by Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell's epic story of love and survival set against the backdrop of the Civil War.
Reviewed by: Sandi Kenny
About Sandi Kenny
You've seen the movie, now read the book!
Rhett loves Scarlett. Scarlett loves Ashley. Ashley is married to Melanie, but wants Scarlett. This is the basic premise of GWTW, the second best selling book of all time – second only to the Bible.
A closer read reveals much more than a love story. The overriding theme of the book is survival, and it also gives modern readers a look at the Civil War from a Southern point of view. Painstakingly and thoroughly researched by Mitchell herself, the book accurately portrays many historical facts and customs of that period. When the novel was published in 1936 at the brink of the Second World War; readers flocked to it. The portrayal of people who survived despite the shattering of their world by war struck a chord with the men and women facing another world war. In Nazi Germany, though the book was banned, people found ways of reading it anyway – even if all they could get their hands on was a page here and there through the black market.
While the book has been attacked as portraying slavery through rose colored glasses; the reader should know that the slaves depicted in the novel are all based on actual people that Margaret herself knew, and is not meant to be a portrayal of the conditions of all slaves. The character of Mammy is one of the richest characters in American literature. Margaret's generation was a heartbeat away from the war, and she grew up listening to the stories of veterans who had "been there." Certainly, Margaret herself did not approve of slavery, and was in fact a very large, though secret, donor to one of Atlanta's foremost colleges for African American doctors, Morehouse.
Scarlett O'Hara. One of the great literary characters of all time. Every woman secretly wants to be her, and every man wishes he could have her. She is a headstrong woman and is used to getting everything she sets her eyes on – including men. The one exception is her neighbor – the refined Ashley Wilkes. Ashley, despite Scarlett's protestations of love, marries his cousin, Melanie. Such a situation would be deterrent for most women, but not the indomitable Scarlett, who vows that Ashley will be hers. Enter Rhett Butler – the renegade guest of the Wilkes barbeque. After being the unwitting witness to Scarlett's declaration of love; Rhett decides that Scarlett is the one for him. That leaves Ashley – the man of honor who cannot reconcile his lust for Scarlett with his love for Melanie, and so keeps Scarlett dangling with his talk of honor. Throughout war and marriage, Scarlett keeps the fire of love burning for Ashley, never seeing the true love right in front of her – Rhett. The end finds Scarlett realizing that she's been chasing a dream all these years and that the real thing has been right there in front of her. So, she goes to Rhett with this new revelation, only to discover that his flame has burned out and he is leaving. Still, Scarlett doesn't give up – she vows that "tomorrow is another day" and she will get Rhett back. And you know what? I think she will.
Being a native Atlantan, I have grown up with the nostalgia of GWTW around me. I have been fortunate enough to visit the local museums, the apartment where Margaret penned most of GWTW, and her grave at Oakland Cemetery. I first read the book at 13, and needless to say it has had a profound impact on my life. Not only has it moved me to collect GWTW, but it also awakened an interest in the history of my home state, and given me the inspiration to be a writer myself. It has never failed to uplift and inspire me during the darkest periods of my life. After all, tomorrow IS another day.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Gone With the Wind
Copyright © by Sandi Kenny, 2002
Reviewed by Sandi Kenny:
-- Gone With the Wind
- by Margaret Mitchell
-- Nights in Rodanthe
- by Nicholas Sparks
-- The Last Valentine
- by James Michael Pratt
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