marry or die?) Friedrich tells her, “Always working.” Jo feels her purpose is, until Amy marries well, “to keep the family afloat.” Jo withdraws to teach Mrs. Kirke, the landlady’s two girls (Kitty and Minny). Friedrich gawks after her.

P.6–8: Amy March paints while in doubt of herself and her work. She rides with Aunt March through Paris. Amy received a letter from home. Plots: A) Beth is sick. B) Fred Vaughan might propose to Amy. Aunt March advises Jo to stay in Paris. Amy sees Laurie. Halts the carriage. c) Jo has rejected Laurie. Aunt March is reluctant about him. d) Amy has always loved Laurie.

P.9–10: Meg March shops with Sallie Moffat. Sallie talks her into buying fabric for a dress, which Meg knows she can’t afford-”Fifty dollars, what was I thinking?” Her children Daisy and Demi embrace her. A piano plays. In a different house, Beth March plays the piano. Stops, in distress. Marmee (short name for Mrs. March) calls her name from another room but Beth doesn’t answer.

P.10–11: Twelfth Night plays onstage. Standing room of the New York Theatre. Jo watches the play. Friedrich looks at her from his seat. Jo walks behind Friedrich to a beer hall where they dance together.

P.11–13: (Beginning of past timeline, 1861) Getting dressed for the Gardiner’s New Year’s Party, the girls discuss whom they want to dance with. Amy wants them all to go to the party. She thinks her nose doesn’t look refined. Jo styles Meg’s hair and burns a bit off. In the hallway of the Party, Meg instructs Jo how to behave.

P.13–18: Meg’s pulled into the festivities by Sallie Gardner. Miserable Jo slips behind a curtain and meets Laurie- introduction. A conversation that reveals- Jo’s father is at war and Jo is disappointed that she is a girl. Jo wears a scorched dress. On the porch, Jo and Laurie dance wildly, in contrast to the dancing inside, switching who leads. Meg motions, she has sprained her ankle. Laurie transports them home. Marmee, Beth and Amy greet them. Laurie immediately loves them. Later, from outside, Laurie regards Jo through the window, absorbed in her work.

P.18–9: Jo writes in the costume of a military jacket. Finds a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare at her door with a note from Friedrich, offering to read her writing.

P.19–21: A New Year’s party in Paris. Amy is in her element, dancing and socializing until Laurie stumbles in, drunk with two girls. Laurie didn’t escort Amy, as she wanted. They argue. He leaves. Amy apologizes to Fred Vaughan.

P.21–24: Fredrick reads Jo’s stories. He challenges her subject matter but believes in her. In anger, Jo calls off their friendship. Jo goes for a walk. Returning, Mrs. Kirke hands her a telegram from Marmee- “Our Beth has taken a turn for the worst.” Jo boards the train to Concord. — Plot point 1.

P.25–35: Jo wakes up in her writing chair on Christmas Morning, in Concord. Descends the stairs. Her sisters fuss over decorations Amy has made. All the girls wishes- Meg wants heaps of money, Amy wants to be an artist in Paris, Beth wants everyone at home with Mother and Father. Jo wants to be a famous writer. Jo brings out her play, “POISON” ready for everyone to rehearse. Hannah won’t act.

Marmee returns and asks they give their Christmas breakfast to Mrs. Hummel, a poor woman with five children. They reluctantly agree. Next door, Mr. Laurence breakfasts with Mr. Brooke and Laurie. From his window, Laurie questions what the Marchs are doing. Returning home, Hannah has arranged an unimaginable feast, a gift from Mr. Laurence. (Background on Mr.Lawrence.) Marmee shares a loving letter from their father. The March girls rehearse and perform Jo’s play.

P.35–36: Jo is awoken at her stop on the train. Meanwhile, in NYC, Friedrich questions Mrs. Kirke to find out why Jo has left. She doesn’t know. Mrs. Kirke says, “She was the best teacher the girls ever had.” In Concord, with her luggage, Jo wanders along the familiar streets.

P.36–9: The four girls march along in Concord. Amy, in debt at school, owes pickled limes. She scurries off to school.

Inside Aunt March’s House, Aunt March is annoyed with Jo for abandoning her job of reading out loud. A conversation providing context for what women’s options are. Jo’s goal: “I intend to make my own way in the world.” Aunt March claims that she wants Jo to have a better life than her mothers- Jo should “heed her.” Despite any friction, Aunt March asks Jo if she wants to accompany her to Europe when she goes again.

P.40–45: Amy draws a caricature of her teacher Mr. Davis. Laurie sees Amy crying outside the window. Mr. Davis has hit her. Inside, Amy entertains Laurie and Mr. Brooke. Jo and Meg come by. Meg forgets her gloves on the side table, and Mr. Brooke notices. Marmee comes in with Mr. Lawrence. Jo will teach Amy now. The March family leaves. Meg forgets her glove. Mr. Laurence, “Back to work, back to work.”

P.45: Jo passes the Lawrence house, empty without Laurie. She pauses at an old mailbox, pulls a key from her pocket and lays it on her open palm.

P.45–47: Meg, Beth, Jo and Amy are all dressed as men in the Attic. Meg reads from a homemade newspaper. Vote: Laurie is admitted to the club. Laurie pops out. Laurie gives them keys for a post office he’s made in the forest as a gift for accepting him into the club.

P.47–8: Jo unlocks the post office box and finds nothing. Jo enters the kitchen, and is surrounded by Hannah, Meg, Marmee, and Demi and Daisy. Beth’s fever in the past had weakened her heart. Beth insisted they not tell Amy so her trip wouldn’t be ruined. Marmee warns Jo not to be angry with Amy.

P.49–52: A night out. Jo and Meg watch a play with Laurie and Mr. Brooke. At home, Amy, wanting to hurt Jo, finds Jo’s novel and burns it. When they come home, Jo discovers it missing and forces Amy to confess. They fight. Marmee and the other sisters try to stop them. Later, Jo cries while Beth comforts her. Amy apologizes. Marmee teaches forgiveness- “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Forgive her. Help each other, and you begin again tomorrow.” Jo says that Amy will hate her forever.

P.53–57: A tense breakfast. Then, Laurie takes Jo ice-skating on the river. Amy hurries after them and falls through the ice. Jo and Laurie slide a branch over to her and pull her out. Later, Marmee tells Jo how she overcomes her anger and impatience while Amy sleeps.

P.57–8: Sick Beth wakes relieved to see Jo. Amy’s sent news that Laurie is in Paris.

P.58–60: Everyone says goodbye to Meg who leaves for the Debutante Ball, held at Sallie Moffat’s house. Jo asks Laurie to stop Meg from falling in love, and Jo gives Laurie her ring. Mr. Laurence invites Beth to come over to play the piano. Meg arrives at Annie Moffat’s house. Back home, Mr. Laurence watches Beth almost change her mind before walking to his house.

61–63. Getting ready for the ball. Annie gives Meg a pet name of ‘Daisy’ and a fancy pink dress to wear. Meanwhile, Beth enters the Laurence house and makes her way to the piano, looking at it with love. At the ball, Meg, as ‘Daisy,’ is great at flirting. Laurie asks, “What would Jo say?” Meg, angry, tells Laurie, he is “the rudest boy she ever saw” and dances with the boy standing nearest. Meanwhile, Beth plays the piano. Mr. Laurence is moved. Laurie apologizes to Meg. Meg tells him that she will be good for the rest of her life, if she can have fun tonight. They dance.

P.64–5: A fight in the kitchen. John examines the ledger books, trying to understand Meg’s expensive fabric purchase. Meg complains she is susceptible to peer pressure-”I’m tired of being poor.”

P.66–9: In the Art Studio, Laurie apologizes to Amy for his past drunken behavior, as though he is always apologizing to one March girl or another. Amy- “I want to be great, or nothing.” (About her art) He realizes he feels something for her but doesn’t know what.

P.69–71: Laurie plays host, introducing Fred Vaughan to the March women on the beach. Amy tells him she will find him one day in Europe. Flying kites, playing. Amy draws Laurie with a sketchpad. Laurie confides to Jo that Mr. Brooke keeps Meg’s glove in his pocket. Jo is bothered by the idea of someone coming to take Meg away. Scenes of fun play out as Jo reads, “The Mill on the Floss” by George Elliot.

P.72: The seashore, and Jo reads, “The Mill on the Floss.” Beth tells Jo that she is a writer and asks that Jo write something for her. Jo is quiet, feeling the difficulty of being known.

P.73–76: Marmee works in a warehouse with soldiers, veterans and volunteers. Receives a telegram urging her to go to Washington to her sick husband. Mr.Brooke will accompany Marmee. Meg kisses Mr.Brooke in thanks. Jo rushes in to give her mother twenty-five dollars from selling her hair- sacrificing for her family. Jo cries about her hair to Amy.

P.77–9: The grass of a beautiful Parisian estate. Amy sketches Laurie. He sees the portrait of himself Amy drew as a child, on the beach the day she had met Fred Vaughan. Laurie tells her not to marry Fred, implies that Amy “knows why.” Amy says she fears to be the second choice to him after Jo, and that she has spent her entire life loving him.

P.80–2: The girls at home without their mother. (“The invalids run the asylum.”) Amy, Beth, and Jo listen as Meg reads a letter from Mr. Brooke about their parents from Washington. Beth delivers her gift of homemade slippers to Mr. Laurence and visits the Hummels. Returning home, Mr. Laurence has given her the piano in appreciation. Beth visits Mr. Laurence. She is hot and flushed. At home, the Doctor visits. Beth has Scarlet Fever. Amy will go stay with Aunt March. Jo vows to make sure Beth gets better.

P.83–5: The seashore. Jo reads Beth a story Jo wrote for her. It’s written about their family. Beth shares her feeling of the tide going out and being helpless to stop it. Jo says she has stopped Beth’s death before.

P.85–6: Jo sits vigil. Jo wants to defeat God’s will with her own. Amy paints and studies at Aunt March’s, keeping away from Beth’s scarlet fever. Aunt March tells her with Beth sick, Jo a lost cause and Meg enamored by a penniless pauper, “You must marry well and save your family.”

P.87: Amy rushes back to Aunt March in Paris and hears that Laurie has gone to London. Amy has turned down Fred Vaughn’s marriage proposal- Plot point 2.

P.88–90 Jo relieves Meg from sitting vigil. Outside, Meg and John make up. She sold the fabric to Sallie and won’t spend more money to have the dress made. She kisses John, like in the past, proud to be a wife. Jo watches out the window, feeling happy but lonely.

Beth’s fever is worse, and she calls for Hannah. They send for Mrs. March.

Jo lays in bed with Beth.

Mrs. March is home. Meg, Marmee and Jo take turns in shifts to care for Beth. When Jo wakes up, and Beth isn’t there she descends down the stairs to find Beth sitting up, ok again. It’s Christmas. Laurie surprises them with their father. Later at dinner, Mr. Laurence and Mr. Brooke join the March family.

P.91: Jo wakes to find Beth gone, like in the past. Descends the stairs. Marmee breaks. Jo comforts her mother in pain over losing Beth. (Jo in a parental role) Later at the Graveyard, The March family, all comfort each other and leave. Jo stays and can’t leave Beth.

P. 91–8: Meg and John’s wedding day. Beth decorates. Meg put flowers in Jo’s hair, and a sad Jo rejects the idea of marriage-“I’d rather be a free spinster and paddle my own canoe. I can’t believe childhood is over.” After the service, Aunt March is delighted, however, still mean. Aunt March is taking Amy to Paris. Jo is hurt, thinking Aunt March was taking her. Meg and John in their new home. Laurie and Jo have a conversation about their relationship. Jo refuses him. He tells her that she will care for somebody one day and he will watch. He withdraws.

P.99–100: Jo packs Beth’s belongings away. Jo has given up writing because it didn’t save Beth. She second-guesses her decision to refuse Laurie unaware of how in Paris, Amy and Laurie’s relationship has evolved. Marmee asks Jo, “Do you love him?” Jo avoids the question. Jo confesses that she is sick of being told, “love is all a woman is fit for” but that she is lonely. Her goal has changed.

P.101: In Paris, Amy departs for Concord, and is joined by Laurie. Aunt March is sick. Laurie kisses her, sealing a romantic relationship with Amy.

P.101: Jo writes a letter to Laurie that her ideas on marriage have changed and places it in the post office in the woods.

P.102: Jo in NYC, doing what Aunt March told her was impossible. We hear Laurie, “Jo… Jo….”

P.102–6: Laurie, home from Paris, wakes Jo up from sleep. Amy is his wife. Jo is shocked. Congratulates Amy. Amy was afraid Jo would be angry. Marmee is empathetic. Jo is unprepared for this and excuses herself.

P.105: Jo takes her letter out of the post office that she wrote to Laurie and throws it in the river. Meets Mr. Laurence on the road and comforts him about Beth, offering to let him lean on her as a friend.

P. 106–7: Alone, in the attic Jo burns unpublished stories. She writes new chapters, and sends them to Mr. Dashwood but doubts their value.

P.107–10: Meg, Jo and Amy stroll through Aunt March’s empty house. Aunt March has died. Jo plans to open a school with the house Aunt March bequeathed to her. Amy talks about the power of writing. Elsewhere, Mr. Dashwood reads Jo’s pages and writes back he agrees with her; they aren’t promising, but if she has other stories to send them. Jo receives the note Mr. Dashwood sent. He acknowledges Jo is the one writing, not her ‘friend.’ Jo is called to the kitchen, laughs when her mother tells her Friedrich is there, surprised.

P. 110–11: Jo reaches the Boarding house in New York. Mrs. Kirke welcomes her and introduces her to Friedrich.

P.112–115: Friedrich is introduced to the March family. Laurie, “And who are you?” Amy notices Jo loves Friedrich. Friedrich plays the piano while they relax after dinner. The music continues as Friedrich makes a vague invitation to Jo, to find him in California, which she dismisses, and they say goodbye. Friedrich leaves. Amy orders Laurie to get the horses ready so they can go after Friedrich. Laurie remarks about his distain for helping Jo chase a boy.

P.116: Mr. Dashwood with his wife. His three daughters tumble in with Jo’s manuscript, excited by it. He realizes what he has, after he and Jo thought it was boring.

P.117: Meg, Amy and Jo arrive at the train station in the rain. Amy instructs Jo to find Friedrich.

P.117: Mr. Dashwood’s office, he is adamant- “The book won’t work if the main character doesn’t marry.” Jo argues and listens to him.

P.118: Jo finds Friedrich standing under an umbrella in the rain at the train station. They kiss.

P.119–21: Mr. Dashwood loves the train station scene. He’s taking a risk in publishing the book. He offers 5 % of the royalties of the net profit and 500 dollars for the copyright. Jo negotiates a 6.6 % royalty fee and keeps her copyright.

P.121–22: Flashes of life. The family is together at Plumfield, now a school and Jo feels grateful to be alive with them. Jo watches as her book is published and holds it in her hands.

Writing Exercise: I encourage you to read the script, but short of that, if you’ve seen the movie, go through this scene-by-scene breakdown. What stands out to you about it from a structural standpoint?

To download a PDF of the breakdown for Little Women, go here.

Kudos to Laura Bolton or doing the scene-by-scene breakdown.

To see dozens more screenplay scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here.