Gone with the Wind - What This Civil War Novel Taught Me About Myself

The classic novel "Gone With the Wind" has long been a favorite of mine, not only for the epic story about America's Civil War, but also for the personal things it taught me. Written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936, the novel focuses on the life of Miss Scarlet O'Hara, a southern belle who grows up during the years of the Civil War. "Gone With the Wind" is not only a tremendous story of survival during America's Civil War, it also taught me a lot about becoming a woman.

I began reading "Gone With the Wind" as a young teen, and was immediately transfixed by the story unfolding of the sixteen year old Scarlett, a charming southern belle with a shallow character. Caught up in the story of her life as it unfolded against the backdrop of the Civil War, I began, through many readings, to absorb the underlying story of character forming in young women that determines the kind of woman they will become.

When "Gone With the Wind" opens, Scarlett is a spoiled, rich, charming and shallow southern belle who thinks only of herself, her beaus, her parties and balls and conquests. She is beginning to realize her power over men and delights in honing it to a fine, sharp edge. The boys are putty in her hands - all except Ashley Wilkes, the only one she thinks she loves. Scarlett is unable to see that she loves Ashley only as a symbol of the kind of person she admires, not as the man he really is, but over time she allows this shadow love to destroy both him and herself.

The story continues on parallel tracks as the war progresses and Scarlett's character continues to form. As survival becomes more of a battle, Scarlett's selfishness hardens in to an impenetrable wall; the more she fights for herself, the more she alienates those who care about her. Scarlett senses this, and is secretly grieved by it, since she has always adored her mother Ellen, who was the epitome of a gracious, self-sacrificing lady. Scarlett longs to be like her mother, but every choice she makes takes her farther and farther from that goal. Every time she has a choice to make, she takes the selfish route with the immediate benefit to herself, all the while vowing that later, "when things are different," she'll take a different path; make a better choice. It isn't until she's lost everyone she loves that she finally realizes that she's as far from her mother as a girl can get.

The hardness of Scarlett's character is always contrasted by the gentle Melanie, whose shy, sweet nature hides a spine of pure steel. Melanie is beloved by everyone and beholden to none. She is kind whenever possible, but her fine nature flashes forth as she holds tight to her convictions, and she will not be cowed when she knows she is right. Her loyalty to those she loves is unbreakable, and she loves Scarlett the way shy people do sometimes love someone who is very different from themselves. In some ways, Melanie's love for Scarlett is her major weakness, since it, too, is for a symbol and not for the reality of who Scarlett is.

Growing up reading "Gone With the Wind" taught me from a young age that to become a gracious, loving woman, I had to begin making choices that took me in that direction, step by step, throughout my life. I realized that seemingly small decisions gradually took me on a path, either closer to or farther away from what I wanted to become. Laziness, greed, exhaustion or even lethargy could not be allowed to prevail when I had a choice to make; otherwise I might wake up one day years later and realize I was anything but gracious.

I never liked Scarlett; Ashley was a bit of a coward; Rhett was selfish and mean; the novel "Gone With the Wind" dwells in a time that is unpleasant and full of horrors. And yet, the novel, "Gone With the Wind," holds an endless fascination for me as an example of how a girl's character develops in to a woman, for good or ill. So, for the lessons I learned that improved my life, I consider "Gone With the Wind" one of my favorite novels.