Little Women
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$76 – 92MM V $108MM
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
2.52 – 3.08%
Script Score
0.09
Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, Little Women was adapted once again by Greta Gerwig in 2019. It delves into the lives of the four March sisters—Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy—highlighting their diverse aspirations, ranging from romantic pursuits to the quest for independence, social status, and tranquillity.
1. The invisible plot structure of Little Women
1A. The script of Little Women borrows 93% of its events from 5 mythological tales
Jo’s quest driven by the desire of independence. The quest borrows events from tale of David in Abrahamic mythology. Both David and Jo are given an opportunity and their worth recognized.
Laurie’s quest is driven by the desire to gain approval of others. The quest borrows events from the tale of Karn in Hindu mythology. Both Karn and Laurie strive for acceptance after being rejected and ridiculed.
Meg’s quest is driven by the desire to pursue love. The quest borrows events from the tale of Savitri from Hindu mythology. Both Savitri and Meg marry against the wishes of elders.
Amy’s underdeveloped quest is driven by the desire for social standing. The quest borrows events from the tale of Kaikeyi in Hindu mythology. Kaikeyi is born in a household of only sons. Amy is neither talented as Jo nor pretty like Meg.
Friedrich has an underdeveloped quest of Social contact and borrows events from Psyche’s tale.
Beth, Aunt March & Mr Laurence have no quest.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 1,388,174
Tales interweaved
David, Savitri, Kaikeyi, Karn & Psyche
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Little Women's plot structure: $76 – 92MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Little Women
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The script uses 3 universal quests of Independence, Romance & Acceptance. The quests of Status, Social Contact & Accumulation is sparingly used.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Jo mirrors the quest of Independence. Laurie mirrors the quest of Acceptance. Meg mirrors the quest of Romance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Jo borrows 43% of the quest of Independence. Laurie borrows 27% of the quest of Acceptance. Meg borrows 14% of the quest of Romance.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Little Women relies on relationships to create a link between characters, the quests aren't interwoven.
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Little Women
Little Women’s plot structure reveals an extremely powerful quest of Jo. However, the story also has poor interweaving of quests and multiple under developed quests.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.09
Audience appeal
2.52 – 3.08%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Little Women
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Jo mirrors the universal quest for Independence
Jo’s desire for Independence stems from the need for self-reliance & autonomy. The tale of David from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Independence.
Quest 2: Laurie mirrors the universal quest for Acceptance
Laurie’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval by others. The tale of Karn from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Acceptance.
Quest 3: Meg mirrors the universal quest for Romance
Meg’s desire for Romance stems from the need for sex & courtship. The tale of Savitri from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Romance.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Little Women’s plot structure has extremely poor interweaving of quests.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Little Women is a subset of Mythosis plot structure # 1,388,174. It emerges from interweaving the tales of David, Savitri, Kaikeyi, Karn & Psyche.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 1,388,174.
Tags: David, Kaikeyi, Independence, Status, Psyche, Social contact, Romance, Karn, Acceptance, Savitri, Greta Gerwig, Columbia Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2019