[stylist] Gone With The Wind; some interesting thoughts

[Barbara HAMMEL]

LOL! I was horribly put out with that book because I wanted Scarlett to marry Ashley Wilkes. I was so disappointed that Margaret made him such a pitiful character. And I hated Melanie. Funny that you saw Scarlett as forthright. I saw her as a real game player. I always felt sorry for Rhett getting involved with her. 
My parallel to this book is that I have a niece named Scarlett. Alexandra Ripley's "Scarlett" was coming to television and my sister kept seeing commercials for Scarlett plates — like the ones you eat from but are for decoration. 

Barbara Hammel

> On Sep 18, 2017, at 18:52, Bill Outman via stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Good day.  
> 
> 
> 
> I have recently finished reading Margaret Mitchell's classic Gone With The
> Wind and have had a number of insights that are relevant to myself and may
> also have import to all of us as people with a disability issue, namely
> blindness.  This can be seen through the lens of other people groups that
> struggled with their place in society.  
> 
> 
> 
> To be sure, the tale is told from the point of view of slaveholders and must
> be viewed with this bias in mind.  Still, there is much to consider in the
> characters and how they interact with each other and the larger society.  
> 
> 
> 
> For the first time I gained some critical insights into relationships at
> some deeply granular levels I have struggled with.  I have been frustrated
> with not knowing about and being uncomfortable with the games people play
> with each other when pursuing romance.  It seems coquetry is rewarded ahead
> of forthrightness, that if one is forthright one is perceived to be
> childlike and incapable.  That could be an issue for some of us as people
> with disabilities and blindness in particular, we know.  Rhett at the end
> considers Scarlett to have childlike emotions, though this is actually
> questionable.  
> 
> 
> 
> Though she has some inner dfear, Scarlett is actually a person of strength
> in many ways, and ahead of her time in terms of success as a business woman.
> While on some levels encouraging, people are uncomfortable with her success,
> and we may have some similar issues when success does come our way.  
> 
> 
> 
> I think we can also identify to a degree with the struggle of black people
> to become integrated after emancipation.  Note that some were uncomfortable
> with their new position, while others may have said the right words but
> didn't offer the correct support through the system of the society.  
> 
> 
> 
> There are some interesting coincidences with my personal story.  
> 
> 
> 
> I am looking forward to making use of these insights as well as those in
> JohnGray's relationship book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, a
> serious treatment of gender issues of relatively recent vintage, which I am
> currently reading.  For many of us with vision loss from youth, adequate
> advice about pursuing social relationships effectivelycan be hard to come
> by.  It certainly was for me.  
> 
> 
> 
> I welcome feedback from those who have read the Mitchell book on their
> thoughts.  One thing I'm curious about is if there is a minimum recommended
> age for reading this novel.  I ask because of the coming of age aspects of
> the story.  I wonder if books like this would have been helpful with my
> coming of age issues back in the day.  
> 
> 
> 
> Bill Outman 
> 
> I lost my vision totally at age 19 and found I had to seriously adjust my
> way of life just as I was coming of age, just as Scarlett suddenly had to
> manage Tara.  Her first born son was named Wade, and I have a nephew by that
> name.  Scarleet's ancestral lineage contains the family name Robbilard, and
> I had a teacher by that name during my brief seminary experience before
> losing my vision.  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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