Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchel

[angelgirl]

Hi, I've recently been reading Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchel. As well as being a romantic fiction about the dashing Rhett Butler and the fiery Scarlett O'Hara it is also a read about the American Civil War, particularly from the perspective of Atlanta, Georgia (the author was from Atlanta herself). You could tell that a whole lot of research has gone into this work. It's my second time reading it and I recommend it.

To those who have read it: Does the end of the novel not feel slightly incomplete? I'd have wanted to know more

[mlmooney89]

I have owned Gone with the Wind for a long time but my reading list has never opened up long enough for me to read it. I had picked it up recently and got through the first chapter maybe. Then I did a no no. I watched the movie. Seeing how I hate knowing the ending to a book it put me in a spot that I didn't feel the need to finish the book. The movie seemed lacking in a lot of ways and I didn't connect with the characters like I should have. I have heard that the movie was pretty spot on which I wonder if I would get the same disconnected feeling if I read it. It is a rather large book and I don't want to waste my time on it if that were the case. I do know that books are always ALWAYS better than the movies. Would you say you understood Rhett's frustration at Scarlett and his love all in one? Because I didn't see the love in the movie.

With that said I must comment on the part where you said it left you feeling slightly incomplete. I have heard in many circles that Mitchel actually intended for this to happen. It was a desire to make the reader make the decision as to what happened next and not have it just one solid way. I do like the open ending to the story line myself because I both feel bad for Scarlett and wanted her to have him in the end but then again it wasn't fair to Rhett and he deserved better. Both sides of my thoughts are appeased by this ending.

[angelgirl]

The great thing about the book is that even if you can't connect with the romance happening between Rhett and Scarlett O'Hara, you could still appreciate the book for the historical account of the American Revolution. Because the history is incorporated into a fictional novel some probably don't agree that the author is accurate with the history. However, if you don't know too much about how the American Revolution affected the south, the story told could be incredibly fascinating.

As for the part about the romance, Scarlett O'Hara never really falls in love with Rhett Butler until the final pages. The whole novel is actually about Rhett Butler chasing her and hoping she will fall in love with him. He knows that she has her heart set on Ashley Wilkes. This might be where the love is lost between Scarlett and Rhett. Rhett falls out of love with Scarlett the moment she falls in love with him, they are never both in love with each other at the same time.

As for the movie, it does capture the story-telling very well, but there is a lot of the chemistry lost from within the pages of the book where the love is electric. The sad thing is that they never meet eye-to-eye when it comes to their love for each other. Also some people might think the book is racist because it's written from the plantationer's perspective and advocates slavery, but essentially this has to be assessed by its 19th Century background and, yes, it is likely that the author did share in on these views.

[mlmooney89]

Alright I will give it another go after I finish The Book Thief. (side note I assume you meant the American Civil War not the American Revolution seeing how that happened almost 100 years prior to the civil war)

[angelgirl]

Yes . It says something about that too but it's more about the American Civil War.