It's funny that this book and Little Women are set in the same time period. Finding similarities between Scarlett and Jo is pretty much an impossible task. And yes, the two girls are indeed completely different, even if they both are around the same age (actually, she's Meg's age). Anyway, both books are amazing in their own way. And Scarlett is a very impressive character, all in all.

When it comes to book adaptations, I usually prefer to read the source material beforehand (and then spend the entire movie complaining about how they changed everything and now it sucks). In the case of Gone with the Wind, I watched the film before. Mom decided to watch it one day, so she took over the only TV we had (we still have only one TV, but with computers and so on, watching films doesn't imply paralizing the entire house). I complained because I was a twelve-year-old and that's what girls that age do. But I did watch some of the scenes and became curious. So one night, after everyone had gone to bed, I put the DVD in the player and began watching it (it took me two nights to watch the whole thing. It lasts four hours, for God's sake!). I was immediately captured by it.

Some years later, I found the first part of the novel in one of my best friend's house (I'm annoying and like to examine people's bookshelves when I'm visiting). She didn't have the second part, but I borrowed it anyway. I'm an awful bookworm and even half a book was a good option. So I read it, but never discovered the end of Scarlett's life. I knew that from the movie, so it didn't bother me much.

So, last year I found a good edition for my beloved Kindle and decided to finally read the whole thing. I enjoyed the whole time.



Scarlett is indeed a brat. She only thinks about herself and cannot care at all for others. There are only two persons in the entire novel who manage to make her stop thinking about herself: Ashley and little Bonnie. But her feelings for him are still obsessive. She may think she loves him, but he seems more like a caprice than anything else.

But she's not merely a capricious brat. She does have an incredible strenght and a will that cannot be broken. She is determined, whether about staying close to her beloved Ashley (I still don't get what she sees in him. He's rather boring, if I may say so), or to never be hungry again. She is the kind of person who doesn't let anything get in her way. Yes, she can be brutal and ruthless, but she does what she has to do. Even if it includes marrying her sister's beau (shame on you, Scarlett).

If I had been in Scarlett's place, I'd never paid any attention to boring Ashley. Specially when there's Rhett to fall in love with. Oh, dear. Rhett is brilliant. From their very first meeting, when she throws something (it escapes my mind right now). He sees that Scarlett's fiery temper is not matched in her ladylike attire and how she tries to act. He can see right through her and he likes what he sees.

From that moment on, I cheered and fangirled everytime Mr. Butler appeared in the book (he's forever tied to Clark Gable's looks in my head). He's just great. I loved the way in which he played around with Scarlett, to make her do whatever he wanted her to. He manipulates everyone, to be fair. During the war and the time after it, he showed everyone he didn't care whate they thought about him. But with Bonnie's birth, he decides that his child would only move in the best society, so he tried really hard to fit there. And of course, he charmed the pants (and petticoats) out of all Atlanta. Rhett always get whatever he wants.

My favorite parts are those that show his love for his daughter. He's willing to spoil her with literally everything. And he cared for her in a way that was sweet.

Of course, I'll mention the infamous rape scene. It was rape, even if they were married and she says she enjoyed it. I will no excuse Rhett's conduct, obviously. Even if I fangirled over him the entire book, he did rape his wife. But again, it shows that he get what he wants and that he ca be as ruthless as Scarlett is.

It's amzing how Mitchell managed to portray the old South's views. It's usually challenged because there are a lot of racist remarks (and there's no way to deny it). But the whole novel is about people who were racist, had slaves and thought they were going to last forever. It's the story of the end of an epoch, the fall of an Empire. And it's a hard fall.