Review by safiege - Gone with the Wind

safiege 's review for:

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

5 stars for the lush prose & character work. It’s clear that Margaret Mitchell was a master writer. Her strength of craft is clear. I went into this book seeking an understanding of “how did we get here, as a nation, in 2025?” I certainly feel as though I have a better understanding after reading the novel. Mitchell certainly knows how to write a range of female characters, and clearly recognizes the strength that women have always had in carrying themselves and their families through crises.

Equally strong, however, is the strength of her racism. It is steeped into every page. If you are familiar with the film, know that the film’s language and message feels like a Disney adaptation in comparison with the book. Every character exhibits blatant racism and uses language that would shock us today. There is abundant use of the n-word. The narration — both from Scarlett’s perspective and as an omniscient commentary — is difficult to read at times. Perhaps the most difficult section is about two-thirds of the way through the book, where

every single male character actively participates in a Klan raid, which the women knowingly cover up.

Old, harmful ideas (“enslaved people were happy as slaves!”) abound.

It’s hard to say if I would recommend this book. While I don’t necessarily believe that just because something is “a classic” it retains merit, I also don’t believe that we need to cast off all problematic works. I walked away from this book with a better understanding of a lot of ideologies that abound in America today, and I’m not sorry I read it. But this is a book that must be engaged with very critically and carefully.

Content Warnings