Little Women

[sophie_1003]

In Little Women is Hannah, the maid white American or not? Just wondering as she seems to say things differently to the other characters in the book, e.g. the bread is 'riz'?

[jno]

no idea; but black or white, she may be speaking in the regional dialect of the southern states (which sort of suggests black, but not necessarily)

[jno]

just checked IMDB and it seems she's been played by a white woman in all three film adaptations

[sophie_1003]

Yeah she was played by a white woman in the most recent adaptation but seemed to have a slight Irish accent which I thought was a bit odd!

[jno]

I don't actually recall it - perhaps they changed her from southern USA to Irish deliberately for some reason? But clearly they all thought she was white. At least in 1933 if they'd thought she was black they'd have had a black woman playing her, much as in Gone With the Wind, even though these days they're a bit more cautious about showing blacks as any sort of domestic servant.

[sophie_1003]

Ok thankyou!