Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

13 reviews

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, War, Violence, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, and Infidelity

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Deportation, Ableism, and Abortion

jbfletcher's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I gave it 3 star because i mostly enjoyed the audiobook reader (italian). I am glad i've read it, but i can't see any particular literay merit of it. Plus racism, classism and misogyny are enormous. The only thing i want to save from this narration is the relationship between Mellie and Scarlett: the only true pne in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, War, Misogyny, and Classism

amymegan27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Colonisation, Sexism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Death, Hate crime, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, Racism, and Rape

lemonflower's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a tough one. The story is so good but the racism, misogyny, and romanticism of slavery is so strong. Every praise you’ve heard of this book is true, and every criticism is equally, if not more, true. In the end, I’m giving it a good rating because I rate them based on how engaged I was and emotionally invested, and that was a lot…. But yeah. It’s a tough one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Minor: Blood, Abandonment, Abortion, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Bullying, Pregnancy, Rape, Ableism, Physical abuse, Body shaming, and Chronic illness

magellen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Obviously whitewashing and romanticism of the south is horribly at play in this novel to an extent that even as someone who grew up in the south like good God. Reminds me of my childhood x10 and yet also of right now with our political climate. I'm surprised we haven't had a rework of this with Maga shit frankly bc Jesus are the characters so easily imaginable in modern roles of picking the *just* side that is inherently cruel/wrong. 

I can see why this book blew up in 1936 bc the prose and internalization of Scarlett keep you on the hook to see what else could possibly go wrong. She is THAT bitch the whole book, and it is hilarious on numerous occasions to watch the suffering play out. 

That said. Rhett. My poor boy. 

Anyway if you take this on, take on a nonsympathetic  historical account of the civil war too, and of slavery, to wash Mitchell's propaganda back out of your brain. Godspeed and be prepared for your skin to crawl with the racist bullshit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Death, Toxic relationship, Child death, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Slavery, and War

greenrequiem's review against another edition

challenging informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Slavery, Misogyny, War, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Racism

spencerdance's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Worth reading? Probably. American literature and all that. 

As racist as I expected it to be? More so. Standard white savior stuff mixed with just about every stereotype you could possibly imagine. 

Better than the weird nonsense in the thornbirds, my comparison for all trashy epics. No. I'd rather read that again 10000 times than read this ever again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Child death, Animal death, Stalking, Sexual assault, Infertility, Gore, Dementia, Classism, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Racism, Ableism, Fatphobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Medical content, Incest, Cursing, War, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Death, Antisemitism, Rape, Sexism, and Pregnancy

tree_branch's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

If you take out all the racist propaganda, this is a 5-star book. Chapter 37 in particular should be ripped out. After reading that, I would have given this 1 star, if not for the extremely good ending of the book. The last, oh, about 8 chapters really got me interested. Such a relief to see a terrible person get what they deserve.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexism, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Slavery, Grief, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Rape, Bullying, Classism, War, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

jessgreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Title: Gone With the Wind

Author: Margaret Mitchell

Genre: Fiction / Historical Fiction / Classics

Setting: Georgia, USA

Month Read: January 2022

Book Type: Paperback

Publication: 1936

Pages: 959

*Great American Reads Book

TRIGGER WARNING- 

Death / Grieving / Alcohol Abuse / Slavery / Abuse / Language / Racism / Child Death / Miscarriage / Animal Death / Animal Abuse / War / Etc.

"You're so brutal to those who love you, Scarlett. You take their love and hold it over their heads like a whip."

No Spoiler Summary:

Gone With the Wind is a novel following our heroine, Scarlett O'Hara in Georgia prior, during, and after the Civil War. Scarlett is used to being a wealthy daughter of a plantation owner, and has to adjust to life after Sherman's troops devastate her home state and leave her penniless and searching for her identity.

^Real-time view of me the entire novel.

Review:

I'm never going to be able to write a review deserving of this book, but I'll try to start with the fact that it took me 29 days of buddy-reading this with my friend (@reading_and_wrighting on Instagram!) and I'm going to be thinking about this book for a very long time. Obviously, at 959 pages, this book took most of January for us to read, and while the beginning is horrendously slow, and tedious, you unknowingly gain such an intimate portrayal of this large cast of characters that really does aid you throughout. 

I wish I could say that Scarlett is a girl I can't understand- she's vain, and selfish, and a bully- she's transfixed on beauty, and boys, and her social calendar- but I truly understand Scarlett too well. I did really enjoy watching Scarlett grow (from 16 at the start of the novel, to 28 at the end) and see the traits that stuck with her the entire time, the ones she grew out of (and into), and the parts of her that became almost magnified. I think it's very important that a classic like this is told entirely from a female perspective- a very ferocious, smart, strong-willed, and almost brutal female perspective - especially during a time period where women were supposed to be docile, and pretty, and stupid. The burdens Scarlett is forced to carry, and the life she creates for herself and her family is actually quite incredible, and when it all leads to her eventual undoing at the end, it makes it almost even more fascinating. 

I don't really want to fixate on the very obvious racism in this book, because I just feel like a book written in 1936 about the South during the Civil War is just bound to be racist- but I will say that I was pretty annoyed that the white characters get written in perfect English (with almost no drawls, and no accents) but the slaves (with similar accents and drawls, I'd assume) get written in a way that is so stupidly hard to read that I'd have to honestly skim over Mammy's long paragraphs because they would make my head hurt trying to comprehend what was actually trying to be said. In any sense, I think that reading this book is extremely important, and if you're shocked about racism in this time period, I think it's even better to read it. I'd rather be uncomfortable reading a book like Gone With the Wind, and learning about a time period, than just reading things that make me comfortable. I think being really uncomfortable (like I think I would have been if I were actually in the Civil War/the South) means that somewhere down the line people did the right thing in teaching me how horrific racism is, and how I will continue to pass that along to my future kids.

Two things about this novel really surprised me:

1. This book is really funny.
   There are a lot of times when I was reading this that I audibly laughed out loud. Mammy is really funny, and I loved how no-nonsense she is at just about everything. She's probably one of the best characters in the book, and I just absolutely adored her. The Scarlett/Rhett banter is also amazing, and definitely one of my absolute favorite parts of this book. As a new Rhett Butler stan I will die for this man and he can also hit me with a horse and buggy and I would thank him.
2. This book is not really a romance, and I feel like I've been lied to my entire life about this.
   Before reading this book, I only really had minimal understanding of some of the very pop culture elements. ('Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'/ Scarlett making a dress out of curtains/ Slaves / Racist white people/ Civil War & poverty. I've never seen the movie, never read a review of the book, or really, a synopsis, and probably never would have thought to pick this up had it not been on the PBS Great American Reads list that I've been trying to tackle for several years. I don't know what got ingrained in my head that screamed THIS IS A REALLY ROMANTIC BOOK, but somewhere along the way that weaved itself into my brain, and let me be the first to say how disappointed I am that it is probably the least romantic book. I spent 959 pages waiting for this big happily-ever-after that I had put into my own head, and uh... yeah, I ended up crying when I was done reading it because it certainly does not give you that at all.

I can probably keep talking about this book forever, but I think I'm going to leave it here. If anyone wants to discuss- feel free to comment, or message me on my Instagram! (@JessGReads) and make sure to check out Jessie's (@reading_and_wrighting) to see her #GoneWiththeWindposting memes that (mostly she, but with some minor contributions from me) made while we were doing our 29 day buddy read.

^Live Feed of Rhett absolutely wrecking my heart.

Recommendation:

I'd like to highlight some books about black characters during this time period:

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Two books authorized by the Margaret Mitchell estate I'd like to read:

Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind by Donald McCaig

Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig

Some books from my (mostly Eliza) Hamilton-obsession period:

The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs

My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray

Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz (YA Series)

"Well, my dear, take heart. Some day, I will kiss you and you will like it. But not now, so I beg you not to be too impatient"

See More Reviews at:  https://jessgreads.wixsite.com

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, War, Miscarriage, Racism, Child death, Slavery, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

morgancleaver's review against another edition

adventurous informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and War

Moderate: Death of parent and Misogyny

Minor: Emotional abuse