GONE WITH THE WIND

The author of the book is Margaret Mitchell. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, into a family of the
president of the Atlanta Historical Society. All the family members were interested in American history
and she grew up in an atmosphere of stories about the Civil War. From 1926 to 1936 she put on paper all
the stories she had heard about the war. The result was ‘Gone with the wind’. It was first published in
1936 and became the talking point of all America.

The story is set around the time of the American Civil War(1861-65) when the Southern States went to
war with the North to defend their way of life. It was a way of life in which the rich lived in large houses
and owned huge areas of land, cultivated by black slaves. Scarlett O’Hara was born into one of these rich
houses. When this way of life was destroyed and all her family’s wealth was taken away by the advancing
Northerners, the spoilt, willful Scarlett had to grow up and use all her wit, intelligence, and beauty to
build a new life.

So, ‘Gone With the Wind’ is a story about civil war, starvation, murder, heartbreak, and slavery. But it is
also about a love triangle. While Scarlett loves the quiet, gentlemanly Ashley Wilkes, the wild, decisive
Rhett Butler is in love with her. After Ashley gets married to Melanie Hamilton, and after many
adventures of her own, Scarlett married Rhett-but only for money. The marriage is stormy and
eventually, Rhett walks out on her. By that time Scarlett has realized that she loves him after all. Scarlett
thinks of some way of getting him back. We never know whether she does. Margaret Mitchell never
wrote a sequel to answer this burning question.

No moment illustrates Scarlett better than her return to Tara – the family home – after the collapse of
Atlanta. She allows herself one night of lamenting all that has been lost; the next morning, she marches
blindly into the future. “Scarlett was never to look back,” as Margaret Mitchell puts it.

Reading this novel in 2022, it is notable which characters survive and prosper in the new world. It is not
the “good” characters who renew themselves from the disintegration of civilization; as Rhett Butler,
Scarlett’s eternal sparring partner, points out: “The nicest people in town are starving.”

Instead, it is the carpetbaggers and the speculators who thrive in the collapse of the south; the people
who seize their moment, abandoning the past for the possibilities of the future. “There’s good money in
empire building,” Rhett notes. “But there’s more in empire wrecking.” This is hope, but not hope for all.
But never – never – can Scarlett pause in this battle for survival. “Don’t think you can lay down the load,
ever,” says Grandma. “Because you can’t. I know.”

To an extent, hope is also Scarlett’s Achilles heel. She clings on to the dream of her great unfulfilled love,
Ashley, for years – willfully ignoring any other course to happiness. Her focus on tomorrow constantly
pushes good steps into an indeterminate vague future. One day, she’ll get around to teaching her son
“his ABCs”. One day, she fully intends to be a “great lady”, imitating the poise of her sainted mama. But

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she never quite gets round to it. Instead, Scarlett ensures that those close to her are dragged along in
her wake. Even if she doesn’t like most of her family, they will not be permitted to fall through the cracks.

But most of all, it is Scarlett’s belief that tomorrow will be better that feels endlessly and gleefully
hopeful. After all, as she knows so well: “Tomorrow is another day.”
Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None takes us into the burning
fields and cities of the American South as ‘Gone with the wind’ does, creating haunting scenes and
thrilling portraits of characters so vivid that we remember their words and feel their fear and hunger for
the rest of our lives.

Vocabulary
DEMURENESS - the trait of behaving with reserve, modesty.
CHIGNON (ˈʃiːnjɒ̃) - a knot or coil of hair arranged on the back of a woman's head.
SQUINT - look at someone or something with one or both eyes partly closed in an attempt to see more clearly or as a
reaction to strong light.
AMICABLE (aməkəb(ə)l) - (of relations between people) having a spirit of friendliness.

METTLESOME (medlsəm) - (of a person or animal) full of spirit and courage.

INFANCY - the state or period of early childhood or babyhood.

COURTEOUS (kərdēəs) - polite, respectful, or considerate in manner.

ALOOF - not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant.

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BROGUE - a marked accent, especially Irish or Scottish, when speaking English.

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