“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts.” The Intersemiotic Cinematic Adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women

Celem niniejszej pracy jest przedstawienie oraz porównanie adaptacji filmowych, powstałych na przykładzie Little Women Louisy May Alcott. Praca skupia się na dwóch adaptacjach filmowych: jednej w reżyserii Gillian Armstrong (1994), a drugiej w reżyserii Grety Gerwig (2019). Pierwszy rozdział poświęcony jest fabule książki, biografii autorki oraz historii powstawania powieści, jak i adaptacji. Porusza on również najważniejsze motywy znajdujące się w książce oraz kontekst historyczny. Drugi rozdział ma charakter teoretyczny. Porusza on teorię adaptacji, metody tłumaczeniowe, czy kwestię widoczności tłumacza. Znajduje się w nim również historia adaptacji filmowych na podstawie powieści pisanych przez kobiety. Ostatni rozdział zestawia ze sobą dwie wcześniej wymienione adaptacje, porównując je z oryginałem.

The stage of adolescence and entering adulthood is a difficult period of everybody’s life, especially in the life of young girls, for whom numerous standards are imposed and for whom there are various norms to be cognizant of. Having said that, being a young woman carries a lot of beautiful and cheerful moments, which can be foreshadowed by the difficult aspects of life. Therefore, in the modern era young girls have looked for advice and comfort in the long process of finding themselves in the world. That is why Little Women by Louisa May Alcott has continued to be an inspiring story for subsequent generations of young female readers. The timelessness of the story translates into constant interest from the cinematic (and not only cinematic) industry, bearing fruit in further adaptations being created throughout the years. Even though different versions of the story are diverse in some aspects, each one of them continues to attract crowds of viewers. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze certain Little Women adaptations in terms of the different tools used to portray the story and adjust it to the current audience and ongoing trends, simultaneously fitting into the rules of the chosen media type. The first chapter provides the basic information about the novel, including a summary of the plot. It continues with a biography of Louisa May Alcott, followed by the origins and reception of the novel. Furthermore, the most important themes of the novel are explained, with information about the historical context of the book. The chapter also presents the chosen adaptations of the novel – Armstrong’s film from 1994 and Gerwig’s film from 2019. Chapter 2 focuses on the theoretical background concerning the process of translation and adaptation. The paper elaborates on the field of translation, different translation methods, and the invisibility of the translator. It also explores the theory of adaptation and the history of adapting novels written by female writers. The last chapter aims at an analysis of the chosen film adaptations, describing the differences between the films and the novel. Furthermore, it explains certain changes in terms of how they can affect the reception of the story by the audience.