Gone with the Wind discussion

Scarlett.

Her vanity,obsession with Ashley and her utter lack of good sense make it almost painful to read the book..

I was exasperated at Ashley's inability to admit his love of Melanie to Scarlett. Ashley's actions only flamed Scarlett's obsession. As in life, we can't always see what we have is actually what we want, until it's gone.

Ashley.
(couldn't stand him.)

That Scarlett just WUVED being raped by her husband!

Gag!!!

Definitely Scarlett. I wanted to reach into the book and slap her! Whenever Rhett wasn't present in the book, I was BORED!

Scarlett's infatuation with Ashley. He is so weak.

Ashley, and the way she just used Scarlet. Really, I wanted to hit him with the book in my hands, is a big book, maybe that would have knocked some sense in him.

I agree with Mariam, the bits without Rhett made me want to die at times.

Whole verminous Southern upper-class. I like the book, but Scarlett is pathetic excuse for a heroine.

Ashley.

What a wuss.

Yep, gotta agree- Scarlett and her obsession with the wimp Ashley.

I have to disagree with some of the comments about Scarlett though. Scarlett is willful and manipulative, no doubt. But she's an incredibly strong woman who does what it takes to get the job done.

Rhett annoyed me beyond measure. I think Scarlett should have thrown down by the woodpile with Ashley. It would have been good for both of them.

Her children. She never cared for any of them, she was a terrible mother. Not once did she cry for any of them.

The love of Scarlett to a man she didn't have, and the blindness of her, not seeing what a good man she had next to her, Rheet. I am a fan of Rheet, the nice but powerfull and secret man.

Scarlett's obsession with Ashley Wilks. I just wanted to shake her until she realized that Rhett Butler was the man that Ashley Wilkes would never be. I just love Rhett Butler!!

Scarlett's obessions with Ashley and her relationship with Rhett from a basic theme of the book.

Yes, Scarlett was stupid. But remember--she was very young--only about 18 or 19 when the war started.

And..aren't we all our own worst enemies?

The thing that exasperated me most with the book was the author's deliberate blindness for issues of race, poverty, social strata and caste.

I can excuse the heroine by being just an obnoxious, selfish person; such people exist, and obviously she is intended to be a Byronic anti-heroine. I can forgive the male love interest's weakness; that's a real person trait too. What I cannot find it in me to excuse is the author exhorting the South as the pinnacle of civilization, the slave-owning culture as benevolent, and the horrible classism of these indolent snobs as gentility.

That, especially as Margaret Mitchell is a 20th century author, thus not having the excuse of true cultural moral dissonance to shield her, really grated on my nerves.

Stupid love triangle, blindfolded love for the dreamy Ashley.

Its sequel

The fact that the women in the book (and the culture behind it) were so undereducated. Scarlett made so many mistakes because she was flying by the seat of her pants, challenging rules and social norms to live a better life. Rhett began the change from a very hungry and needy person but he only wanted her to change for his benefit and he couldn't control it. And there is a lot of power in rejecting someone after they've become attached to you. He would have left sooner if she had shown interest in him sooner.

Most definitely, Scarlett's obsession with Ashley. The whole entire book, you feel like telling her to snap out of it, as it's obvious to EVERYONE but her that he doesn't love her. Also, Ashley's refusal to give her a straight answer. There's always a "but..." or a caveat, whenever he says no, or yes. As Scarlett realizes at the end, if Ashley had ACTUALLY rejected her instead of going around giving out maybes, she would've moved on in the blink of an eye!!!!! JEEZZZ!

Scarlett going after Ashley, and when she would flirt outrageouslly with the twins. She was a spoiled young lady who got her way, most of the time, and thought she could also charm her way into Ashley's arms. He was perfect for Melanie, they were both cut out of the same cloth, but Melanie showed her gumption later.

I can't believe only one person mentioned Scarlett's relationship to her children. I mean, love triangle, seriously flawed characters--that's what the book is ABOUT and that's what makes it so good in my opinion.

But my god think of the children! How can a mother be so callous? It's almost unbelievable that she had 3 children (the way she carries on) and the only one she gives a crap about is the one she can use to manipulate Rhett. At least Alexandra Ripley got her back because in the (eh...) sequel, her kids can't stand the freaking sight of her.

Scarlett and her obsession over Ashley. Plus Ashley himself for being so weak and loving Scarlett when he had an amazing woman right in front of him. Also that when Scarlett finally realizes she love Rhett he leaves. I know she didn't deserve him in the end but it still makes me sad for Rhett's sake.

Jamie are you alluding to Gone With the Wind, or the sequel, I don't recall her having three children in the Gone With the Wind book?

Gabrielle your views are on point for this discussion. Ashley almost caved into Scarlett's demands, but Melanie was his saving grace.

She has two other kids besides Bonnie in the book. One from Melanie's brother (I can't remember his name right now) and one from Frank- a girl named Ella. She pretty much neglected all of them. They weren't in the movie.

The boy was Wade Hampton, he got some mention, at least. Ella barely came up.

Robin wrote: "Jamie are you alluding to Gone With the Wind, or the sequel, I don't recall her having three children in the Gone With the Wind book?

I'm alluding to both, but mostly GWTW. She had 3 children total (4 if you count the sequel) but they're hardly featured because Scarlett is constantly forgetting about them. When Rhett says, "I've seen cats make better mothers than you." It didn't make much sense in the movie, but after reading the book, it's actually a sugar-coated version of the truth.

This story was, above all, a TRADEGY.Scarlett was the epitome of the word "SELFISH". She cared only for her own feelings.Yes she had 'sand', but only if it would benefit her.Poor Rhett knew what he was up against. Her vanity,selfishness and ability to get her own way was abomidable, but in some respects was why he loved her. Go figure Men!!!

She also was a constant flirt, flirting with those two redhead twins, and everyone swooning over her. Yes she was selfish, much like a toddler who wants what they want now. She even married men just to make herself richer. Poor Rhett, but he knew what kind of women she was when he met her, when she was crying over Ashley. and she threw something at Rhett, since he made fun of her. That is a classic scene. I remember the scene about the cats, but it didn't register at the time that Rhett was talking about her mothering skills, or lack therof.

Absolutely nothing....this was one of the great books ever written. Loved it and loved the movie. Truly a master piece.

I also loved it - book and movie. I loved Scarlett. No one would want to be her, but she is a great character.

This thread is for what people find exasperating. And we all have her choice picks.

The ending of the book... enough said. haha

haha yeah I feel ya Victoria!

Scarlett! Her attitude wore me down and at times I almost couldn't stand her! Although she does change it's to little to late to fix what she messde up. Now with that being said...She is such a strong female character I can overlook the fact that she's a brat!

Personally, I thought the most exasperating thing about Gone With The Wind was the fact that love and passion and acceptance was right there in front of Scarlett - A man who saw who and what she was, never judged, but loved - and held such a flame of passionate love for her that she took for granted, she overlooked, that she denied not just herself but him. And for what a childish crush, that Ashley loved to continue in his own way. It's the doom of "if only" if only she saw it sooner, if only she reliquished her heart to Rhett (I know I did)

obsessions of Scarlet-about ashley, about Tara

Carla wrote: "Personally, I thought the most exasperating thing about Gone With The Wind was the fact that love and passion and acceptance was right there in front of Scarlett - A man who saw who and what she wa..."

You said exactly what I was trying to say before! I agree with you wholeheartedly.

I didn't like Ashley, he was just so wishy washy. I didn't like Rhett either, he was much too cocky. Scarlet had issues but I understood her well enough to overlook them. And actually I liked the ending...

But really thank god for Melanie, she was the only stable one in the book. Her consistency was a breath of fresh air.

The drama was exasperating. Every time something good happened, it always followed by something utterly horrible.

Scarlett is not someone I would have liked in real life, but I have to say I admire her for taking on the responsibility of providing for her sisters, her father, Melanie, the servants, and the two children (her son & Melanie's son). Remember she's only 20. She does what has to be done, from picking cotton to marrying Frank Kennedy for his much needed money to keeping Tara going. And she doesn't even like these people.

What I find most exasperating about GWTW is how Mitchell makes it clear that she believes women are just as smart as the men (if not smarter), but all those black people they used to own are not. They needed the white people to guide them and on their own, they only would get into trouble.

In "Rhett Butler's People" there's a wonderful quote about how the Southerners felt about their slaves. They were like their children--lazy, stupid devious children, but their children nonetheless. And they were wounded to the core when they left to be free.

I liked the ending. Sometimes, it really is too late to fix things.

@Judy: How was Rhett Butler's People? I've had that one on my shelf since 2008 and I still haven't read past the first few chapters. It felt like a completely different universe from the Alexandra Ripley sequel, I don't know why it bothered me so much, but it did. Is it like the source material where the first chapter drags on and on gossiping about people you don't care about, but the rest of the book is awesome and impossible to put down? Or does it keep dragging on without the ever-fascinating Scarlett to shake things up? Should I take the book out of the Goodwill Donation box?

Yep Ashley.

It's been a while since I read "Rhett Butler's People" so I looked up my review--I gave it 3 stars, if that makes any difference. I did finish it and I did enjoy reading it, but I noticed that in order to make the character palatable for the 21st century, McCaig had to whitewash Rhett's blatant racism. And that made me wonder if this book was at all what Margaret Mitchell imagined for Scarlett's "tomorrow."

I can recall once reading an article in Seventeen Magazine when I was a teenager, comparing Action Heros and guys who want to act like action heroes.

Scarlett was noted as being an action hero, but only if you counted 'fiddle de de' as a cool tag line.

Jamie wrote: "Robin wrote: "Jamie are you alluding to Gone With the Wind, or the sequel, I don't recall her having three children in the Gone With the Wind book?

I'm alluding to both, but mostly GWTW. She ha..."

Gabrielle wrote: "Scarlett and her obsession over Ashley. Plus Ashley himself for being so weak and loving Scarlett when he had ann amazing woman right in front of him. Also that when Scarlett finally realizes she l..."

Ah Yes, Scarlet had 3 children in the first book. One with each husband I think. The first time was with The guy ,Charles?, she married him before Ashley married Melanie. She had the baby and he died in the civil war. One with the guy Frank who died in the road? and one with Rhett. It's been a long time.

I don't believe Ashley ever really loved Scarlet at all. He was just too much of a wimp to just admit it. I mean even at the last, when Melanie was dying, he showed no love at all to Scarlett. He love Melanie, always and forever. Scarlet was nothing to him but a flirtation that he kept up for his own weakness

I think Ashley wanted Scarlett--badly. But he loved Melanie and respected her, so Scarlett would always remain a flirtation and a distraction, he couldn't act on his impulses to rip her clothes off because of his Honor. Melanie wasn't stupid either. She knew damn well that Scarlett wanted her husband and she handled it beautifully, feigning ignorance and befriending Scarlett. Actually, everyone knew that Scarlett was throwing herself at Ashley. It was THE thing to gossip about in the days before radio and television.

But really, Melanie was the coolest character in the book. Though their intellects are matched, she's like, the anti-Scarlett.

Yes, Melanie was the best character in the book. Yeah, Ashley was just physically attracted to Scarlett nothing more. I mean how could you not love Melanie when you compare her to Scarlett?