Gone with the Wind discussion

I agree with you. As an author I am aware that conflicts in personal relationships create great storylines and difficult personalities create interesting characters. If Scarlett and Rhett finally get happily together, the story would be boring and a let down to the readers.

I strongly believe they did! However, I have to agree with John that they got back together, fought, and parted repeatedly. It was a stormy marriage, but I think it lasted until one of them died--and the other was grief-stricken, even if they weren't together at the time.

Here's my reason for believing as I do: throughout the book, Rhett says one thing and does another. He asks Scarlett to be his mistress, but when she offers to do so, he refuses to "take advantage of her." He says he's not a marrying man, but he proposes to Scarlett almost the moment Frank Kennedy is dead. He "refuse[s] to contribute to the support of Ashley Wilkes" but then enables Ashley to buy the lumberyard from Scarlett. So when he says he no longer loves her and doesn't give a damn, he's just acting in character. I bet he came back within a year!

There was a sequel - not what you would expect, but I still enjoyed reading it since my favorite characters were Rhett and Scarlett. Reunited? I'll worry about that tomorrow.

Kay wrote: "I think they did get back together because Scarlett had finally changed, finally matured and could see Ashley and Rhett for who they really were. She was always in love with Rhett, but let her prid..."

That is exactly how I feel. I think she would have first went back home to Tara and bring it up to its beauty again and then go after Rhett like he went after her. He loved her too much.

Margaret Mitchell told my parents' landlady in Atlanta that in her imagination both Scarlett and Rhett go on to other things. GWTW is not just a love story: it's a story of loss and recovery, of moving on. Ashley can't--he's weak, and Melanie knows it. Scarlett isn't in love with Ashley, the man, she's in love with the _idea_ of Ashley: the OldSouthGentleman. Scarlett's too wild to be a lady and too strong to die. Frank Kennedy plays the part of OldSouthGentleman and is killed for his pains-although Scarlett saw him only as a solution to a cash flow problem. Rhett-he discovers that he wants to be accepted, that society is held together by mutual respect and support, and realizes Scarlett hasn't accepted this yet. She's still fighting. Scarlett is the characterization of the OldSouth: wants to be genteel but not gentle, respected but without doing what's necessary to earn that respect. It's the last gasp of the old British landed gentry system, and Scarlett, bless her half Irish soul, wants it and hates it at the same time. She ain't reconstructed by the end of the book, and neither is the South. Maybe she'll get there if she lives long enough. My mom was a dead ringer for Scarlett in the movie and in real life. She always put aside the really tough questions in favor of what she perceived as survival necessities. Rhett has seen that being part of a community _is_ a survival necessity. Scarlett has only begun that journey.

Sue wrote: "Margaret Mitchell told my parents' landlady in Atlanta that in her imagination both Scarlett and Rhett go on to other things. GWTW is not just a love story: it's a story of loss and recovery, of mo..."

Awesome, couldn't have put it any better

I think they would have met again several years later, and got together only to fall out again over the years until they were both old, when they could reminisce over the old days and finally agree just to be friends.

I haven't read the sequel, I prefer to leave the story where anything is possible.

There was a ton of fan-fare leading up to the release of Scarlet and it fell flat on critics and fan/readers a like. I recall buying it but only got part way into it before I decided I did not want to waste my time reading it. There was a TV mini-series made of Scarlet as well in 94 with Timothy Dalton as Rhett Butler. Rare that I have left a book unfinished - but this was one of them.Scarlett

This story is so well known around the globe and its because it is a tragedy. Like all stories that are tragedies they make you want it to end differently but its not suppose to. No Rhett and Scarlet never get back together their not suppose to. They are entirely to much alike and so there for will always butt heads. The book ends as it should. Please no more talk of sequels.

Hannah wrote: "the sequal sccarlett had me in hysterics .... and probably not because the author intended me to be .. however the book ( not a sequal more of a run alongside ) rhett butlers people was really quit..."

I loved Rhett Butler's People and recommend any GWTW fan read it. It is MUCH more satisfying than Scarlett.

The sequel was good, sure not good as GWTW by Margaret Mitchell but still good cause I've always believed that Rhett still give a damn .. real love never ends

I believe they would have. To put it simply, Scarlett always got she what she wanted when she put her mind to it and by the end of GWTW, she truly did want him.

I read a sequel to Gone with the Wind years ago called Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley.

I love reading everyone’s opinions of this question!

When I was young, I firmly believed Rhett and Scarlett would reunite, as I’ve grown older, not so much. After watching the film with my husband, I asked him what he thought, and he said, “not a chance!” My man’s opinion, and the fact that Mitchell wrote the ending first and insisted to her editor that she would change anything but the ending, convince me that this is where the story ends, no matter how much Scarlett wanted Rhett back.

Andrew wrote: "Quite frankly...I don't give a damn!...but there was a sequel to GWTW written by Alexandra Ripley in 1991.And I think you'll find that Rhett & Scarlett get their act together.But whether Margaret M..."

Yes there was a sequel, set in Charleston. I did read it and do remember there was a lot of critisism at the time. Not sure if they ended up together in that book either...can't have been to memorable as i am having trouble recalling it!! I don' like sequals usually can't imagine why i wanted to read it. Possibly because of the inconclusive ending of GWTW :)

I have not read the book, but the movie is my all time favourite. There was a sequel, but it was very poor compared to the origonal. I'd rather leave it open ended, as it is.

No. The so-called sequel is light literature and nothing compared to the original title. What makes sense is that Scarlett O'Hara has the courage and will to go on changing goals and turn life upside down again and again. No romance matches that. To reduce that to mere romance is stupid. She would become a farmer at Tara and eventually marry a wise and low-profile land-loving man. But who cares, anyway? Tara is important, Scarlett is important. Ashley, Rhett, etc. are just a person to place you goal and wish for something more. No, a true sequel would never lead them to be together in the end. But that poor excuse for a book that tries to be a sequel... well.

No, because Rhett Butler was and always will be wrong for Scarlett. He encourages her selfishness and immoral behavior. Rhett Butler is the devil.

No, it seems to me that their parting was definite...

Sue wrote: "Margaret Mitchell told my parents' landlady in Atlanta that in her imagination both Scarlett and Rhett go on to other things. GWTW is not just a love story: it's a story of loss and recovery, of mo..."

Really righteous analysis. Thanks!

Rhett Butler's People was an awesome book! The author did an incredible job. Scarlett was wishy washy. It did not live up to Margaret Mitchell's vision or what a person of Scarlett's caliber would really do. She was selfish and self absorbed.

Well, people do generally mello as they get older and begin to be more understanding, less head strong. I would like to believe that the clouds parted in Scarlet's brain and that she was finally able to see that Rhett was THE ONE all along.

I don't think they would have gotten back together. Rhett seems to have grown, but Scarlett didn't. So I think he would decide to be with someone else.

I enjoyed RHETT BUTLER´S PEOPLE. I kind of nice to get together with old freinds again. It was a lot better than the sequel where Scarlett goes to Ireland. He is still such handsome rascal.
I just read a great book about another handsome devil, this book has got to be one of my favorites of all time. It had me laughing so hard, check it out: Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands by Jorge Armado. It was originally written in Portuguese but that´s hard to believe as the wring is so florid and precise for maximum laughs. I actually underlined passages to go back and enjoy again. Go for it!

PS Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands has been translated into English and probably quite a few other languages, was also made into a movie. The English translation is what I read and it is a book I will never forget and probably will read again for laughs.

Scarlett needed an anchor at that moment in her life, when she was fighting for her very survival. Her world had turned topsy turvy. Her second husband had been killed in the KKK attack on the black labour camp. She had no money to pay her debts. Her beloved Tara was falling apart. Her mother was dead, her father insane. Rhett Butler was her saviour. Any port in a storm. Scarlett had matured a lot during the course of the civil war. At the end of Gone With The Wind, she was fit to be the consort of a King. If only Rhett fully understood her love for her land and the Southern way of life, he would not have left her. Margaret Mitchell created a memorable character in Scarlett. No heroine of any other modern novel can hold a candle to her. The heroines of 'Frenchman's Creek' and 'Far From the Madding Crowd', come close, but not quite.

Well, though Scarlett acted as a bitch in the actual book but still I really felt bad when Rhett rejected her after her realisation....It was the first time ever I cried at the ending..I so wanted Scarlett and Rhett to live happily ever after.....to Scarlett to love Rhett........which eventually happened in Alexandra Ripley's sequel Scarlett but I guess Scarlett's love for Rhett was still uncertain because she was contunously debating within herself as to whether she really loved Rhett or was it just to win something which she coudn't have.....

I like to believe that Rhett and Scarlett got together, but it would depend upon Scarlett being able to be honest with Rhett and that would mean giving up her pretenses (a very hard thing to do).

I got the idea that Rhett really loved Scarlett in her entirety, but that her lies to him got in the way of so much that he couldn't take any more.

I too, didn't enjoy the sequel, "Scarlett" that much.

I think I like the way Gone with the Wind ended. Authors usually have a way of giving happily-ever-after endings to their protagonists, and it was nice seeing a book end a little differently. I wouldn't want Rhett and Scarlett to get back together.

I enjoyed the sequel to Gone with the Wind, written by Alexandria Ripley. I think Margaret Mitchell would have approved.

I held off commenting on this thread as long as possible, but can't anymore.
The answer is only if Rhett was as dumb as a Tic-Tac.

The sequel has already been written. It's called "Scarlett" and was turned into a made-for-TV movie several years ago with Timothy Dalton as Rhett and Joanne Whaley-Kilmer as Scarlett. So you can get answers to all your questions by either reading it or seeing the movie.

Andrew wrote: "Quite frankly...I don't give a damn!...but there was a sequel to GWTW written by Alexandra Ripley in 1991.And I think you'll find that Rhett & Scarlett get their act together.But whether Margaret M..."

You're talking about the actors in the movie and not the books characters.

So what I got from your post was basically that you're assuming an English actor (not the character they played) would not want Scarlet (the character) back but an American actor would? What?

There was a sequel written. It was horrible, moved the story to Ireland, and reunited Rhett and Scarlett.

Margaret Mitchell felt the story was done, it was told. Knowing that, I would say no, that Rhett and Scarlett were not meant to be together and would not have reunited.

I saw a biographical movie of Margaret Mitchell years ago and it seemed that the book was somewhat exorcism of a relationship she had. I think she was married to the guy. He was quite abusive to her as I recall. But anyway, she was Rhett, he was Scarlett. And based on that, I don't think she wanted them back together.

I read the sequel too, and it didn't grab me like GWTW did. It's unfortunate that Margaret Mitchell didn't write the sequel. I wonder why she didn't?

The "sequel" was awful.... GWTW should be left to stand alone. The reason MM didn't write a sequel is because she was struck and killed by a drunk driver on the way to the movies with her husband.A collection of Mitchell's girlhood writings and a novella she wrote as a teenager, Lost Laysen, have been published.
If you live near Atlanta or ever visit... you might be interested in taking the house tour.
http://www.margaretmitchellhouse.com

The last little speech of Rhett shows a very, very tired man. Too late's too late. True love should survive anything, but when you have your heart broken again and again and again, then what is there to love with? And you plant a seed in the ground and leave it there. Will it grow into something or become food for little crawly things? So, though, his love should stand almost anything where rhetoric is concerned, but I believe

a) His heart was a wreck and so nothing left to love with.

b) The little crawly things ate up his love because he wasn't reciprocated to, and so nothing to make his seed into a lasting blossom.

So, I don't think he'll be coming back, anytime soon.

There has never been a more infuriating character in any novel than Scarlett. After all that has happened, after the way she treated Rhett, all she can think is "Tomorrow is another day". Oh lord, clueless much?

Jasleen wrote: "The book had a very unprecedented ending, though you can't really hope for it to have been any different, but what do you think eventually happened, did the two most loved characters get back toget..."

I would hope Rhett moved on. Scarlett was way to dependent on others. Of course, that was the time of delicate women (white women) and men who were over protective (for a better word). Scarlett would have ended up having an affair, she was just to flighty. I'm glad there was no sequel, some things are better left alone. Of course that just my opinion.

I should have said "no true sequel". I don't consider someone else writing about a story that they did begin. That to me is just riding someone else's tailcoat.

The sequel wasn't required !!

No I don't think Rhett would ever go back to Scarlett. He loves her but she's caused him too much pain for him to be able to stay in a relationship with her. As for Scarlett, with any luck the guilt of driving Rhett away will force her to take a long, hard look at how her actions affect other people.

Susan wrote: "I tried to read the sequel, Scarlett and I had to skip to the end, to see how it turned out.

It's been a long time since I read it, but I tend to agree with everyone who said that Rhett is Done. ..."

Agreed.

The sequel to Gone With the Wind was written but not by Margaret Mitchel, the book Scarlett written by Alexandra Ripley. It just does not have the same "feel" to it that Margaret Mitchel had in Gone With the Wind. And the movie Scarlett was not in the same "league" as Gone With the Wind, both very disappointing.

Blessings, Tina

They would have came together again , in-love with one another as much as ever could be.

I loved rhett butler's people. it seemed to be more of a re-write than a sequel with the full story of Rhett whom I love.

The sequel by Alexandra Ripley was a very poor addition to the first book. It would have been better if I had never read it and just finished the story using my imagination. Which is what Margret Mitchell was after, I imagine.

I don't think so. Throughout the book we are constantly told that both Rhett and Scarlett are strong-headed and once they make their decision they never change it. Scarlett would keep trying to get Rhett, but he would never come back to her.
And i think Margarett really wanted the ending to be this way because it is an irony of a sort. She always wanted to be rich and have Ashley, and now that she has both, she doesn't want them and wants something which will never be hers again. She is also completely alone and its because of her own fault.

This novel teaches me too much about life and love. Scarlett and Rhett are prefect for each other, but they can never realy be with each other, I mean, they are too much alike, both too fierce, too passionate, too rough. Thourghout the last chapters of the book, I kept hoping that one of them would lower their jaws and reveal their true feelings. Nope, they would not.

And they would not be Rhett and Scarlett had they, right? Their similliarities brought them together, but it also breals them apart.

And Scarlett, Oh, God, why does she not grow, be a little bit more mature and sensitive and come to see that Ashley is just a dream of hers, not really the man she wants? But, no, if she was not so childish and reckless and headstrong and careless, she is not scarlett, and Rhett would not love her.
And Rhett, can't he be tender for once, talk honestly for once, tell Scarlett he is hurt for once? No, this is his way, or else, we would not love him.
Margaret Michell is a genius for writing a pair of couple who is meant to be with each other, yet,at the same time, is not.