Everyone who knows me would predict I’d select The Lord of the Rings as the book that most influenced my life. They’d be correct, but, in this instance, it’s not LOTR I want to write about.
Many books have influenced my life, and, while LTOR is number one on my list, Gone with the Wind places a close second. GWTW stood out for me because the main character was a strong-willed woman in a time when women were repressed. Despite the odds against her, Scarlett O’Hara went after what she wanted, public opinion be damned.
Imagine if she’d had a blog?
While all the other women around her allowed the winds of war to buffet them, Scarlett refused to be blown down.
She used “tomorrow is another day” as a refrain to convert despair into hope. No matter what happened, she remained empowered.
While I liked Melanie, I loved Scarlett, not least because she caught the attention of the roguish Rhett. He was my second book boyfriend (the first being Aragorn, of course). He was the rake with a heart of gold. A man’s man who refused to give his heart until he met the woman who was his equal.
After reading Gone with the Wind, my desire to become a novelist grew ten-fold. I loved Margaret Mitchell’s writing and wished with all my heart I could write that eloquently. I’ve been working at it ever since.
For more posts from other writers on this subject, check out the MFRW 52-Week Challenge post for week 5.
Filed under: MFRW 52 Week Challenge |
Indie Lifer 
I always found Scarlet willful to the point of foolishness, which flaw, I suppose, makes her a great character. She’s very human.
Yes, she was selfish and stubborn on top of determined, which caused her most of her problems.
GWTW is a great choice. It definitely conveys the idea of converting despair into hope, as you said. Scarlett always annoyed me (too selfish), but you couldn’t deny her courage and determination.
Yes, and Vivien Leigh was the perfect actress to play her in the film.