Book Journal: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Aunt Rachel would be proud.


Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Oh god! Okay, this book was great, but the thing is, the book is about 1000 pages long (mine was 1024) and the movie is really just as good and fantastically well-cast so you could watch that and be happy too. But really you should try and read this book. It is an incredibly rich portrait of Antebellum South, which of course I really like because despite my increasingly sparse use of the word "y'all" and my sheer, unadulterated love of New England I am in love with a great deal of Southern culture and Gone with the Wind shows such a fantastic scene of how romantic and charming life was back then--barring of course the inhuman love of slavery. But the big parties, the barbeques, the neighborly love, the dresses, the accents--it was so lovely to read, and even lovelier was the parallel of Scarlett O'Hara, Ashley Wilkes, and Rhett Butler to the slalom of the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. The symbolism is beautiful and true, not esoteric, and great because of that; that Scarlett perfectly blends the Old South (represented by Ashley Wilkes) and the new progression (represented by Rhett Butler) is so enchanting to read. Despite her shrewd, selfish nature, you root for her; you also really want her to love Rhett Butler the way you want Elizabeth to love Mr. Darcy. Just sayin'. I'll also throw in Rochester and Jane for good measure.

The 1000 pages swim by easily in a tide of detail, action, nostalgia, and forward-thinking ideas, and how vivid and rich the culture of Antebellum and postwar South is painted by Mitchell is one of the best things of all. This really is one of the best American novels ever written and anyone would be remiss to not attempt a read of this fantastic book.

9/10