Wait. So following the lines of this hypothesis of yours, Gerald and Ellen would have been better off if Scarlett had broken her neck at the age of 0-6?
Surely the heartache she would've caused had she lived, couldn't be compared to the heartache her parents felt when she died. It was so intense MM had to water it down by presenting the accident's aftermath through Mammy's eyes. I get the impression of Rhett and Scarlett screaming at each other, not taking the effort to conceal it from the servants, Scarlett accusing Rhett of murder, Rhett threatening to kill Scarlett if she put Bonnie in the ground. Rhett falls into a fairly deep alcoholic spiral of depression and Scarlett herself fell into a deep state of depression, one she couldn't even analyse. Something was wrong with the world, a somber, frightening wrongness that pervaded everything like a dark impenetrable mist, stealthily closing around Scarlett. This wrongness went even deeper than Bonnie's death, for now the first unbearable anguish was fading into resigned acceptance of her loss. Yet this eerie sense of disaster to come persisted, as though something black and hooded stood just at her shoulder, as though the ground beneath her feet might turn to quicksand as she trod upon it.
I really doubt that anything Bonnie could do upon growing up could hurt her parents as much as her dying did. I also think that Rhett wouldn't have left if Bonnie hadn't died. It is fun to wonder what Bonnie would have been like as she grew up though. She does seem to be a monster of selfisness, paying very little attention to either of her siblings. But surely she was at least headed in a slightly different diection than Scarlett. I wonder what she would have been like when it came to boys.
"She does seem to be a monster of selfisness, paying very little attention to either of her siblings."
We don't really see her interact with them. And in any case, spending all her time with Rhett would have encouraged her to ignore her siblings. It seemed to be an established thing that Bonnie & Rhett and Scarlett & her kids were different teams. At least it looks that way when Scarlett takes Wade and Ella to Tara after her illness and there's no question of Bonnie going too.
"I wonder what she would have been like when it came to boys."
Full of daddy issues? Both psychological and of the "Daddy is guarding the door with a gun" type :P
Andrew, you are so right. I do believe that one half of the time we all, including myself, talk about these characters as if they are real people. I know that MM borrowed extensively from real life to create Scarlett, Rhett, Bonnie and the others, but they are creations of her mind as well. In a romantic comedy class I took I wrote about Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy versus Scarlett and Rhett. My Professor - without knowing that I was a GWTW fan- commented: " If I didn't know better, I'd swear Scarlett and Rhett were your personal friends or family members. You're taking this all too seriously."
I think Bonnie's death actually saved her parents a lot of heartache, considering the fact that she would have turned into another Scarlett.
ReplyDeleteWait. So following the lines of this hypothesis of yours, Gerald and Ellen would have been better off if Scarlett had broken her neck at the age of 0-6?
ReplyDeleteHeaven forbid! What would we all waste our time reading and obsessing over instead? Harry Potter?
ReplyDeleteSurely the heartache she would've caused had she lived, couldn't be compared to the heartache her parents felt when she died. It was so intense MM had to water it down by presenting the accident's aftermath through Mammy's eyes. I get the impression of Rhett and Scarlett screaming at each other, not taking the effort to conceal it from the servants, Scarlett accusing Rhett of murder, Rhett threatening to kill Scarlett if she put Bonnie in the ground. Rhett falls into a fairly deep alcoholic spiral of depression and Scarlett herself fell into a deep state of depression, one she couldn't even analyse.
ReplyDeleteSomething was wrong with the world, a somber, frightening wrongness
that pervaded everything like a dark impenetrable mist, stealthily
closing around Scarlett. This wrongness went even deeper than
Bonnie's death, for now the first unbearable anguish was fading
into resigned acceptance of her loss. Yet this eerie sense of
disaster to come persisted, as though something black and hooded
stood just at her shoulder, as though the ground beneath her feet
might turn to quicksand as she trod upon it.
I really doubt that anything Bonnie could do upon growing up could hurt her parents as much as her dying did. I also think that Rhett wouldn't have left if Bonnie hadn't died.
It is fun to wonder what Bonnie would have been like as she grew up though. She does seem to be a monster of selfisness, paying very little attention to either of her siblings. But surely she was at least headed in a slightly different diection than Scarlett. I wonder what she would have been like when it came to boys.
"She does seem to be a monster of selfisness, paying very little attention to either of her siblings."
ReplyDeleteWe don't really see her interact with them. And in any case, spending all her time with Rhett would have encouraged her to ignore her siblings. It seemed to be an established thing that Bonnie & Rhett and Scarlett & her kids were different teams. At least it looks that way when Scarlett takes Wade and Ella to Tara after her illness and there's no question of Bonnie going too.
"I wonder what she would have been like when it came to boys."
Full of daddy issues? Both psychological and of the "Daddy is guarding the door with a gun" type :P
It is never easier to lose a child than to watch them make mistakes because at least they are there to make the mistakes.
ReplyDeleteOkay, ya'll need to calm down and remember that this is a book we're talking about, not real life.
ReplyDeleteI know firsthand the effect the loss of a child has on a couple, so don't think the message is lost on me.
I suppose I should have prefaced my statement by saying, "In a way, ..." but whatever.
Andrew, you are so right. I do believe that one half of the time we all, including myself, talk about these characters as if they are real people. I know that MM borrowed extensively from real life to create Scarlett, Rhett, Bonnie and the others, but they are creations of her mind as well. In a romantic comedy class I took I wrote about Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy versus Scarlett and Rhett. My Professor - without knowing that I was a GWTW fan- commented: " If I didn't know better, I'd swear Scarlett and Rhett were your personal friends or family members. You're taking this all too seriously."
ReplyDelete