Little Women became "the paradigmatic text for young women of the era and one in which family literary culture is prominently featured. The director is less bothered with preserving the original text than with capturing the mind and spirit of the woman who wrote it. Robert March – Formerly wealthy, the father is portrayed as having helped a friend who could not repay a debt, resulting in his family's genteel poverty.

Gerwig also made a radical change to the Little Women ending, presenting an alternative path for literary heroine Jo March.Those interested in domestic reform could look to the pages of Little Women to see how a "democratic household" would operate. Infused with quiet wisdom, she is the peacemaker of the family and gently scolds her sisters when they argue.

She spends six months with a friend of her mother who runs a boarding house in New York City, serving as governess for her two children. It will serve as a way to honor her late sister, as well as a way to make peace her with fading childhood. According to 21st-century critic Barbara Sicherman there was, during the 19th century, a "scarcity of models for nontraditional womanhood", which led more women to look toward "literature for self-authorization.But every chapter provided a deep, rich example of how very different people might live together in harmony. From Nicholas Britell’s mesmerising score to Regina King’s towering supporting performance (that Oscar was well deserved), the result is a creative tour de force.