More than anything I saw his slow
conquering of Scarlett's heart as a parallel to the slow enveloping of the
South by the North until they realized they were dependent on their conquerors
but could still maintain their fierce spirit, a marriage of North and South.
The fact that she could never fully understand him shows the divide between to
two philosophies. But does the South lose in this blending? Can't they adopt
the intellectual ways of the North and still maintain their civility? Just like
Ashley, they would rather have dreamt and remembered than changed.
The characters in the book are so vivid
that like or dislike you cannot get them out of your head. There are no more
vibrant characters in the history of literature that Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett
Butler. There is a reason this book is a classic. Everyone should read it at
least once in their life to appreciate the civil war and understand the sadness
and loss that enveloped the country.
