Frankly m'dear...

Scarlett

To quote Linda Goodman's Sun Signs, Scarlett O'Hara is the "very
epitome" of the Aries woman. Well, I'm an Aries and when I read that,
at the age of nineteen, I thought I'd better read 'Gone With The Wind'.
Of course I'd seen the movie. But when I read the opening lines,
"Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but...", I had a feeling that the
outstandingly beautiful Vivien Leigh, who'd portrayed her on celluloid,
had only gotten the part 'cause I hadn't been born yet.

I had only to read the first few chapters before I looked over my
shoulder, lest the spirit of Margaret Mitchell was hovering. Have I
been had, I wondered. How come this odd Southern woman had written a
story about ME, I asked. But the book was absolutely NOT about me.
Scarlett was dark-haired and green eyed, I was blue haired (at the
time) and green eyed. I was an ex-punk, she was a Southern Belle. But
many fiery dames and I saw things we could relate to in her, the
have-a-go, nothing-ventured, nothing-gained streak that ran through her
like a fault in the earth's crust.

At the time of reading GWTW for the first time, I was pressing my
attentions on a man like Ashley Wilkes, the gentle, well-read gentleman
that Scarlett sets her cap on. Like Ashley, he was blond, grey-eyed and
as gentle as a wave. He really didn't deserve the hassle I was giving
him and just wanted to get on with his own life. His definition of that
term seemed to be hanging out with his mates at the college bar and
getting on with his Applied Science degree.

Naturally, there were a lot of Hollywood stars and starlets after the
coveted role of the feisty Southern Belle of Franco-Irish origin. In
all my years of film watching and very limited novel reading, I can't
recall another female role that has impressed me so much. None of your
Charlie's Angels for me or Sex in the City girls. As much as I enjoy
the latter, Scarlett has what none of them have. She's one of the lads.
Neither Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte or Miranda seem capable of being
mates with a guy, unless he's gay, and none of them are doing men's
work. The show's hilarious with it's emphasis on female solidarity, but
I must confess that the prospect of a girls' night out holds all the
appeal of a Bible reading circle for me. I'm more of a Boys are Back in
Town type, me.

And that's another notable trait that Scarlett has. Despite her love of
pretty clothes, she's - as the shrinks would say - a woman in touch
with her animus. That means she can put her own shelves up and change
the fuse wire when the leccy's buggered, thanks! And witness her
incarceration at a ladies' sewing evening, when the guys secretly go
out to track down her attacker. She's bored!

Sure, Scarlett uses her femininity to get to her male-orientated job,
but boy when she gets it... Let's not forget that this is a time when
women didn't work, and when they fluttered and came out with sweet
nothings, and very often there was sweet nothing in those pretty heads.
Scarlett does what she has to, but approaches it like a Celtic
warlord.

Some ask me why I love the character and GWTW so much. After all, it's
set in the Old South, where black people changed hands for money and
were kept in a state of childlike-ness. What's GWTW got then? In the
portfolio of political incorrectness, the bleeding lot - deforestation,
classism, lack of sisterliness, meanness to one's children (who?),
racism, shockingly racist language and no doubt historical
incorrectness, a husband stealer and a slimy man to whom you should
show the red card.

But the husband stealer is spirited and a joy to watch, and the slimy
man is shit-hot in the sack and buys her pretty frocks. He's the only
one to make her feel like a woman, though I'm not convinced that she
can handle tha,t or she wouldn't have made him run the gauntlet. The
drama knows no end, and there's the overall feeling that Ms O'Hara goes
out of her way to make life difficult for herself. Why else does she
chase that milksop Ashley Wilkes, when Rhett Butler's offering her a
trip to Europe on his dirty money? Because it's a lot more fun for us
to watch him pursuing her, that's why! And besides, he's so happy that
he can't have her, or else he too would be bored. Needless to say, I
always hope that they check into marriage guidance and live happily
ever after, once I've read the last page.