An Unforgettable saga....... Review on Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

More than half a century after its initial publication, Gone with the wind is still the most popular and the most admired love story. It is the love story of Scarlett O?Hara and Rhett Butler in the backdrop of the American war. The novel was penned by Margaret Mitchell, an American author. It won a Pulitzer Prize and gave rise to the most popular motion picture by the same name starring Vivien Leigh as the protagonist. It also inspired a sequel, Scarlett, which was a great success as well.

The entire story revolves around Scarlett O?Hara. She is the eldest daughter of the O?Hara?s. The novel opens with the words, ? Scarlett O?Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm?? Scarlett is a very strong character and one stops to admire her. She is charming, clever, cunning, strong-willed and stupid (at times). All in all, she is not a typical caring-sweet-good heroine. She is a character one can identify with.

The Story-

Scarlett is the most loved child of Gerald O?Hara, who owns the farm called Tara. The novel begins with the country life in the South. Scarlett finds pleasure in flirting with men, an art she is adept in. She is in love with Ashley Wilkes but as fate (or the author!) would have it, Ashley is engaged to Melanie Hamilton. It is the engagement ceremony of Ashley and Melanie, when Scarlett opens her heart to Ashley only to be rejected although Ashley accepts he loves her too.

This shameful scene takes place in the presence of Rhett Butler, who further insults Scarlett who in turn despises him. Scarlett out of spite charms Melanie?s brother, Charles and marries him. Around this time, war breaks out and all the men leave the country to join the army. Charles dies in the war and Scarlett is widowed at a tender age of 18. She gives birth to Charles? son. She moves to Atlanta, Charles? hometown.

War reaches Atlanta and Scarlett goes back to Tara to find it in trouble. She single-handedly runs Tara and saves it from the Yankees and the carpetbaggers. She is later forced to marry Frank Kennedy, a man who loves Scarlett?s sister. Post-war events lead to Frank?s death. She later marries Rhett. But her love for Ashley is no secret for Rhett and their marriage deteriorates and almost ends with the death of their daughter, Bonnie. Circumstances lead to Melanie?s death and only then does Scarlett realise her dependence on Melanie and her love for Rhett. But it is too late to return love to either Melanie or to Rhett. The story ends abruptly soon after Melanie?s death.

The calm life in the South, the romances of Scarlett, the war, her life in Atlanta as a widow and her friendship with Rhett are very well written. But you actually start admiring Margaret Mitchell?s work once war reaches Atlanta. The story is told from the point of view of Scarlett. The war, heaps of bodies of soldiers, Scarlett?s struggle to save Melanie and her child during the war, her escape to Tara with Melanie and their children when Yankees have captured all roads leading to Atlanta are all told wonderfully well. She reaches Tara only to find her mother dead and she single-handedly runs Tara, provides food for all, works like a slave, and murders a Yankee soldier to save Tara. The struggles of Scarlett make us realise the difficulties faced by civilians during war.

Margaret reaches her best when she writes the post war life in Atlanta and the love between Rhett and Scarlett could not have been told better. Ashley is a not exactly a weak character. He is lost in his in world and as Rhett rightly says in the novel, he belongs to a different world, the world before the war. He is a gentleman of the days before war and cannot survive on his own in today?s world. Melanie is a physically weak and frail lady but is the pillar for the three central characters, Scarlett, Ashley and Rhett.

All of them depend on her heavily but realise it too late. After Melanie?s death, Ashley realises that he wasn?t in love with Scarlett but was actually in love with his wife. Scarlett realises the same and returns to Rhett only to learn that she is too late because Rhett doesn?t love her anymore. But this is not the end as Scarlett is determined to win her husband?s love back and her single-minded determination has never failed her. Margaret leaves the door open for any conclusions that the readers? might give to the great story of Scarlett and Rhett.

I love all the characters in the novel. As far as I feel, all are right in their own way. They are all after all humans and humans do err and learn from their mistakes. The story can be given many conclusions but Alexandra Ripley writes a stunning and capturing sequel to this great epic. Kindly wait until I write a review on SCARLETT. Until then, take time to comment on this review. And do not wait any longer to read this novel if you haven?t already because this is the best love story and the best war epic ever written.