Gone with the Wind

Before diving into the review, I want to acknowledge that I understand that this book has stirred extreme controversy for the outdated views and practices that are referenced in the pages. However, I would be remiss to leave out what is considered to be one of the greatest American novels as I begin my journey of reading more classic works.

It took a while to read this one--and I put it down for a few months while I read other things--but I finally finished all 950+ pages of this American classic. I made a goal for myself to read more classics works, and I decided that this was where I was going to start. Although it took me a while to read it, I absolutely loved this book.

Tara, one of the greatest cotton plantations in Georgia is home to the O’Hara family: Gerald, a hot-headed, yet incredibly kind immigrant from Ireland; his wife, Ellen, the pinnacle of what a Southern lady should strive to be; and their three daughters, Scarlett, Suellen, and Careen. The O’Hara family lived a lavish lifestyle surrounded by sprawling plantations, esteemed families, fancy parties, and more money than they could ever spend. Scarlett O’Hara, the Southern belle of the County, had every eligible bachelor at her fingertips, but had eyes for the one man that she couldn’t put under her spell, Ashley Wilkes. As the years passed, another man, the scallywag blockade runner Rhett Butler, entered Scarlett’s life and they began a tumultuous on/off relationship.

As the story begins, the Civil War is the most pressing topic of conversation. The relationship between the Yankees and Confederates has reached an all time high and tensions have finally burst. War is on the horizon and the people of Georgia were preparing for the worst. As families began to break and the Southern lifestyle began to collapse, people were forced to adapt or suffer the consequences.

Margaret Mitchell effortlessly brings the reader on a journey that spans the years of the Civil War and shares the ups and downs, triumphs and tribulations, and twists and turns, that the people of Georgia experienced as the country underwent the most dramatic division and shift it had ever experienced.

This is a story of triumph, determination, love, and loss. Scarlett O’Hara, although she is quite a polarizing character, is one of the most determined, headstrong, and resilient characters in literature. Scarlett’s disregard of the classic constructs of the Southern woman, and her adoption of a “male” attitude towards business and money, caused resentment among Atlanta society, but she remained determined and headstrong throughout the tumultuous years during and after the war to provide herself with the life that she was destined to have. Mitchell exposes the strict cultural and societal limitations of the time and represents how pride and vanity often made the difference between starvation and survival. As a juxtaposition to Scarlett’s brazen disregard for “womanly” attitudes, she becomes quite close with Melanie, a true Southern lady from her head to her shoes. The relationship between them allows each of them to learn and respect one another for their virtues and their vices.

A never ending rollercoaster of relationships, control, abuses, deaths, births, marriages, and violence propel the characters of this story into the future--into a new way of life for Southern America. The recurring theme of having to rise out of the ashes of destruction and fight to regain some semblance of life is one that many can relate to, but Mitchell truly dives into what it looked like to work--and work hard--to survive in the face of absolute desperation.

As someone who doesn’t engage with historical fiction, I found myself enjoying reading about this time in American history and the southern perspective of the war was illuminating (I grew up in Maine, so I have always learned about the Civil War from a northern point of view).

If you are looking for something filled with drama, action, romance, violence, and intensity, then look no more! “Gone with the Wind” is a classic that is sure to deliver you back in time to experience one of the greatest stories ever written and fall in love with characters whose names are still remembered today.

4 out of 5 stars