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The Great Gone With the Wind Readalong – Part 5 (Chapters 48-63)

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Before We Get Started…

If you’re here, it means you survived both the emotional rollercoaster and this very long readalong…and I’m so excited to have finished the book in the presence of such great discussion and input! 

Congrats to Diane, who won a copy of the movie adaptation of Gone With the Wind. For this week, I will be giving away a signed copy of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind by Ellen Firsching Brown and John Wiley (our last winner was unable to claim her prize, which means one more lucky winner!). 

Part 5

I have been reading GWTW in a cheap paperback edition this time and seeing familiar words in unfamiliar type on strangely-sized pages has given me a bit of new perspective on the book.  This time around (after countless readings), I was surprised at how bleak Part 5 is and how quickly it read.  Of course, it is well known that Margaret Mitchell wrote the book’s famously dramatic and ambiguous conclusion first, and indeed it seems the most to the point section of the book.  The vividness of history fades a bit as we focus more closely on the characters and their various (tragic, bitter, unsatisfying) resolutions. What follows is a hodgepodge of impressions as the book closes: 

Though this section lacks the virulent racism of Part 4, there are a few passages that still shock with their WTFness, particularly the passage in which Rhett and Ashley team up to obliterate the Klan in Georgia (???).  I found this surprising and kind of random. 

Ashley comes off as even lower and lamer in this section…his complaints about Rhett’s supposed debasement of Scarlett were so misguided and inappropriate that I almost threw the book across the room.  I did relish the portion in which Scarlett, aware at last of his milquetoast non-appeal, realizes that he will be nothing but another child to raise to her in the future. 

Mitchell is even more overt about the parallels between Rhett and Ashley in this portion.  So why do I love Rhett so much more?  😉 

I actually think the first moment of maturity in Scarlett can be seen in her interaction with Ashley before the scandal breaks. 

Um, can we please discuss Scarlett and Rhett’s hot-n-heavy night?  Rape or just hot power-play sex?  Does it really take this total break from propriety to awaken Scarlett to her own sexuality?  How is it possible for her to not understand Rhett’s feelings toward her at this point (um, aside from him possibly raping her)?

Surprisingly to me, Scarlett’s miscarriage and subsequent estrangement from Rhett was far more painful and bleak than Bonnie’s death.  The events that follow are a quite agonizing litany of bad news, and a great example of an author putting her characters through their paces.  As I read, I felt laden down with care and worry and kind of numb and dissociative, like Scarlett.  But, as Mammy points out, Scarlett can bear what she is given to bear, however disgracefully.  I wonder if that might not be the secret of her long-term appeal and durability as a literary character…she survives even savvy and ironic Rhett. 

Melanie’s death seemed rushed to me this time (I mean, in addition to being a total shock anyway).  I noticed this time that MM teases us with a few passages from Melanie’s perspective before killing her off. 

Scarlett’s real dissociation and brokenness is revealed in this section.  She reminds me of the alcoholic who must bottom out in such shame and loss that she loses all before she begins to recover.  But I am still unconvinced of her ability to move forward with the knowledge she has gained. 

It strikes me that Rhett is as well-drawn as Scarlett, and I am constantly amused and surprised by the greatness of MM’s character development and illustration. 

The parting between Rhett and Scarlett…I found myself surprised at his showing his age so severely and pained at the agony he had obviously endured.  But, as has happened the last few times I have read this book, the part that brought tears to my eyes was Scarlett’s revelation that a man who has done what Rhett has done must have loved to distraction

All in all, the end of this book always impresses me with its greatness…its gravity, humor, insight into human nature, pitiful portrayal of a broken woman, and magnum opus style juggling of history and personal story. 

Discussion Prompts

Feel free to respond to some of these questions to get the discussion going. There’s no right or wrong answer!

Thoughts on Part 5? 

Tara: Will Tara help or heal now that Scarlett has lost everything?  

Family:  Scarlett seems relatively disconnected from her blood family in this portion (granted, many of them have died), but this section deals heavily with the family feud between Melanie and India in a way that draws attention to the complex and extended ideas of family in post-war Georgia. 

Sex: …yeah.  Please discuss That Night, its repercussions, inappropriate/appropriateness, and anything else that crosses your mind.  The parallels drawn between Scarlett and Belle were particularly interesting this time ’round.

The little details: I loved the Wade-ness in Part 5, along with the descriptions of Scarlett’s ridiculously overt abode. 

Minor Characters:  Many side stories are wrapped up in this portion, though “new people” are also introduced (and quickly dispensed with).  Who did you love and loathe? 

The End:  How did you like the book, in totum?  What do you think happens to Scarlett and Rhett?  (This time around I noticed that he promised to come back on occasion to maintain respectability…that roguish Mitchell!)  What are your final thoughts? 


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