The Bad Ass – Scarlett O’Hara

I read ‘Gone with the wind’ for the first time and let me tell you it took my breath away. And it probably burned a hole in my wallflower comfort zone.

During the beginning of the book, Scarlett comes off as a spoiled belle of the town. She’s a character you would take time to like and grow to admire. I initially wondered why on earth were people obsessed with such a character. But the thoughts vanished as I plunged deeper into the book.

The civil war in America, trashed the luxurious lives of Scarlett and her people. Stricken with poverty, no food, and no person to come and do the routine of saving the damsel in distress, this woman showed everybody that she can kick serious ass when it came to starting life from scratch and surviving the war.

The part where she states she would never be be poor or hungry again gave me the shivers.

In a time where women were seen and treated openly as inferior to men, Scarlet did everything a man did. She plucked cotton, shot a thief, built a mill, hired convicts to labour for her and moved around the dangerous place independently without the support of a man to protect her. And she married thrice during the course! (One being her sister’s beau)

She taught me so much! If only I read about her earlier, my immaturity would have been carried away by her gumption. I loved how she pushed uncomfortable and painful thoughts to think about later (only ‘later’ never seem to come). She adapted to the aftermath of a war, unlike several others who lurked in the comfort of their happy past, and she followed her heart to stand on her own feet, paying no heed to what society and friends said to her.

Ya, I'm sexy

And I loved Melanie Wilkes and sexy Rhett Butler as well.

When Rhett Butler explained to our feisty heroine that Ashley Wilkes didn’t deserve to survive the war, I was at awe. He made sense. Bad things happen, some beyond our control. We ought to fight and move on and not remain lost in time, dwindling on the past. Only the people who were worthy to fight, survived. The rest would fade.

Do you ever get the feeling when you read a well written character, they become alive in your head and you admire them as a role model, you feel guilty for not having the traits you admire in them?

Well. That happens with me. I felt almost guilty for having similar characteristic traits with Ashley Wilkes.

Serious damage to my thoughts about self but, nevertheless, awesome book. The characters will stay and Scarlett would probably haunt me forever.