Little Women

Just watched Little Women. Beth recovered (after a fashion, and for a while), but I wonder what happened to the baby (which introduced the scarlet fever)?

Given that, in Little Men, Alcott describes Jo as being not at all handsome, but [having] a merry sort of face..., I can't quite understand what possessed them to cast Winona Ryder to play her ("not at all handsome" being probably the least apt description of Ryder as is both conceivable and not "exceedingly ugly" or some such). In any case, she played the role very well indeed in-spite of being rather more "handsome" than the character.