Striking chords and touching nerves : myth and gender in "Gone with the Wind"

V. Eaklor

Scarlett's O'Hara's final words in Gone With the Wind may be the most recognizable, and quoted, in film history. Even those who haven't seen the film know the reference, a phenomenon evidentIy assumed by art critic Robert Hughes when he closed his recent eight-part video history of American art and architecture, "American Visions" with this of all lines. That the film is "popular" and has been literally since its premiere in December 1939 may be all too obvious, but less clear is the meaning and sources of this popularity. My claims are, first, that America's relationship to Gone With the Wind is more complex than "popularity" suggests and might be characterized as one of love/hate -- for the subject matter, the characters, even for the film's notoriety. Second, this love/hate relationship is rooted, I believe, in the ways in which American myths, particularly those related to sex and gender, are both referenced and then violated in this film, particularly in the character of Scarlett O'Hara.