I just finished this afternoon (I ended up having more reading time this month that I expected to
).
All I can say is, wow, what a ride. Even 30 years after I first read it, GWTW still stands head and shoulders above any other work of fiction I've read.
My feelings for all of the characters are basically unchanged from the previous times I've read it (other than this time I felt such pity for Rhett and Scarlett, which I didn't feel as a younger person). What changed for me this time was the overall feeling of the book; it seemed far, far less romantic and so much more tragic and sad. What I noticed this time is how unhappy both Scarlett and Rhett are thoughout the entire book, even long before they marry; their heavy drinking is evidence of that.
Also this time around, what I appreciated more was the background story and the seamless way MM worked it into her narrative. The lush and descriptive way she describes the physical setting, the way she describes the effects of war on Southern society, but most of all the effects of Reconstruction. She really brings it home how Reconstruction was destructive to the South, as much or more than the war itself. The war destroyed physical structures and lives, but Reconstruction destroyed the morale and much of the soul of the South. MM manages to depict this effectively, without ever sounding bitter or angry. I wonder how differently things would have gone if Lincoln had lived? I think the North wouldn't have been allowed to be so vindictive, and so I think the damage wouldn't have gone so deep or been so long-lasting.
Also this time I was able to appreciate MM's technical skills as a writer. It is her verbosity that makes the book so wonderful, as it allows her to create characters of such complexity and depth. Also what I noticed is how modern her language sounded. Other than Scarlett's occasional "Fiddle-dee-dee" and the almost unintelligible dialogue of the blacks, GWTW reads like something written by a modern writer. MM uses language that is direct and forthright, never complex, lofty or flowery, and that makes the book so readable and timeless.
However, given that the book felt so overwhelmingly tragic and sad to me this time, it will be a very long time before I read it again, if ever.
[quote=""Ludmilla""]
I meant to ask and forgot, but did anyone think Rhett's ward in New Orleans was Belle's son? [/quote] MM didn't develop this element enough for me to draw any definite conclusions. She only mentions this "mystery boy" a couple of times and I wonder why she even put it in the story; just to add another element of interest to Rhett, I guess. I do think that Rhett's ward in NO and Belle's son in NO are the same boy; however, I doubt that Rhett is the father. Why would he have kept the boy a secret? He loved kids and he certainly didn't care what polite society thought of him. If it had been his son then I think that, once he married Scarlett and had an established home, he would have brought the boy to live with them. I think it is more likely that the father of the boy is unknown, and Rhett took him under his wing as a favor to Belle because he liked her.
[quote=""LoveHistory""]I finished it last night and I've got a question for everyone else to take up once they've also finished.
Do you think Scarlett actually could have won Rhett back eventually?[/quote] When I read GWTW back in my teens and 20s, I ended feeling Scarlett had a 50-50 chance of getting Rhett back. Now, as a more cynical middle-ager, I think her chances are far less than that. If Rhett even still felt bitter towards her I think her chances would be better. But at the book's end he is indifferent and, although Scarlett has changed, she is basically still Scarlett and I don't know that she'll be able to break through that. However, I don't think Rhett's feelings for her are completely dead (just on serous life support), regardless of what he says; in that final scene there is a mention of a brief light in his eyes, and also a flicker of admiration for her that she didn't make a scene when he told her he was leaving, but responded very quietly and un-Scarlett-like. And he mentioned that he would come back every once in a while to keep still the gossip; I think if he had completely lost all feeling for Scarlett he wouldn't care what anyone thought and would stay away forever, or perhaps even get a divorce. So I think there is still a tiny faltering flicker of feeling left in him for Scarlett, and perhaps she will eventually be able to re-ignite it. The only thing certain is that, being Scarlett, she will never give up but will spend the rest of her life trying.
I wonder if MM couldn't feel that Scarlett would get Rhett back, and if that's one of the reasons she refused to write a sequel? Because the public would never have accepted anything less than a reconciliation.
[quote=""LoveHistory""]I don't think Scarlett would have married Ashley even given her promise to take care of him. [/quote] No, I don't think so either. Ashley has no appeal for her now; he doesn't have money, she finally sees him as weak and ineffectual, and she finally realizes that he never loved her but only lusted for her. What would she have to gain by marrying Ashley?
Scarlett the sequel largely sucked.
I never read
Scarlett, but I did recently read a synopsis of it, and that was enough to tell me it would have been a wall-banger. The author has Scarlett behaving totally out of character. Going to Ireland? Never. Scarlett may have gone to Savannah or even Charleston, but never Ireland. Her world was too centralized in the region where she had lived.
With her new-found awareness do you think she would have stayed and handled the funeral first (as soon as she remembered), or just skipped town and let Mrs. Merriweather or some other stout matron handle things?
I think she would have stayed for the funeral and then left for Tara. Good catch; I didn't even notice that discrepancy.
This was been a great BOTM experience; I have immensely enjoyed discussing the book with you all.
