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Gone with the Wind

© Kathy Kehrli

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

This sweeping saga spans the period just prior to the Civil War, its duration and the rebuilding of the Southern states following the Confederacy’s devastating defeat. Scarlett O’Hara, belle of Georgia society, has no bigger hardship than deciding which dress will best accentuate her slender figure and sparkling green eyes. She is the daughter of a wealthy, distinguished family and has every whim attended to except for the reciprocated love of Ashley Wilkes.

This unrequited love haunts Scarlett throughout the years. She bears the financial burdens of her family and single-handedly saves her beloved home, Tara. She overcomes utter poverty and near starvation. She commits murder and compromises her values, but always with the motivation of survival. She builds herself back up and meets her strong-willed match in Rhett Butler, a man who loves her with a ferocity she never quite comprehends. For always, ALWAYS, in the back of her mind is her unquenchable love of Ashley, the man who can never be hers.

The cast of characters in this novel are too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say that Margaret Mitchell’s character qualities sweep the gamut. She can make your feel contempt for the lowest form of hedonistic scoundrels as easily as she draws your sympathies toward the moralistic pillars of society. The historical time frame of this novel allows us a glimpse into the horrors of the Civil War from the Confederate point of view. But what Margaret Mitchell accomplishes most cleverly in Gone with the Wind is Scarlett’s desperation and the lengths she will go to in order to get what she wants. You can almost feel her uncertainty in your mind, as she struggles to meld her instilled values with her desire to regain a sense of security in her life. Even more passionately, Mitchell conveys, in a most gut-wrenching way, the lesson that sometimes what we think we want isn’t really what we wanted after all.

I am reluctant to admit that this is the first time I’ve read Gone with the Wind. Though it's a rather heavy tome at over 1000 pages, the action-packed drama and emotional upheavals will keep your attention right to the end. No book lover should leave this book off his or her reading list. Gone with the Wind is a classic that has stood the test of time. I can think of no other novel that so expertly blends the human conditions we all face. Tragedy and triumph, laughter and tears, hatred and love: this book has it all.

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