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HelpRe: Amy
in reply to a message by Dracotorix
I've always assumed that Alcott used the name Amy because it's an anagram of the name of the real-life sister upon whom the character was based, May. Beth was based upon her sister Lizzie, and there both the character and the real-life sister had the full name Elizabeth. But I don't know why Anna and Louisa are not at all similar to Margaret nn Meg and Josephine nn Jo.
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Margaret is a puzzle. Meg works so well as a nn for the character, and then when her fashionable friends call her something else - was it Daisy, like her future daughter? - it's just stylistically wondrous. And I've always wondered, if that sequence was based on reality, whatever Anna could use as a nn instead of Nan or Nancy.
As for Louisa, IRL she was Louie = Louis (m), so Josephine, nn Jo instead of Joe, is a good stand-in. Stephanie, for instance, would shorten naturally to Steffie or Steph, not Steve, thus missing the point.
As for Louisa, IRL she was Louie = Louis (m), so Josephine, nn Jo instead of Joe, is a good stand-in. Stephanie, for instance, would shorten naturally to Steffie or Steph, not Steve, thus missing the point.
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