Scarlett Rules

I was a fairly awkward sixteen-year-old girl when I first read Gone with the Wind. I was amazed to find such a vivid description of another sort of sixteen-year old: one not classically beautiful, but with attitude and self-confidence to spare. Lots of teenage girls become smitten with characters, real or fictional, who are their opposites, and draw confidence and inspiration from them. That’s what happened with Scarlett and me. I lived a bit vicariously through her flirting and charming, not to mention that huge wardrobe of dresses. And, because Margaret Mitchell didn’t write Scarlett’s dialogue in a Southern dialect, I never really thought of Scarlett as a distinctly Southern character. To me, she was, and is, a self-possessed Everygirl definitely on top of the world.

When I grew up and found myself in a sticky situation — particularly after one of my many readings of Gone with the Wind — I’d find myself asking, “What would Scarlett do?” Would she take a risk, or play it safe? Would she soldier on, or cower in fear?

I realized that, as a young businesswoman and single mother, Scarlett has much more in common with twenty-first century women than with her nineteenth-century peers in the novel. Like real-live modern women, Scarlett has her fair share of weaknesses as well as strengths. And women — and men — learn more from flaws and mistakes than they do from perfection and success.

While the film is lovely and captures the essence of the story, the novel more deeply explores Scarlett’s personality and her relationships with Rhett, Ashley, and her family. For instance, Scarlett had three children. In the novel it’s quite clear that Scarlett neither wanted nor liked children. However, the movie depicts only her close relationship with Bonnie, who is Scarlett’s and Rhett’s daughter. Another example: One of the key post-war characters in the book is Will Benteen, an injured soldier who convalesces at Tara, then stays on and becomes indispensable to Scarlett and her family. Will even marries Suellen, the sister Scarlett so despises. Will is not mentioned even once in the screen version, and he’s the closest thing to a friend Scarlett ever had.

She’s had a lot of influence, some blatant, but mostly subtle. There’s the famous Carol Burnett sketch where Carol, as Scarlett, wears the green-velvet curtains, complete with the curtain rod and curtain rings. In many ways Scarlett has seeped into the collective consciousness: “Tomorrow is another day” and “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” (Rhett’s line, I know) are common catchphrases. Too, the name “Scarlett” is synonymous not only with “Southern belle,” but also with a gutsy, no-nonsense woman from any part of the country.

Scarlett’s lessons are universal; they apply to both men and women. Most people, not just women, could probably stand to have a little more of Scarlett’s strengths, for instance, her resourcefulness and her resilience, not to mention her way with money. And most people could take a lesson or two from her faults; be more grown-up, for instance, and learn to not be swayed by illusions. The first chapter, “Pretty Is As Pretty Does,” certainly applies to men. Being handsome isn’t enough — manners and charm count as well. And the second chapter, “Dress The Part,” applies as well, especially when so many women seem to complain about the way their boyfriends dress.

That said, several Rules reference Scarlett’s more stereotypically masculine characteristics, for instance her ability to make decisions very quickly, and her lack of compunction about swearing when the situation calls for it!