Well, I finally finished reading Gone with the Wind. I loved the characters. Scarlett is strong and selfish and uncompromising. Rhett is enterprising and impulsive and surprisingly tender. I don't know anything about Margaret Mitchell as a person, but there are some ugly racist passages in the exposition that suggest to me she did not see all people equally. That soured the book for me. No, I don't think I'll be reading any of the "sequels" that were written later by others. I prefer to make up my own ending for Rhett and Scarlett. I see them coming together again a few years later and forgiving each other. But there's not much story in calm happiness.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Done with the Wind
Well, I finally finished reading Gone with the Wind. I loved the characters. Scarlett is strong and selfish and uncompromising. Rhett is enterprising and impulsive and surprisingly tender. I don't know anything about Margaret Mitchell as a person, but there are some ugly racist passages in the exposition that suggest to me she did not see all people equally. That soured the book for me. No, I don't think I'll be reading any of the "sequels" that were written later by others. I prefer to make up my own ending for Rhett and Scarlett. I see them coming together again a few years later and forgiving each other. But there's not much story in calm happiness.
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12 comments:
Christine: Your ending is pretty much the ending of Scarlett (the sequel); and Scarlett (the character) does mature (somewhat). About Margaret Mitchell's racism: I suspect that for her time she was liberal in her views. GWTW was written around 80 years ago, and civil rights hadn't been invented then.
Christine, your headline is the shiz.
As far as the racism goes, the newly updated versions of GWTW have this whole huge preface by Pat Conroy about how it's THE quintessential Southern novel and it captures the spirit of the South at that time, and that that IS how people felt and spoke and thought at that time and blah blah. Like, this is a seriously LONG preface. I don't know if your version had it, if you download the free sample from bn.com (which is how I read it) you can read it for yourself in its miraculous glory. But basically the summary is that if the South could have a "Southern States Novel," THIS would be IT. Exclamation exclamation.
He may or may not have a shrine to Ms. Mitchell at his homestead, I don't want to know.
@Mary--I know that she was a product of her time, and I know what Scarlett and Ashley and the whole bunch would have thought of slaves and slavery, but there were parts in the exposition that I felt spoke more of Mitchell's particular beliefs. And I was surprised at the blatant ugliness. Maybe I should have expected it.
@Martha--No, I haven't read the Conroy intro, but would be interested in reading a love-fest piece on her as well as a strong critique of her.
@Mary (again)--isn't there another sequel called Rhett's People? Or does that happen before Scarlett?
@Danika, Suz, and Cookie--Y'all recently read GWTW, how did you like the novel?
@Christine: Yes, there is another novel called Rhett's People. Ugh! It was AWFUL! It didn't mesh with the original storyline; it gave no insight to Rhett's character; the cultural descriptions & details so prevalent in GWTW & Scarlett were non-existent; and so on.
@Martha: I don't know if "the shiz" is good or bad, but I thought Christine's headline was rather clever.
Christine, there is also a book called "The Wind Done Gone" that is another spin-off (but one that takes some liberties, as it is about Mammy and Mr. O'Hara's illegitimate child--not that that was a rare thing to happen back then.)
Get out--am I to believe this?
It's true!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_Done_Gone
Martha, I thought you were pulling my leg, but I looked it up. It's true!
I read GWTW when I was in college, and just hated Scarlett. I couldn't forgive her behavior toward Rhett after Bonnie Blue died. I didn't catch a feeling for MM's own views on race at the time, so I'll leave that discussion to ya'all. Are you glad you read it, C?
Christine, I would NEVER do such a thing ;)
@Cooksin--yes.
@Martha--ha!
Yay for finishing, Christine. Now for the movie...
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