Gone With The Wind

I decided to watch this classic film since I hadn't seen it as an adult and I was pleasantly surprised.  I know it is not one of my dad's favorite movies and I can see why.  What did surprise me was that this wasn't the romance film I expected it to be.  Everyone talks about this great romance between Rhett and Scarlett and I have to say that it didn't conform to my idea of a romance at all.  Instead, I felt that this movie was more centered on Scarlett's fight for survival and the friendship/rivalry with Melanie Wilkes.

First of all,  the actual relationship between Rhett and Scarlett is a very dysfunctional one.  His initial pursuit of her has nothing to do with marriage as he often states to her he's not the "marrying kind."  She calls on him when she is in serious financial or immediate trouble and little else.  When they do actually marry, it's because he realizes she is financially independent and he won't have any power over her anymore.  Even then, it's a relationship where they attempt to destroy one another.  His extreme jealousy over her infatuation with Ashley Wilkes drives him to a certain level of violence towards his wife. 

The scene after he sends her to Ashley's birthday party, in that famous red dress, is a very disturbing one.  He actually tells her that he feels the only way to get Ashley out of her head is to crush it like a walnut and proceeds to squeeze her head between his hands.  When Rhett returns from England, and Scarlett is ready to forgive and move on, they have a fight that results in her falling down a flight of stairs.  Accident though it may have been, this level of physical violence between them is not uncommon.  After Bonnie's death, Mammy recounts the fights between them to Miss Melly, "It makes my blood run cold, the things they say to one another," and one has to wonder what else she has witnessed in her time there.

The amount of screen time the two actually share is less than that of Scarlett and Miss Melly.  Set up as rivals for Ashley Wilkes' affection, they are constantly thrown together throughout the film and eventually become friends.  First, Scarlett decides to stay with Melanie in Atlanta as a means to stay close to Ashley and then she is charged with taking care of her by Ashley.  They share a Thelma and Louise moment when Scarlett shoots the Yankee deserter in the face and Melanie helps cover it up.  Then, Melanie offers emotional support during Rhett and Scarlett's tumultuous marriage.

from SeeingSepia blog

Scarlett starts out as the stronger of the two, and indeed she is physically stronger, but Melanie proves that she is just strong.  They are both women with fierce loyalties and ones who will do anything for the people they love.  Scarlett marries a man she does not love so she can support her family and the Wilkeses by keeping Tara.  Melanie stands by her friend, and husband, in the face of gossip and social ruin.  Scarlett can accomplish anything she sets her mind to and does, in fact, create an independent existence for herself in a time period where women should have been ornamentation.  But Melanie has enough influence in society that even when it is suspected her husband and best friend are having an affair, it only takes her word to quell those rumors and bring Scarlett back from the edge of social obscurity.

They are both women of power and influence in a time when it was uncharacteristic for women to be so.  Even if you consider that the novel was written in the 30's, it's still amazing to have these strong female characters. (Though I have yet to read the novel.  I may feel differently about this later.)  However, they are also very different women.  Scarlett maintains control and power through harsh words and actions; wrestling her independence from the hands of men and carpetbaggers.  Melanie is given power and control through her kind words and open heart.  Belle Watling covers up Ashley's part in the attack on the yankees in the forest, where Scarlett was attacked, because of the way Melanie treated her during the war.  Belle even makes a point to say that if it had been Scarlett alone in that kind of trouble she wouldn't have helped at all.  If Scarlett could have gotten over her Ashley choosing Melanie for his wife sooner, the things they could have accomplished together would have been ridiculous. 

from augustani al cinema