Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

One of My Favorite Books

Favorite ice creams—chocolate peanut butter and/or rocky road.  Favorite food—Italian.  Favorite time of the day—morning. Favorite movie—It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad.Favorite book—uhhhhh. That’s not so easy to answer.  That’s not so cut and dried. 

My favorite books have changed over the years. Rebecca, Pride and Prejudice, Around the World in 80 Days, Dracula, The Maltese Falcon,True Grit, and others all floated way up there. Yet one book has consistently remained on the tippy-top of the list: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  It was a great (and hefty) read.  The sweeping saga of a strong-willed Southern girl, Scarlett O’Hara, during and after the devastating Civil War kept me going page after page after page.  With over 700 pages of small font I really got involved in Scarlett’s life.  My dear, I did give a damn what happened to her. Scarlett is a beautiful, tenacious woman who eventually gets her way in all situations—except love. Oh, Ashley, Ashley!  How she yearns for the one man she can’t have. 

Affairs of the heart are never simple, and the main tension of the book revolves not just around Scarlett O’Hara and Ashley Wilkes, but also Rhett Butler. It’s the trifecta of trouble. Sixteen-year-old Scarlett first meets Rhett, her equal and her enemy, after he eavesdrops on Scarlett’s conversation as she pours her heart out to the already engaged Ashley.  She tells Ashley she loves him and she wants him. He tells her he cares for her but he’s made up his mind, he’s going to marry Melanie.  Besides, Ashley and Scarlett are two complete opposites; it would never work.  But he’s not adamant enough and never actually says he loves Melanie, giving Scarlett just that little sliver of hope that she clings to—for years.   

After Ashley leaves the room, Rhett comes out of the woodwork and teases Scarlett about her pining for a man who’s already taken.  Rhett has seen enough of Scarlett to be intrigued, because in his book, he recognizes that they’re made of the same cloth. They’re both scalawags, renegades, and selfish rascals. They both have egos as big as Mt. Everest. He’s so sure of himself, just like Scarlett is of herself. But she’s put off by his arrogance. “Sir,” she said, “you are no gentleman!” “An apt observation,” he answered airily. “And, you, Miss, are no lady.”[1]They’re a perfect match, only Scarlett doesn’t see it.

The book leads us through the cruel and traumatic Civil War and its aftereffects. We witness death, starvation, and murder. It takes us into Scarlett’s three marriages with three different men, and a child fathered by each of them. Each situation poses as a background to the ultimate theme of unrequited love. Scarlett’s one-sided obsession for Ashley and Rhett’s devotion to Scarlett drives the two characters into a cold and empty existence. 

Do Scarlett and Rhett ever get together or not?  Or does Scarlett actually wiggle that weak Ashley away from Melanie? Even if you know the answer, you’ll want to read the book. 

The book does have its flaws.  It is definitely racist and borne out of a different time and mindset. But the hurdles of love are eternal, and it’s hard to forget Scarlett, Ashley, and Rhett and even lovely, gentle Melanie. The book still ranks up there as one of my favorites, even after having read it almost thirty years ago in 1991. 

Here are some memorable lines from the book:

“I won’t think of it now. I can’t stand it now. I’ll think of it later,” she said aloud turning her eyes away. 

       (Reminds me of my sister, who has this knack of handling stress probably better than anyone I know.    
          When she has a lot on her plate, she can categorize stress into Homeland Security Levels, then deal 
          with them as needed.  It’s quite remarkable.  I call her Scarlett all the time.)

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind (Garden City, New York: International Collectors Library, American Headquarters, 1936), 282.

As God is my witness, as God is my witness, the Yankees aren't going to lick me. I'm going to live through this, and when it's over, I'm never going to be hungry again. No, nor any of my folks. If I have to steal or kill—as God is my witness, I'm never going to be hungry again.

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind (Garden City, New York: International Collectors Library, American Headquarters, 1936), 283.

My dear, I don’t give a damn.

(Notice that the “Frankly” is strangely missing. It was added for the movie, and frankly, it works very nicely there, but either way it’s a classic line.) Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind (Garden City, New York: International Collectors Library, American Headquarters, 1936), 688.

Happy Reading,

Annette

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[1]Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind(1936; reprint: New York: The Macmillan Company, 1964), 83.