Many of the studies suggest that people who read fiction exhibit higher levels of empathy. Over the past decade or so, researchers around the world have been conducting experiments on how reading fiction correlates with various traits in readers. From classics like Lolita to more recent titles like Jami Attenberg’s All This Could be Yours, I can’t seem to get enough of the bad guys. Was it possible that there wasn’t a single bad man in its entire 132,000 words? If so, would the novel bore me? Nearly two decades had passed since I’d last read it and in the interim I’d consumed a steady diet of fiction about terrible men. I realized that by the time the credits rolled, I’d already started to feel homesick for a world I’ll never know-one that Alcott created and Gerwig expanded upon-in which women are universally safe from the threat of violent misogyny.īy the time the credits rolled, I’d already started to feel homesick for a world I’ll never know, in which women are safe from the threat of violent misogyny.Īfter watching Gerwig’s adaptation, I decided to reread the novel. Nowhere in the story was a woman ever fearful for her life or safety at the hands of a man. As I opened the passenger door to my friend’s car, something about the film struck me: all of the male characters were shockingly good. Returning to the real world after watching the film felt like stepping out of a hot bath and into a cold room. When I left the theater, eyes pink and puffy from crying-if you watch Little Women and you don’t cry, were you even watching?-I felt overwhelmed with an unidentifiable emotion. At least I thought I did.Ī few weeks ago, I watched Greta Gerwig’s Little Women with a close friend. Sign up for our newsletter to get submission announcements and stay on top of our best work.