Gone With the Wind, the novel, changed my perspective on the film

Margaret Mitchell’s book revealed Rhett and Scarlet’s true colors

The 1939 film Gone With the Wind is based on Margaret Mitchell’s best-selling novel. My youngest son recently gave me the book for my birthday, and it has fascinating revelations.

In the film, Scarlett O’Hara (Vivienne Leigh) only had one child, Bonnie Blue Butler, with Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). The movie adaptation left some fans wondering whether Scarlet and her first husband, Charles Hamilton (Rand Brooks), had consummated their relationship before he went to war.

In Mitchell’s book, Scarlett had three children, one with each husband. The first was Charles’s son Wade Hamilton. Her second was a daughter, Ella Lorena Kennedy, with Frank Kennedy (Carroll Nye), and the third was Bonnie, who died after being thrown from her horse.

The film omits Will Benteen, a former Confederate soldier who shows up at Tara, loses his leg, and stays on to help the O’Hara’s rebuild the plantation. In the novel, Benteen marries Scarlett’s sister Suellen (Evelyn Keyes). The movie does not show a former overseer named Archie who was a convict but became a steadfast companion to the Tara family.

Still, the big screen version remains pretty much true to what was written and uses the exact wording in many situations. One change was the final scene where Rhett utters the famous line “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” In the book, it was actually written, “I don’t give a damn.”

Having watched the movie probably twenty-five times or more, I could easily follow along with Mitchell’s writing. There were a few characters in the book who were not mentioned in the film.

The Tara slave Pork (Oscar Polk) has a wife in the novel named Dilcey, who is Prissy’s (Butterfly McQueen) mother. When Pork wanted to marry her, Gerald O’Hara purchased both mother and daughter from another plantation for $3,000 so they would not be separated.

The book offers additional insight into the main and supporting characters, which adds more depth. This is especially true for Scarlet and Rhett. They are romanticized in the film, but in writing, Miss O’Hara is portrayed as being more selfish and self-serving.

The one person in print and on screen who sees her for who she really is is Mammy (Hattie McDaniel). Melanie Hamilton Wilks (Olivia de Havilland) seems completely oblivious to her sister-in-law’s true intentions.

Scarlett’s thoughts about Charles, as he professes his love and later asks for her hand in marriage, are downright nasty in the novel. In one conversation, Melanie calls her sister-in-law out for her unkind words.

Rhett has a darker past in the book and was involved with the KKK and the hanging of slaves. He also murders a former slave and a White man, and in the period after their daughter’s death, he descends into a deep, abusive depression and holds Scarlett hostage in an attempt to force her to have sex with him.

The close to 1,000-page novel is a long read and may be difficult for younger generations to digest. When I was growing up in the 1960s, I loved a good read like GWTW, but life is different now. In the world of TikTok and instant gratification, 1,000 pages may be too much for some to handle.

In addition, Mitchell writes in the manner that was prominent during her time. Her sentences are long and detailed. In today’s culture, this might seem boring or offer too much unnecessary information.

Initially, I skipped paragraphs and wondered why Mitchell was not getting to the point. Decades ago, I enjoyed the explicit detail, but now my brain has been changed by current society. I once could read a novel like this in three or four days, but found that after a few chapters of GWTW, I had to take a break.

I highly recommend Margaret Mitchell’s novel for fans of the film who have not read it. It is entertaining and informative. I suggest a chapter or two at a time to adapt to the writing style of 1936.

Some African Americans have expressed offense at the book and the film. I was not offended by what some consider racist content. I accept the novel and the movie as products of their era. I see both as educational tools and hope no one attempts a do-over.

Gone With the Wind should be preserved as is. The movie has already toned down what has been written. If you love the film, I suggest watching it before reading the book, then watching the award-winning classic again afterward to gain a better appreciation.

I came away from the novel feeling like Scarlett and Rhett behaved like selfish children and not the hero and heroine portrayed on screen, but hey, “That’s Hollywood.”