Scarlett O'Hara

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I started reading Scarlett the sequel to Gone with the Wind. The interesting thing about Scarlett O'Hara is despite how terrible of a person she is you still can't help rooting for her. She is selfish and a terrible mother but there's still part of you that wants her to get it together. She may be a terrible person but she is also strong and takes care of her family even if it is only out of obligation and not love. She spent so much time hating Melanie because she thought she loved Ashley and Melanie had Ashley. Throughout Gone with the Wind, you could tell Scarlett did like Melanie in her own weird self centered way. She of course didn't realize it until it was too late much the same way she didn't realize her love for Rhett until it was too late. Scarlett is far from weak and does everything in her power to keep surviving. She pushes away all negative thoughts until "tomorrow" which seldom comes and lives in her fantasy world where things fall into place and she is figures out that they don't and won't fall into place then she summons the strength to do what needs to be done no matter the expense to herself or others. She does what it takes to survive. As much as you want to hate the character there's always this part of you that roots for her. There's just enough likability in her to stay clinging even when you'd love to smack some sense into her. She is such a flawed character and most of the time is not a lovable one, yet you keep hoping she'll get it together. The interesting thing about Scarlett is that despite all of the harshness and loathing she has towards those around her she'd also do anything in her power to make sure everyone survives. She did whatever it took to survive even if it meant humbling herself, but she never stayed humbled. She fought to get to the top and she did whatever it took to stay there. She had people talking about her and how unladylike she was. Women just didn't do things like run businesses and take care of themselves. They needed a man and Scarlett proved she could do it on her own. If the character of Scarlett had been born in this time she'd be a pioneer and a CEO of some corporate enterprise. That said if she had been born today she'd also probably be one of the most hated women in America. Scarlett was strong yes, but had no clue what it was like to truly love someone enough to put her own greed and selfishness aside. Scarlett is so well written in that as much as you hate her you also like her. It's tough to find a character you can both hate and admire who you want to see both fail and succeed and Margaret Mitchell really wrote the character well. You see her love for those she truly cares about like her parents and Mammy and you see her hatred towards her sisters. You see as she both loves and hates Melanie. You can tell her love for Ashley is superficial and you see as she falls in love with Rhett while still clinging to Ashley because "loving" Ashley was a reflex. Scarlett is such a complex character. I'm reading Scarlett and while so far I like it you can tell Margaret Mitchell didn't write it. There's just a different feeling to the character of Scarlett. You can definitely see some of Margaret Mitchell's Scarlett in there but there's still something missing. I know in Scarlett she is trying to redeem herself and after she has lost so many people it is bound to change her but there's just something different. It's not simply because she's a changed person because there is definitely some of that selfish Scarlett in there but there's a difference in the character that is simply because she is being written by a different author. I don't hate the story but it's not a smooth transition from one book to the next you'd expect from the same author. I'm still enjoying the book but I do wish Margaret Mitchell had written a sequel but from my understanding, she had never planned one. She had always planned for Gone with the Wind to be a stand alone book. We were meant to be left to our own imaginations as to what happened after Rhett walked out.