Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (Final Post!)

All I needed was two hours on a plane, and I got 'er done! I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I must thank Matt for inspiring me, but boy was I ever glad to see page 1024! And even though I've seen the movie, and I knew how the story ended, the momentum of the last 200 pages swept me away, and left me feeling breathless, devastated and even a bit sickened. Reading the book, even more than watching the movie, is like witnessing a full-scale natural disaster.

In this last installment, we start to glimpse small slivers of Scarlett's conscience. Frank's death literally flattens her with guilt, despite her lack of love for the man. She recognizes that she was not very nice to poor Frank, and feels that her irresponsible actions caused his death. Rhett thinks that her remorse is motivated by the fear of burning in hell...I tend to agree. But still, it is nice to see something stop her in her tracks!

It was so much fun to see Scarlett and Rhett finally get together, and for a brief moment in time, they are good together:

"Some mornings (Rhett) dismissed the maid and brought her the breakfast tray himself and fed her as though she were a child, took the hairbrush from her hand and brushed her long dark hair until it snapped and crackled. Yet other mornings she was torn rudely out of deep slumber when he snatched all the bed covers from her and tickled her bare feet."

The deterioration of their relationship, however, was hard to watch...squirm-worthy, really. Like watching a bad Dr. Phil show. We know they love each other (even though neither will admit it) which makes it worse. But fueled by pride, ego, and unfaithful emotions on both sides, these two would have made good candidates for intervention.

What we witness from here on out is an avalanche of epiphanies for Scarlett. Perhaps she is finally starting to grow up? It's like she was asleep or in a trance for the last decade and suddenly wakes up. When she is caught embracing Ashley and is the talk of the town, her only concern is Melanie's opinion. Despite her insistence that she hates Melanie, Scarlett depends on her and as she later acknowledges, is really her only true friend. It even seemed like Melanie, with her gentle, loving soul, replaced Ellen in Scarlett's life. She admits she cannot imagine life without her.

Scarlett also realizes that her love for Ashley was all a made-up fantasy in her mind. She sees Ashley for who he really is...a weakling, stuck in the past - someone who will never become a success, unless riding on someone else's coattails. Someone she has absolutely nothing in common with. We all knew that from the beginning, didn't we?

Scarlett is shocked to find that her children have no confidence or affection for her. In fact, they are scared of her. She knows she has not been a good mother, and has pissed their childhoods away while tending to her businesses.

I think most importantly, though, she learns that money does not buy happiness. This is the woman who found her sole motivation for living was to get rich and rub it in people's faces. However, as she watches her life crumble around her, she admits that she would give up every material possession she has for love.

That being said, I can't say that I completely forgave Scarlett for all she had done. I admired her for her scrappy, survivalist, butt-kicking tendencies. But beyond that, I kept thinking to myself "paybacks are hell, girl" and that bad karma is a dangerous thing. She got hers.

The ending begs for a sequel. I know that one came out not long ago titled "Scarlett", which I have no interest in reading. I prefer to leave the plot open and unresolved, as I am sure anything besides Ms. Mitchell's rendition would be unfulfilling. I did read that upon her death, Ms. Mitchell had all of her notes burned. The book, which consumed over 10 years of her life, put her over the edge, and was quoted to say that she "didn't give a damn" what happened to Rhett and Scarlett.