75 Years Later, Scarlett Is Still Annoying
Whether or not you’re into the Gone With The Wind story or the Margaret Mitchell mystique, it’s almost impossible not to admit the impact the novel has had on literature–and, really, the world.
The book, not the movie, turns 75 this month. The Margaret Mitchell House in my old hometown of Atlanta is, of course, celebrating by showcasing the original manuscript.
When I read Gone With The Wind last fall, my 5th book on the list if you are keeping score at home, it was my first experience with this book or movie. Growing up as a southerner and not having some experience with Gone With The Wind is kind of like growing up in Florida and never going to the beach. Or something like that.
But I read it–and, to my surprise, relatively enjoyed it. Scarlett and Ashley were two of the more intolerable characters in the history of fiction, but I managed to get through their nonsense.
The book (and the movie, of course) is truly iconic. Everyone seems to have a Gone With The Wind story–the first time they read the book or watched the movie, how they hated Scarlett and loved Rhett, how they felt when it finally ended. The story definitely people in all sorts of ways.
So…what’s your Gone With The Wind Story?
Mine is that I’ve never read nor watched it. It just doesn’t appeal.
That was my view….until this project.
Mine is that I picked the book for summer reading in high school, and my mom decided she wanted to read it too. I was about midway through the book, and we were camping… I don’t even remember whether my mom had had any margaritas by this point, but somehow the book ended up in the lake. Thankfully it was still readable when it dried.
One time I read a blog by a guy who, even though he grew up in Atlanta, had never read or watched Gone with the Wind until he started a project to read a hundred or so books or something.
Other then that, I remember a Simpson’s episode where Bart and Lisa uncover a secret ending to GwtW in which Rhett, in delivering his famous line says, “Frankly my dear, [dubbed over voice] let’s get married!” Bart, aghast, complains, “Ah! They took out the best word.”
Other then that, I know nothing.
Ha, sounds funny! Never saw that episode.
Scarlett may be annoying, but she is magnificently annoying.
My only story is that I tried to get my kids to watch the movie once, and they quir partway through, declaring it the most boring movie on the planet…until they saw 2001: a Space Odyssey.
I loved the movie and the book. The book helped me to understand a lot about the kind of mindset that leads to war, and how delusional people can be when they have been raised to romanticize warfare.
Jodi
I think I will always be fond of GWTW because it was my first really big book and my first really long movie – I was introduced to both in my early teens. Since then I’ve read it at least 3 times and listened to it once on audiobook. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the movie over the years – at least a dozen. I used to read it/watch it almost with the hope that it would turn out differently, but I’ve gotten over that and look at it as a collection of pretty interesting character studies. I think Mitchell did a good job of presenting the characters so that we could get an idea of their histories, the shape of their lives.
Scarlett didn’t annoy me. Maybe because I was younger than her character when I first read the books. I liked her courage, determination (aka stubbornness) and her defiance of society to make her own way in a male-dominated world. I was always disappointed that someone that smart would make such stupid mistakes and be that petty. But we are all capable of that. She had to learn life’s lessons the hard way. Even so, she wasn’t ready to give up. Tomorrow is another day!
She’s a great character, and that’s why she’s so memorable. The fact that I find Scarlett annoying probably says a lot about Mitchell’s ability to write a good story.
I’ve never read the book, and I’m not positive that I’ve sat through the movie start-to-finish in one go. I’ve seen tons of bits of the movie, though–for me, the lure is the clothes. The antebellum Southern dresses, even that curtain dress–love it. I’m trying to be good and catch up on “the greats” that I’ve missed, both literary and in film, but this one’s pretty far down on my list book-wise.
Haha, funny enough, I saw the movie first, at the STRONG urging of a high school pseudo-girlfriend (long story) who was obessed with GWtW….had seen it hundreds of times, had all the collector stuff, even LOOKED a bit like Vivian Leigh. I was only a little surprised to learn that that same girl was later cast as Scarlett in the Broadway version of GWtW. Kinda cracked me up.
Nice. You dated Scarlett!
Yes, Scarlett is EXTREMELY annoying. I suppose Mitchell tried to grasp entitled girls the same way she grasped the history and the setting. I thought GWtW said more about how large history painted on individuals rather than the other way around.
The entire history of the ante bellum Southern US is a unique field in history. Rare is the case you find so much history on events told from the anti-hero (non-winning) point of view.
My favourite part of the movie came with the immortal lines of “I don’t know nothing about birthing no babies Miss Scarlett..”
It was an epic that I am glad I watched in my youth, but I am not sure I would watch it again if it were on.
I read the book first and enjoyed it. I like Scarlett. She’s one of those steel magnolias from the south. But the movie was a different story. I could not watch the movie for longer than ten minutes. I tried over and over again to watch, but did not succeed. Finally, about three years ago, I watched it at the library and saw the complete movie. I guess I’m older and have more patience. It was all right, but I prefer the book. The movie is over the top! Too much of a soap opera, melodramatic and too long.
I read Gone with the Wind for a high school book report (my choice). I remember hating the first 100 pages and actually saying that in my report–probably the first time I ever said something negative: and the teacher agreed! That really boosted my confidence in my ability to form my own opinion about books and authors and probably led to my majoring in English at university.
Aside from that, I’m surprised no one else has mentioned the infamous Carol Burnett episode where Carol (as Scarlett) arrives at her “date” with Rhett (played by Harvey Korman) wearing the drapes and drapery rod (“I saw it in the window and just had to have it”). It was–and still is–hilarious!
I LOVED the movie of Gone with the Wind, and made two attempts to read the book–succeeding on the second time through. The funny thing is, it never occurred to me to like or dislike Scarlett. It wasn’t until a friend mentioned not liking her that it occurred to me to even think about that. She’s just…Scarlett! And she’s so fascinating. L. M. Montgomery said she didn’t know if she liked Scarlett or not, but she had to keep reading to see what she’d do next. I think that’s how I feel too.
I’ve never read the book. I saw the movie when I was a kid. It wasokay but not really my cup of tea. Loved the ending though. I got the book out of the library once and couldn’t get past the first couple of pages. It just isn’t my thing.