Gone with the Wind

What a masterpiece.

The depths of characters. The relationships. The descriptions. The mix of action and drama. The beating heart of Tara. The constant fight and struggle to survive. The true magnitude of how people respond to war, trauma, and the need to survive.

Scarlett O'Hara is a self centered, spoiled southern belle. She's oblivious to around her and cares only for herself. But that self centerness is what pushes her into survival mode. It keeps her and those around her going. She destroys many, but also is the key reason why others survive.

The writing swept me away to Confederate south. I was in the rooms with Scarlett, Rhett, Melanie, Mammie, Pa, and the rest. Even the characters who swept in and out of the story had their own struggles and individual characteristics and drive.

There was depth in this novel that I have rarely seen in others. This is a book that can be read time and again, even though you know the ending.

Deeply conflicted about this book.

I expected overt racism, but I did not expect it to become so central to the story. And I certainly did not expect the narrator to try to get me to cheer for the KKK.

Also, for the first two thirds of the book, Scarlett is really basically a sociopath.

But the arc of Scarlett's development and relationship with Rhett are extremely compelling.

So, I get why some people adore this book while others hate it.

Reasons You Should(n't) Read Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Gone With the Wind is probably my favorite American classic to date and also one of my favorite books, period. Considering I am usually more enthusiastic for modern fantasy than for historical fiction, this is something of a feat.

I will be honest in admitting that I read this book for school. My AP Lang gave us a list of books to choose from for our final project and I chose Gone With the Wind, a little bit because I thought I'd enjoy it and mostly because I wanted to recreate a Scarlett O'Hara dress as the creative portion of the project. I knew next to nothing of the plot even if I could quote the famous line: “Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.”

Here begins the obligatory plot summary. Scarlett O'Hara is a spoiled brat who thinks she loves Ashley Wilkes and throws such a fit when Ashley gets engaged to Melanie Hamilton that she marries Miss Hamilton's brother out of pure spite. She's a widow and a mother in the blink of an eye and finds herself living with Melanie, whom she hates, in Atlanta during the Civil War. Here she gets to know Rhett Butler, the scallawag-turned-hero blockade runner who shows her how to have more fun than is socially acceptable.

The rest of the book revolves around this cast of characters–Scarlett, Melanie, Ashley, and Rhett–and their interactions. Through several marriages and children and endless trials, Scarlett remains convinced that she loves Ashley, who is married to Melanie. Ashley, too, is convinced that he loves Scarlett, but for Melanie's sake never gives in to temptation. Melanie is beautifully oblivious to all of it, and loves everyone she knows with sweet abandon. And Rhett, while continuously reassuring Scarlett that her blackening reputation is nothing to worry about, is falling in love with her, and resents her pining over Ashley. It's not until it's far too late that Scarlett and Ashley discover whom it is they really love, after Melanie and Rhett are out of their reaches.

Don't let that soap-opera description fool you into thinking that Gone With the Wind is on par with the daytime television your middle-aged mom watches in the living room to pass the time while she's crocheting. Though there's plenty of romantic intrigue and turbulent feelings, the novel is primarily about Scarlett's survival after her life is torn apart by the Civil War, and through her actions and mistakes we readers learn about the issues of the period. The book explores so many different topics, including loss, sacrifice, resilience and the American dream, the conflict between inner desires and societal expectations, the expectations/oppression of women in the nineteenth century, the struggles of the South during reconstruction, the consequences of consciencelessness and greed, the conflict between patriotism and conscience, the importance of valuing those who love you, and the idea that love does not always overcome all. Even if thematic prevalence isn't on your list of must-haves, the actions Scarlett takes to explore all of those are brimming with entertainment value. It's one of those books that's not necessarily action-packed, but still refuses to let you put it down.

I fell in love with this book quickly and forcefully and without entirely intending to–much as Scarlett fell in love with Rhett, I like to think, though in my case my feelings did not show themselves too late. Margaret Mitchell has a gorgeous writing style. All of her imagery, be it visual or auditory or even gustatory, is overwhelmingly detailed (in a good way). The characters are unique and fascinating, especially Scarlett and Rhett, both of whom are relatively terrible people, but fantastic sources of entertainment. The prose is funny both in its narration of characters' actions and in their conversations, again, especially with Scarlett and Rhett, the biggest duelists of wit. That special kind of sarcastic humor is rare in premodern novels, and so is the ease with which dialogue progresses. The narrative is rife with literary elements that would make any word-nerd squirm, colloquialisms and metaphors and abundant parallelism and allusions, from the constant juxtaposition of Rhett and Ashley to the symbolism of Tara as a constant source of strength.

That's not to say that Gone With the Wind does not have a few faults. There are points in the book where the narrative pace drops and the reader continues for the sake of exciting scenes to come rather for much thrill in the current moment. And, troublingly, this novel is sprinkled with “Lost Cause” propaganda; much of the narrative is slanted towards sympathy for the Confederacy–as a friend put it to me, this novel “tries to say that slavery wasn't that bad.” Personally I found the point of view more amusing than offensive or persuasive, and I was never bored with any scene (just a little less seat-gripping), so the book remains at five stars.

If you enjoy books with dynamic and compelling characters, well-paced narrative and unique plot, and a writing style built on a talented manipulation of figurative language and dialogue, then definitely pick Gone With the Wind up. Even if you don't like long books, or romances, or historical fiction, pick it up anyway. You'll be glad you did.

Of course I'd first seen the movie and there seemed to be large gaps in the logic and mysteries as to why people acted or reacted the way they did. You could tell with reflection that the storyline had been cut to fit a specific amount of viewing time.

So I was really glad to have pretty much all the missing pieces filled in and then discover so much more to the story. Especially to see how the relationship between Scarlet and Melanie came about. This book also gave me an insight as to what a horrible experience it would be to live thru the aftermath of the destruction of your civilization. To get a sense of what it would be like today and to appreciate what I have.

Sorry, I cannot help but love this novel. My opinion is biased however due to my love of the movie since childhood. I took my children to see the movie in the big screen this summer, it launched interesting conversations in this world of 2015. Things about the history of that time that I as a child didn't even think to question or notice horrified my children. It was interesting to visit an “old favourite”

The first grownup book I read as a child. Definitely a page turner. Who could resist falling in love with both Ashley and Rhett?

Second read: A reread. I dragged this out as long as I could...maybe a whole year. I don't really need to tell you much about this one; you know the characters and you know the plot. And I liked it, though I must, to be completely honest, note that Scarlett wore on me at times (“I can't think about that now....I will think about that tomorrow....” She said this about a thousand times). Not sure if I'd call it a classic, but it is a mighty good read.

I honestly have no idea why I loved this book so much. The 2 main characters were terrible human beings and their surrounding friends and family were incredibly sanctimonious and judgmental. Maybe that was why it was so entertaining? I just had to know how much worse these people can be. I did love the southern point of view of the Civil War although it was heavily dramatized and she definitely downplayed the horrors of slavery which obviously offends people. I think if you can look past that and accept this book for what it is, a work of fiction, then I think you can thoroughly enjoy it.

This really turned out to be the epic novel I expected it to be. Fantastic summer read. Full of complex and fallible and endearing heroes, led by the most selfish and most insensitive and most ignorant heroine of them all - Scarlett O'Hara. Yet despite all her bad traits, you still love her. And of course Scarlett and Rhett's dynamic is highly entertaining to read, and their dance - which is set up for failure all along - leads to one of the most satisfying unhappy endings.

I am sure millions of words have been written about this book, so let's keep this review brief.

It's racist as hell. Kind of interesting for that, because it lets you see the kind of lies people tell themselves to allow them to approve of slavery, but it needs to be read with a critical mind.

The love ‘triangle' is tedious beyond all belief.

Scarlett is an inconsistent character - we never know whether we are supposed to admire her for her ‘gumption', pity her for the traumas experienced during the civil war, or hate her for being thoughtless, selfish and allowing cruelty to flourish with her blessing. Somehow, we are expected to believe she's good at business because she's good at arithmetic; even though she sells faulty goods, lies, has temper tantrums, alienates her customers, and has literally no psychological insight into anybody around her.

The pacing is terrible, there's a long saggy bit in the middle, and then the ending is rushed.

However, it is evocative and the writing mostly pulls you along. It's an easy read, despite the length.

I just reread this book for our Great Books book club (note that we don't read just Great Books, but like to include Pulitzer/National Book Award/etc. selections so that we can include a greater diversity of voices) and this is still one of my favorite books. I first read “Gone With the Wind” in Middle School, if I remember correctly. While there are new insights or, perhaps, different takes to be gleaned now that I'm almost 30 years older than when I first read the book, it still crackles with life. Margaret Mitchell had a real knack for capturing dialog and painting vivid scenes and characters.

One good friend reread “GWTW” recently and said that the racist attitudes made the entire work nearly unlikeable (to paraphrase), which is quite different from her earlier opinion of the book as a whole. It's true that depictions of both enslaved and free blacks in the novel smack of minstrelsy and are unquestionably racist. However, I think that the attitude depicted was a true representation of many white folks' attitudes during/after the Civil War and in the 1920s and 30s when the novel was written. That does not make it any easier to read those sections, but I do not think it lessens the work as a whole. With a few exceptions where we dip into Melanie's or Beau's (or a few others') heads for a few moments, the story is told from Scarlett's point of view, although in third person.

Instead of continuing my lengthy opinions on the work, I'll include the discussion questions that I cobbled together using various sources, including a visit to the Margaret Mitchell museum in Atlanta (small, but interesting).


1. In her youth, Margaret Mitchell played with gender roles; for much of her early life, she dressed in boys clothing and went by the name “Jimmy.” She also rebelled against her mother, who was an active suffragette and leading citizen of Atlanta, committing various outrageous acts as a flapper. How do these biographical elements manifest in the book?

2. Although “GWTW” is set between just before the Civil War through Reconstruction, how much do the novel and its characters actually represent the Jazz Age (following WW1 and the 1918 flu pandemic that killed her mother) during which the novel was written?

3. In Gone with the Wind, Mitchell depicts several Southern female stereotypes—especially that of the helpless, passive, and sometimes silly woman, such as Scarlett's sisters, Aunt Pittypat, and Ashley's sister, India Wilkes—and then undermines them by delimiting their roles. Some critics argue that Scarlett is a traditional heroine who escapes the limits of her role and is forced to expand her horizons. Do you agree with this viewpoint? Who is/are the heroines in “GWTW?” Do you find it interesting that men generally aren't depicted as heroes in this book?

4. Gloria Steinem proposed that Scarlett O'Hara was a victim, not a feminist. Given historical context, each character's innate traits, and their relationship with their husband(s), do you consider not only Scarlett O'Hara, but also Ellen O'Hara and Melanie Wilkes feminists?

5. Some critics believe that Scarlett represents the South, both “Old” and “New;” Scarlett changes throughout the novel, which parallel the changes that take place in the South. Do you agree with this proposition?

6. As a child, Margaret Mitchell “sat on the bony knees of veterans and the fat slippery laps of great aunts and heard them talk” about the Civil War. What do you think of how Mitchell, a Southerner from a family that fought and survived the Civil War, depicted the war?

7. Many readers and critics argue that “GWTW” depicts a racist and patriarchal attitude towards slaves. Margaret Mitchell's attitude was actually different in real life. Why might she have decided to depict slavery in this manner?

8. Mammy, for example, looks down upon field slaves early in the novel and later upon “trashy free issue” blacks. What do you think of the class demarcations and how they change throughout the course of the novel?

9. As Scarlett is approaching Ashley for advice on how to raise money for the additional taxes on Tara, she describes him as follows: “God intended him to sit in a great house, talking with pleasant people, playing the piano and writing things which sounded beautiful and made no sense whatsoever.” However, it isn't until the end of the novel that she sees her love for Ashley as a fantasy.

So was her love for him ever real? Does she transfer her love to Rhett, or did she actually love Rhett all along? Alternately, is Scarlett what Rhett describes as a typical Southerner: “But it's in one's blood. Southerners can never resist a losing cause.” Has Rhett taken on Ashley's place as a typical Southern male?

10. Were you surprised at how closely the movie adaptation mirrors the book (some dialogue is word-for-word and costumes match Mitchell's descriptions) and how the movie departed from the book in other cases?