What Would Scarlett Think???????????????????????

                             On Sunday, April 7, which marked the seventeenth anniversary of this blog, David and I went to celebrate another anniversary--the eighty-fifth anniversary of the release of "Gone With The Wind."  I can't quite recall the number of times I have viewed it, but I would guess somewhere in the forties.

                              As I stated previously, this film has the greatest wardrobe of all time.  But I came out of this particular viewing with some very specific questions, which I will try to answer.

                              What would Scarlett, were she here today, think of the South as it is?

                                Scarlett, I can tell you, is all about adaptability.  She had no use for fools who would not help themselves, nor did she suffer fools gladly.  She was one to move forward, and never look back, and that is why I think she would turn her back on today's South.  Marjorie Taylor Greene and that MAGA crowd go against everything Scarlett stood for.  A shrewd entrepreneur in her time, in ours she would glom on to social media, if it meant making a profit.  Scarlett, in her own way, might have become, and probably would, as successful as ANNA WINTOUR. Who by the way, called Scarlett "the most fashionable woman in literature."  Hail to you, ANNA!

                                 What would have happened, had Bonnie lived????????????

                                  Well, for a time, things might have improved with Scarlett and Rhett.  But children do grow up, and once Bonnie hit puberty, my guess is she would start showing some of her mother's good and bad traits.  Which would hurt Rhett to see, as he doted on her in childhood.  This might even drive a wedge between she and Rhett.  Though sad, it was probably inevitable that Bonnie died; by the time she reached young womanhood, Scarlett and Rhett would not have a child to live for.  Which would drive an emotional wedge between them now, and Rhett ultimately would have left Scarlett.

                                  What about Ashley???????????????????????????????

                                   After the war, Ashley was clearly a broken man.  Today it might be said he suffered from PTSD.  Melanie was his rock, and when he lost that, he lost everything.  But Scarlett promised Melanie she would look after Ashley, and his son, Beau, and if it is one thing Scarlett did, it was to keep her promises.  Beau would grow up with all the things Melanie would have wanted for him, thanks to Scarlett, and Ashley might, in time, mend, free of Scarlett's maddening infatuation, and start focusing on himself.   The world Ashley loved is gone forever, but Scarlett would slowly help him emerge into the world that is.

                                   And, in response, to the question most often asked--

                                  No, she never got Rhett back.  Two such strong personalities could not exist under one roof.  But all having gone before would allow Scarlett some time to think.  As she aged, she most likely mellowed, with Beau compensating for what she was unable to give Bonnie, and while still pursuing wealth with all the zeal and success of before, a sense of empathy and caring might emerge in her later years.

                                       To paraphrase Dickens, these are the shadows of what I see.  You are welcome to agree or disagree.

                                        Still, this story has one of the greatest narratives of all time, which makes one wonder about the characters, after the story has ended.

                                          "After all, tomorrow is another day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"