tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post8131074941871429267..comments2011-08-07T15:11:29.064-05:00Comments on How We Do Run On: The Making of a Masterpiece: An Interview with GWTW Author Sally Tippett RainsThe Old Guardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862747970556035077noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-35120407407713226442010-10-14T01:24:45.678-05:002010-10-14T01:24:45.678-05:00We can exchange e-mails through Bugsie.We can exchange e-mails through Bugsie.iris354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-73199393537533998942010-10-13T21:32:37.155-05:002010-10-13T21:32:37.155-05:00If you didn't find other options to exchange e...If you didn't find other options to exchange email addresses, you can send us an email at gwtwscrapbook at gmail dot com and we can pass your email address to Iris. Just a thought.Bugsiehttp://gwtwscrapbook.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-84612695376686414832010-10-13T19:54:04.512-05:002010-10-13T19:54:04.512-05:00Oh Iris, yes please! That would be wonderful! You&...Oh Iris, yes please! That would be wonderful! You're so kind! How do I email you to sort out details?MCM84noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-36501044024711709702010-10-13T19:38:35.444-05:002010-10-13T19:38:35.444-05:00I did read Lost Laysen a long time ago. Like you, ...I did read Lost Laysen a long time ago. Like you, I had the impression that I was given an insight into the character of the woman who wrote GWTW there, in the themes she preferred etc. And for some reason, it worked for me, I could imagine MM like that.Bugsiehttp://gwtwscrapbook.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-19730952665080468612010-10-13T19:38:13.174-05:002010-10-13T19:38:13.174-05:00Iris, thanks so much for the quotes. They help bri...Iris, thanks so much for the quotes. They help bring everything into perspective.Bugsiehttp://gwtwscrapbook.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-50480500055274525992010-10-13T19:37:09.296-05:002010-10-13T19:37:09.296-05:00Rita, thank you for this interview. You add so mu...Rita, thank you for this interview. You add so much to the discussions here, and now, this wonderful glimpse into Sally's research for her book. Fantastic! I wish I could attend the event, I would love to see Sally's copy of the Mitchell family scrapbook.Iris354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-44272270683832572022010-10-13T19:37:02.664-05:002010-10-13T19:37:02.664-05:00Last winter I ordered Sally's book from Amazon...Last winter I ordered Sally's book from Amazon and due an error on my part, ended up with two copies. If you would like my second copy (brand new), I would be happy to sell it to you at half price + shipping. E-mail me.<br /><br />Re: MM & Annie Fitzgerald, from what I've read, Annie lived with the Mitchells for a while after May Belle died. She and Margaret fought frequently, and had a final falling out over Margaret's brief marriage to, and subsequent divorce from Red Upshaw.<br /><br />"The two characters are essentially the same age. Scarlett was born in 1845 and Annie in 1844. Both had Irish Immigrants for fathers, native American Catholic women for mothers. Both were girls amid a raft of exclusively female children. ... Both Scarlett and Annie were born and bred in rural Clayton County and both made their careers in Atlanta, but neither surrendered her obsession with country real estate.<br /><br />"Not to defame Annie Stephens, their characters bore notable parallels as well. If Mitchell's grandmother remained fiercely within the bosom of the church, kept one husband all her life, and avoided the sexual and social peccadillos of the fictional heroine, still, family lore depicted her as grasping, possessive, and materialistic; a kind of natural capitalist; devoid of sympathy as a mother, friend, or landlord. As as the fictional character, too, she was furiously headstrong, willful, stubborn, aggressive, and determined. Also like Scarlett, Annie Stephens cared little for books and culture. In the same way, if for different reasons, she was estranged from the polite Atlanta of her day. She, too, like Scarlett, prided herself inordinately on her huge Victorian house..." (Southern Daughter by D.A. Pyron, p. 252Iris354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-91027241443567056002010-10-13T19:27:18.453-05:002010-10-13T19:27:18.453-05:00What a great point! It makes complete sense. Even ...What a great point! It makes complete sense. Even though Solange died before Scarlett was born, she still had this strong connection to her, mainly through Mammy's stories, which were meant to shock, not inspire! I wonder when Annie died, and if Margaret really knew her. The scene were Scarlett and Rhett talk in the buggy, when she is pregnant and ends up vomiting, is quite interesting. Rhett is saying they are both throwbacks from their grandparents and Sacrlett says she wonders what their grand children will be like. Hmmm, maybe Scarlett might've ended up with a grand daughter who wrote epic novels! <br />Yes, I'm keen to get my hands on a Sally's book and Herb's three-day premiere. They're not easy to come by in Australia though, so I might have to order. <br />I'm fascinated by Margaret Mitchell. I can't read the book without seeing her character and essence on every page. I'm so interested to know all I can about such an amazing woman. Have you read Lost Laysen? It's the novella she wrote when she was 16, but it's also a collection of love letters and photos she sent one of her failed suitors. They give great insight into her personal life and emotions. In GWTW Letters, she writes quite formal letters and give very little away. And the pics are just great!MCM84noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-21901781755324965382010-10-13T17:53:26.088-05:002010-10-13T17:53:26.088-05:00Well, we might consider a post on the topic in the...Well, we might consider a post on the topic in the (very distant future), relying on the MM biographies, but for now I think the easiest way to find out more about Annie is from Sally's book. I will admit I don't know much on the topic. Before starting the blog, I didn't really have an interest in Margaret Mitchell's life, so I am still in the process of learning about it. <br /><br />I think MM mixed elements from different persons in creating Scarlett. There are definitely similarities between her and her heroine, but there is no reason way her grandmother couldn't have been an inspiration as well. Also, it might be telling that Scarlett feels so close to her own grandmother. If that whole theory that grandchildren resemble grandparents more than they resemble their parents reflects MM's view, perhaps she identified herself with Annie.Bugsiehttp://gwtwscrapbook.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-83314209781302940272010-10-13T17:53:16.996-05:002010-10-13T17:53:16.996-05:00Yeah, we've had a slow week at the blog. Schoo...Yeah, we've had a slow week at the blog. School, a cold (and okay, a tiny dose of laziness as well :) delayed my posting. Corrected that today. <br><br>I was intrigued as well by the final answer. I can't say I've considered the idea of a misleading narrator in that scene, but I did wonder if Scarlett is not just deluding herself. If there is any reason to think that her love for Rhett is in any way different than her now defunct love for Ashley, and not just an obsessive feeling, quickly fueled by the fact that she can't have Rhett anymore, that will go away at some point. After all, throughout the book she assures everyone that her love for Ashley is real and eternal, just as she assures Rhett (and the readers at the end) of her current feelings. <br><br>As for whether Rhett is meant to be taken at face value in that scene, Rita and I had this discussion a while back. She brings some very good arguments that he might not be telling the truth and that the final scene is yet another case of cross purposes and misunderstanding for Scarlett and Rhett. If you're interested, I think this was in the comments for the first guest post from Shaninalux.Bugsiehttp://gwtwscrapbook.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-5406174092476395222010-10-07T08:56:57.487-05:002010-10-07T08:56:57.487-05:00I am quite interested in learning more about Annie...I am quite interested in learning more about Annie Fitzgerald. Were they living in Atlanta? Or did they live on a plantation? And if he just moved down the street, did they maintain a relationship, or even continue to see each other? <br />I wonder at Sally's comment that Margaret's family was angry at her for not saying the book was about their family. They obviously weren't as private as she was. I know it's said that the character of Scarlett was inspired by Annie Fitzgerald, but it's my belief that the chief inspiration was MM herself.MCM84noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156452579073833353.post-72472087717299870852010-10-07T08:50:31.774-05:002010-10-07T08:50:31.774-05:00Wow, what a busy week! I've hardly had a chanc...Wow, what a busy week! I've hardly had a chance to check out my beloved How we do run on! It looks like it's been quiet around here too. Maybe everyone wore themselves out on the weekend (37 posts)! <br />The conference sounds amazing! I wish I lived in America so I could go, actually, I'll reword that, I wish I could afford to go to America (no offense guys) for it. <br />Thank you Rita for that interview. It was really interesting. I particularly liked the final response. It's not often you hear someone well versed in GWTW say so decidedly that she gets him back. I had never even considered the misleading narrator option. But of course it could be a valid theory. So if Sally is saying it was a trick by MM, and she hadn't realised her love for Rhett, does that mean Scarlett went back to loving Ashley? That, I can't really imagine. Ashley's shine had already started to tarnish in Scarlett's eyes, ever since the events of 1871, and after the events and thoughts of that particular evening in 1873, I can't imagine she'd be happy to adopt the wet rag that Ashley had become the following day. Rhett never told the whole truth at any point in the novel, so why are we assuming so much finality to his words in the final scene? I can imagine Scarlett using Ashley to make Rhett jealous. Scarlett's feelings for Ashley had never been meant to make Rhett jealous, so she might start employing those kinds of tactics. Though post-narrative the stakes are pretty high - no mindless flirting for either men. And I feel that Ashley would feel honour bound to marry Scarlett the moment she ever divorced (one element of Scarlett I agree with). <br />Like MM (the other one) I don't know what happened, but I always imagined Scarlett spending the rest of her life pining for lost love and regretting her actions. Though I will say that I feel if she couldn't have Rhett, she would marry someone else with plenty of money.MCM84noreply@blogger.com