Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by soswiin
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
medium-paced
4.5
yes this book has at its heart some of the most startling racist and sexist elements in any long-praised book out there. it, however, is unfortunately quite entertaining as well.
like the movie, it's stupidly dramatic. scarlett is only motivated by greed and she has no real redeeming qualities. rhett's dashing, but he's far from a saint. even ashley with all his tenderness represents the mere illusion of serenity obtained at the expense of so much. basically every character is terrible in their own ways, but there's something charming and unforgettable about the main cast that makes this so hard to put down.
the fact that this was written during a time of different accepted racial and gender attitudes doesn't excuse the immense and inexcusable issues associated with GWTW, but as with most works of history (even fictitious and written by the losers!) we have to just understand that times have changed and move on.
like the movie, it's stupidly dramatic. scarlett is only motivated by greed and she has no real redeeming qualities. rhett's dashing, but he's far from a saint. even ashley with all his tenderness represents the mere illusion of serenity obtained at the expense of so much. basically every character is terrible in their own ways, but there's something charming and unforgettable about the main cast that makes this so hard to put down.
the fact that this was written during a time of different accepted racial and gender attitudes doesn't excuse the immense and inexcusable issues associated with GWTW, but as with most works of history (even fictitious and written by the losers!) we have to just understand that times have changed and move on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery
Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, War, Classism
despite being driven by the late antebellum to early reconstruction period, the issue of slavery is confined to the background of the actual story and has any nuances removed from it. those belonging to the faithful-and-devoted-house-slave archetype are the obvious favorites and are viewed to be the only "good" african americans by choosing to remain loyal to their masters despite recognizing their legal freedom, buying into the white american fantasy to live in a world where african americans had no issues with the injustices presented by slavery at all. categorizes freedmen as either lazy or predatory to women, the latter of which must be "remedied" by the KKK. slurs are thrown around like confetti.
women are constantly reminded to conform to the self-sacrificing housewife trope. marital rape is suggested to have occurred but the woman is shown to have supposedly been satisfied by it.