The story begins with Scarlett O’Hara flirting outside her home with the Tarleton twins. The inciting incident was evident when Scarlett finds out that her beloved Ashley Wilkes is marrying that dreadful Melanie. The entire book spans the time of the Civil War and some reconstruction era. Gone with the Wind is a brilliant epic because it’s about a love triangle and a young woman who is trying to find her place in the world. The setting is quite vivid, and if you live in the south, you know the heat and the vermillion sky. Of course, to read the book, even the name conjures up the images of Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable. The book itself, a classic indeed, isn’t special. The words are verbose and at times rather pretentious. What makes this story amazing are the memorable characters.Scarlett O’Hara is the most obnoxious human being ever, but she’s sympathetic. Thebook is at least honest in that it shows her motives. While other characters in the book
misinterpret her greed and manipulation as strength, the reader knows Scarlett is quite selfish and egocentric. We see her continuous struggle with what society tells her and what makes perfect sense. The reader applauds her tenacity and refusal to accept hardships. Of course, in the book she’s only 16.
Rhett Butler is also rather vile as a womanizing, selfish renegade with little regard for the ways of high society. He’s an older man by the standards of the 1860s at 27. What makes him so special is that he makes it quite clear that he can have sex any woman he wants, but he doesn’t want to have mindless sex.
He wants someone that interests him, can think for themselves, and he wants their attention. This person is Scarlett. Rhett is a man who knows what he wants. Of course, it’s clear to the reader his acts of kindness aren’t kindness but manipulated ways to get a hold of Scarlett.
Ashley is the contrast to Rhett, a moral and kind man who is drawn to Scarlett but he loves Melanie. Ashley loves the idea of history, literature, and high society. Melanie is Scarlett’s contrast. While everyone hates Scarlett, Melanie loves her and that drives Scarlett nuts.
At the end of the book, the characters are the most memorable part of the book and considered a classic.
I first read GWTW in junior high. I was familiar with the story due to movie advertisements. I thought of it as an “epic love story” with Scarlett as ithe lovely and tender heroine and Rhett as the dashing and strong hero. When I found a copy of the book in one of my mother’s many bookcases, I grabbed it and opened to the first chapter with breathless anticipation. Margaret Mitchell hooked me instantly with one of the best opening lines I’ve ever read, “Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful…” This flew in the face of everything I believed about GWTW as well as everything I believed about romances. The woman is always pure, innocent and perfectly lovely, isn’t she?
GWTW opened my eyes to a lot of things. Over the years I’ve reread it many times. As a matter of fact, I still have a copy up in my library. Scarlett has many of the same character flaws that I do, and Rhett has many of the qualities I would be drawn to in a man, depite knowing they are less than savory. And ultimately, it is a story of survival in the face of unspeakable odds. I can only hope I would do as well as Scarlett and Rhett faced with the same situations.
It’s amazing how different (in a way) the book is from the movie itself. When you look at Vivian Leigh, you’re automatically struck by her beauty. But the opening words, I agree, it’s like, what? Wait a minute!
I think that’s what gives Scarlett and Rhett that beautiful magnetic personality that we all just love and can relate to. Similarly, I know my personal flaw that I related to with Scarlett the most was in the book where she went through the motions of her background, not because she believed in it, but because she loved her mother. That really stood out to me. Rhett, oh yes, he has so many qualities that are quite brilliant. I loved we see Melanie’s character really penetrates through to him and it just shows that he has the capability, it’s just if he wants to do it or not.
Stories of survival always make me happy, because they always make the unsavory characters the most likable in a sense, because they survive and do well whereas the characters that are always good or always bad…well we know what happens to them.