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jacket_potato 's review for:
Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
I'd like to give this book more than 3.5 stars but it's just so racist I can't do that in good conscience. I know it's "of its time", but it's still uncomfortably racist.
It's set during the American Civil War, but on the side of the Confederates. Our main character frankly doesn't give a crap about the war which is quite amusing, and a nice break from the typical American patriotism that you still get today. It's an interesting love story, and very compelling story about women in 1860s America. It seems to me to be really progressive in terms of women's rights (I especially loved how Scarlett describes children, the act of giving birth and being a mother, which I'm sure would have been considered insane at the time of publishing). Of course, one can't ignore the racism not just from the characters (which I would be willing to turn a blind eye to, considering we're following the lives of Confederates) but the narrator, and thus the author, has some pretty disgusting things to say about slavery and black people which you just cannot ignore.
Also, I hated how it ended. I think it was ridiculous that Scarlett was 'in love', or thought she was in love, with Ashley for so long, and that was literally the only thing that kept her from Rhett. Like, sure it was nice and progressive for women in that we got to see a woman who didn't want to just be a wife and mother (like all women were indoctrinated to want at the time), she wanted to work and earn for herself, and she did this despite the backlash she received.... But we follow her life from about 16/17 to her 40s or something and the entire time her motive is just to be with a man. I mean, obviously she wants money too, but it's like her motive is "once I have money, Ashley will marry me". And even when she realises that she doesn't love Ashley anymore... She just wants to be with Rhett. I feel like it undoes all of her character of being a strong independent woman. Frustrating, slightly. And also Rhett is a creepy fucker I hate that we, the audience, are supposed to like him (at least at the end).
It's set during the American Civil War, but on the side of the Confederates. Our main character frankly doesn't give a crap about the war which is quite amusing, and a nice break from the typical American patriotism that you still get today. It's an interesting love story, and very compelling story about women in 1860s America. It seems to me to be really progressive in terms of women's rights (I especially loved how Scarlett describes children, the act of giving birth and being a mother, which I'm sure would have been considered insane at the time of publishing). Of course, one can't ignore the racism not just from the characters (which I would be willing to turn a blind eye to, considering we're following the lives of Confederates) but the narrator, and thus the author, has some pretty disgusting things to say about slavery and black people which you just cannot ignore.
Also, I hated how it ended. I think it was ridiculous that Scarlett was 'in love', or thought she was in love, with Ashley for so long, and that was literally the only thing that kept her from Rhett. Like, sure it was nice and progressive for women in that we got to see a woman who didn't want to just be a wife and mother (like all women were indoctrinated to want at the time), she wanted to work and earn for herself, and she did this despite the backlash she received.... But we follow her life from about 16/17 to her 40s or something and the entire time her motive is just to be with a man. I mean, obviously she wants money too, but it's like her motive is "once I have money, Ashley will marry me". And even when she realises that she doesn't love Ashley anymore... She just wants to be with Rhett. I feel like it undoes all of her character of being a strong independent woman. Frustrating, slightly. And also Rhett is a creepy fucker I hate that we, the audience, are supposed to like him (at least at the end).