Gone with the Wind

Synopsis
The Civil War upends the privileged life of southern belle Scarlett O'Hara.

My thoughts
The movie was a sick-day staple for me throughout my tweenhood. I loved the romance, the history, the hoop skirts. It's been years since I've seen the movie, but I found the book at a library book sale ... and then I let it sit on a bookshelf collecting dust. Now that I've read it, I have to admit that I'm not as enchanted as I was when I was twelve.

First, the good: One thing the book and the movie share is their ability to keep me entertained. Neither drags, which is all the more impressive when you consider their formidable length.

Next, the less good: Scarlett can be hugely irritating. She's meant to be. She is entitled, self-centered, and helpless. She does evolve a bit by the end of the story, but she never entirely outgrows her damsel-in-distress routine. This is not a character I would normally enjoy, but Scarlett (especially Vivien Leigh as Scarlett) has an irrepressible spirit; you can't stay mad at her. It's a tribute to Mitchell and Leigh that I felt something for such an unlikable character. (Trivia tidbit: Scarlett's name was originally Pansy. Not nearly as romantic.)

Now, the bad: the racism of both the book and the movie. They're both products of the 1930s—and not just the South, the entire United States. This doesn't excuse the racism, but it does provide some perspective. (It's interesting that people say history doesn't change because it does—all the time. It swings like a pendulum. But I digress.) It's horrifying to realize that the sanitized version of slavery and the racist depictions of Mammy, Prissy, and Big Sam in Gone with the Wind represent the accepted version of American history and the prevailing attitude toward African Americans before the Civil Rights era.

Bottom line
I rarely say this, but watch the movie. Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable are a lot of fun to watch.

Fine print
Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Genre: fiction
Photo from Goodreads
I bought this book.
I read this book in February 2005; review from my book log