April 2011 BOTM: Gone with the Wind

Michy · Post by **Michy** » Mon April 18th, 2011, 2:30 am

On another subject....

One detail that stood out to me, that probably most readers wouldn't even notice but I did because I am a seamstress...

When Scarlett decides to make the green velvet drape dress, she decides that day, and they start cutting it out that evening. Then we are told that the next afternoon, she and Mammy are stepping off the train in Atlanta. I am not sure how long a 25-mile train ride would have taken at that time, but I'm guessing they had to leave Tara that morning. So that means they made an entire dress - and a bonnet besides -- in probably less than 12 hours. Even with a modern sewing machine it would take at least that long to make a voluminous dress like that, much longer sewing by hand. So, although it's not said, Scarlett must have drafted every single woman at Tara to help -- Mammy, her sisters, Melanie, probably even Dilcey and Prissy. And even then, they must have been up most of the night sewing.

An unimportant detail, I know, but one that definitely caught my attention given my background.

Oh, another thought.... One thing that surprised me was Mammy's quick willingness to help Scarlett steal Frank Kennedy from her sister Suellen. She was always trying to pound lady-like qualities into Scarlett, so it struck me as uncharacteristic for her to be such a willing assistant in something that Ellen O'Hara definitely would not have approved of. Maybe it was just because she was so relieved that Scarlett was going after Frank (who was a gentleman in Mammy's eyes) rather than that no-good Rhett Butler (of course, not knowing Scarlett had been to see Rhett).

Last night I read the scene where Rhett comes to talk to Scarlett after he's out of jail and she's married to Frank Kennedy. Wow, what a powerful scene.......

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Mon April 18th, 2011, 6:32 pm

I got the sense that Mammy doesn't approve entirely, but she understands that it's the only option open to them that doesn't imperil Scarlett's immortal soul. Think of it this way: Ellen would not have been pleased about Scarlett stealing her sister's fiance, but she would have been scandalized and mortified if Scarlett had sold her body for money no matter the goal of keeping Tara and keeping everyone fed and clothed. Mammy went with the lesser of two evils.

I know the girls and Melanie and Mammy were working on the dress. I'll have to go back and see if it actually says that she went to Atlanta the next day. If she did that's definitely a goof. They had to make the bonnet in that time too. Yep. They started late afternoon and then Scarlett and Mammy stepped off the train the next afternoon. Oops!

Michy · Post by **Michy** » Mon April 18th, 2011, 7:50 pm

[quote=""LoveHistory""] Yep. They started late afternoon and then Scarlett and Mammy stepped off the train the next afternoon. Oops![/quote] Yes, it is definitely an error -- there is no way they could have made a huge dress like that plus a bonnet in such a short time, sewing by hand, even with 5 or 6 women working on it. Not possible. But, given the size and scope of GWTW it's a tiny error, which is probably why it was left alone. Although, back in the 1930s when the book was published almost every woman knew how to sew and so probably would have realized it was impossible.

I just read the scene where Scarlett uses Melanie to persuade Ashley to accept management of her sawmill in Atlanta. For me, Scarlett has hit her self-centered, self-delusional, manipulative nadir -- I really disliked her in that scene. Well, to be honest, I disliked all three of them in that scene. I thought, doesn't anyone have their head screwed on straight here?!

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Mon April 18th, 2011, 10:58 pm

[quote=""Michy""] Well, to be honest, I disliked all three of them in that scene. I thought, doesn't anyone have their head screwed on straight here?![/quote]

If they did it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining.

Michy · Post by **Michy** » Wed April 20th, 2011, 5:03 am

I read several chapters tonight, and now want to comment on earlier posts in this thread.....

[quote=""Ludmilla""] This time around, the Scarlett-Rhett relationship seems much more sad and tragic and far less romantic. [/quote] Oh, yes, that is absolutely how I feel. I just finished the scene where Rhett proposes to Scarlett and just felt pity for both of them; as an adult I can see much more clearly how bad they are for each other, and how they continually sabotage their relationship.

[quote=""Margaret""]
The one section of the book I always hated to read was the one where Scarlett hires convict labor. [/quote] For me, this is one of the points in the novel (there are several) where Scarlett hits bottom. Rhett warns her that Johnny Gallagher will be a cruel manager, but she doesn't listen. When she sees for herself how the convicts are being abused, her finer instincts rise to the surface and she demands better treatment for them. Until she realizes that this will cost her Johnny Gallagher, and thus will lose her some serious money. Then her finer instincts war with her greed and, as Rhett told her once, whenever Scarlett's principals battle with practicality, practicality always wins.
[quote=""Ludmilla""]I also began to feel much more with this re-read just how parasitic the Melanie-Ashley-Scarlett triangle was. As MLE pointed out, they shaped each other and encouraged an unhealthy co-dependence to their detriment.[/quote]As a younger reader I was oblivious to this, but now as an older reader there are moments where this is glaringly obvious. Such as the scene at Tara immediately after Gerald's funeral, where Scarlett uses Melanie to force Ashley to become manager of her sawmill. I wanted to slap some sense into all three of them.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Wed April 20th, 2011, 6:22 am

Such as the scene at Tara immediately after Gerald's funeral, where Scarlett uses Melanie to force Ashley to become manager of her sawmill. I wanted to slap some sense into all three of them.

I'd forgotten about this. It's probably one of the reasons I felt that Melanie had a rather weak personality. Am I right in recalling that Melanie, unlike Scarlett, had enough insight to realize the job was all wrong for Ashley, but just couldn't hold out against Scarlett's wheedling and arm-twisting?

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Wed April 20th, 2011, 1:30 pm

Re the dress: this is one of my favorite comic bits of all time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjhtxfSMIWk

(go to 3:32 for the particular line, but the whole thing is brilliant)

Michy · Post by **Michy** » Wed April 20th, 2011, 2:27 pm

[quote=""Margaret""]I'd forgotten about this. It's probably one of the reasons I felt that Melanie had a rather weak personality. Am I right in recalling that Melanie, unlike Scarlett, had enough insight to realize the job was all wrong for Ashley, but just couldn't hold out against Scarlett's wheedling and arm-twisting?[/quote] I didn't pick up that Melanie did or didn't think it would be wrong for Ashley, and Scarlett didn't have to twist Melanie's arm at all; Melanie immediately took up for Scarlett when Scarlett threw her little scene. She jumped all over Ashley for being mean to Scarlett, and especially in her condition (Scarlett was pregnant). Plus, Melanie confessed to being very homesick for Atlanta; she really wanted to go back. Ashley knew it would be all wrong for him, but he said he couldn't fight both of them, and so he gave in. To me, this scene illustrated the worst in the relationship between the three; as Ludmilla said, it felt very parasitic. I really didn't like any of the three of them at that moment.

(ETA: Another factor motivating Melanie was that she really wanted a home of her own; at this point in the story she and Ashley had been married 5 years and had never had their own place. Although, they could have had their own home had they gone north as Ashley wanted to do).

I know I've said it before, but not one time in the novel does Melanie ever come across as weak to me; Scarlett thinks she's weak but, as usual, Scarlett is mostly wrong about people. Melanie is meeker than Scarlett, but her backbone is made of steel every bit as strong as Scarlett's; in fact, at times it's stronger. The scene where Rhett brings Ashley home after the KKK raid really showcases Melanie's strength, intelligence and bravery.

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Thu April 21st, 2011, 1:11 am

[quote=""Ash""]Re the dress: this is one of my favorite comic bits of all time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjhtxfSMIWk

(go to 3:32 for the particular line, but the whole thing is brilliant)[/quote]

Yes indeed. A true classic.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Thu April 21st, 2011, 5:08 am

Thanks, Michy. You have refreshed my memory. I suspect my reaction to Melanie may say more about me (at least in my teens and twenties) than about Melanie. Whatever the reason, she really annoyed me! Part of it, I'm sure, is that Scarlett didn't like or respect her through most of the novel, whereas Melanie behaved as though she really liked and respected Scarlett and had no idea that Scarlett disliked her. The disparity there made Melanie seem either not very good at picking up on people's feelings or else able to completely ignore them and pretend everything was happy. It's very possible there were some nuances there that I am not recalling (or didn't pick up on at a younger age when I read the novel). Obviously, I will have to re-read to get more perspective on this!

I love the bit in the Carol Burnett clip where she says "I saw it in a window and couldn't resist it."