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A review by kittycat2302
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5.0
This was interesting to read as an adult with a lot more awareness than what I had when I read it as a teen. I expected the rampant racism (of course- it's a book about the Civil War from the perspective of the South, written in the 1930s; even though I hate the massive racism that existed, had it not been present in this book it would have been incredibly odd and inaccurate- and, in fact, it's the "niceness" of the main characters to their slaves that feels the most *wrong*- that and the "honorable" view of the KKK are far and away the most uncomfortable and terrible things imho), but what really struck me was my view of Scarlett. I believe I used to think her selfish, but now reading it... she's a feminist in a lot of ways, and I admire her. Had any measure of equality existed between men & women in that time, Scarlett wouldn't have been viewed in a negative light- she survived and learned ways to thrive, as simple as that. She saved her family, she became a businesswoman, and did what she had to do. Do I wish she had realized earlier that Ashley Wilkes wasn't her match AT ALL? Yes. And this book ends in a way that is terribly depressing... and yet, you see in the last line that Scarlett will bear this new pain and rise again. Because that is what Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler DOES.
The other thing that was apparent to me was Mitchell's great love of Georgia throughout this book. Her description of the red clay and the rolling hills brought me home, and I think I appreciated her writing style much more now than I did previously. Additionally, this made me want to read actual accounts of the Civil War and Reconstruction era, something that certainly did not happen when I was a teen! I also want a book written from the perspective of Melanie Wilkes, to be quite honest!
And I will now be re-reading "Scarlett" the faux-sequel to this. I've read it once and recall feeling positively toward it- it will be interesting to see if I still like it now.
The other thing that was apparent to me was Mitchell's great love of Georgia throughout this book. Her description of the red clay and the rolling hills brought me home, and I think I appreciated her writing style much more now than I did previously. Additionally, this made me want to read actual accounts of the Civil War and Reconstruction era, something that certainly did not happen when I was a teen! I also want a book written from the perspective of Melanie Wilkes, to be quite honest!
And I will now be re-reading "Scarlett" the faux-sequel to this. I've read it once and recall feeling positively toward it- it will be interesting to see if I still like it now.