GREAT LITERARY LADY: Scarlett O’Hara
Portrayed on screen by Vivien Leigh in 1939, the heroine of Margaret Mitchell’s novel had more spirit than the Hollywood censors would allow. Scarlett O’Hara, the terror of Tara, with her wasp waist, raven-black hair and conniving green eyes, is the type of wicked heroine even the most angelic of girls can’t help but admire.
Languishing under a magnolia tree, twirling her parasol and trilling ‘fiddle-dee-dee’, Scarlett’s fragile appearance masks a steely determination to succeed in a man’s world. Collecting suitors is a game to her, but she has her eye on the one man she cannot have: Ashley Wilkes. And then, much to her exasperation, the American Civil War spoils her fun.
By the end of the war, Scarlett has saved Tara, her family’s crumbling plantation, has committed murder and accumulated three husbands. The third being the caddish Rhett Butler, who tempts her into marriage with his ill-gotten millions. Behind his roguish ways, Rhett loves Scarlett but she does not care for such sentimentality, or for their child, Bonnie. Her heart still belongs to Ashley Wilkes, the unobtainable object of her affection. And, as all cautionary tales go, Scarlett loses the ones who love her most. Bonnie dies, and then Rhett walks out on her, with the iconic line: ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.’
There is no happy ending for Scarlett, but we’ve seen enough to know she’ll survive: ‘After all, tomorrow is another day.’
Languishing under a magnolia tree, twirling her parasol and trilling ‘fiddle-dee-dee’, Scarlett’s fragile appearance masks a steely determination to succeed in a man’s world. Collecting suitors is a game to her, but she has her eye on the one man she cannot have: Ashley Wilkes. And then, much to her exasperation, the American Civil War spoils her fun.
By the end of the war, Scarlett has saved Tara, her family’s crumbling plantation, has committed murder and accumulated three husbands. The third being the caddish Rhett Butler, who tempts her into marriage with his ill-gotten millions. Behind his roguish ways, Rhett loves Scarlett but she does not care for such sentimentality, or for their child, Bonnie. Her heart still belongs to Ashley Wilkes, the unobtainable object of her affection. And, as all cautionary tales go, Scarlett loses the ones who love her most. Bonnie dies, and then Rhett walks out on her, with the iconic line: ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.’
There is no happy ending for Scarlett, but we’ve seen enough to know she’ll survive: ‘After all, tomorrow is another day.’