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Sunday, 2 June 2013

Gone With the Wind: Margaret Mitchell’s tale of Love & War

Genre: Drama, War, Epic Romance.

 

I am sure this is one book most of you are acquainted with. If not read, you must have seen the 1939 MGM classic starring Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh!!

For those who have not read the book…Gone With The Wind, might seem like a romance but it is actually so much more!!

1861 – 1865 AD: American Civil War, the political horror, that swept away the civilisation of Southern states, an era…that is the story of Gone With the Wind. While we all know about Abraham Lincoln, his cause against slavery of colored, the subsequent Civil War & abolishment of slavery, right upto Lincoln’s assassination, this tale is Mitchell’s account of the Southern side of story…the story of the losing side!!

Scarlett O Hara, the young, spirited, headstrong socialite, all of 17 with a famously 17.5 inch waistline has grown up in Tara, a rich cotton plantation run by Gerald O Hara. As a daughter of a rich plantation owner, with more than 100 slaves to wait upon, Scarlett’s world is surrounded by the uber rich of her kind. She along with her peers spends most of their time planning parties, dresses, barbecues, balls, dances, feasts. Scarlett is the belle of the South (the most popular girl), has innumerable beaus (read suitors) both rich, stately & handsome, & also has innumerable haters (read other girls her age, even her own sisters, who envy her). But Scarlett has eyes only for her love, Ashley Wilkes, another rich plantation boy…but unlike other Southern boys who are loud, brash & live life king size, Ashley is composed, calm, immersed in the finer things in life. Scarlett is not like him at all, & that attracts her to Ashley. Thrown in the mix is a much older Rhett Butler, a shrewd, observant man with cynical humour & bad reputation who falls in love with the headstrong Scarlett, much to her disdain. To this woman & many like her, life’s biggest troubles were boys & parties & dresses. So much so, that they could not see what was coming!!

The Civil War came, and with that came a Wind that swept their carefree life & civilisation completely. Ripped off their basic needs & forced them to live a life very different from what they were used to, the South saw a dark era coming upon them. People changed, life changed, priorities changed.

Amidst all this, Scarlett’s life continues…her journey from a carefree socialite to a shrewd woman progresses…with her retaining her qualities of being a headstrong b*#@ch!! This is what sees her through all her times, good & bad.

What I loved about the book what how Mitchell has taken two worlds…romance & political War & mixed them both so beautifully, that the reader is hooked on page after page. While on one hand we skim through the troubles between Scarlett & Rhett Butler (oh the swooner!!), and ponder over the love triangles & many mistakes the couple make…we are easily pulled back from this drama to an all-out war & survival situation. Combining both these genres is not an easy task.

While on one hand we spend our time pondering over the passion of a love story…we are taken to see the horror of an after war scenario too.

Rhett & Scarlett’s love story is not stuff M&B novels are made of. It is real, earthy…full of passion, lust, hatred, cynicism, care & concern all at the same time . It is so volatile that it makes you go through many emotions all at the same time. While on the other hand you learn about the political scenario during the Civil War & go along with the Southerners as they try to build their life back from the scratch. We all know the story of the winning side…but read Gone with the Wind to know the story of the losing side too.

 TIP: Guys please do not look at the cover art & shy away. This is not Mills & Boon stuff. If you want to understand War, politics, change of an era..this is your book. It is not a heavy read but a long read. Best is to read it anytime..that’s why it is a classic!!

 

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