Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to our readers! We recognize that many of our non-American readers might not celebrate the holiday, but whether you celebrate it or not, we hope you all enjoy our look at some GWTW-era Halloween traditions, along with a special slideshow of fancy dress fashion plates.   

Let's get things started. Back in the day, Halloween was celebrated more in the British Isles than on the U.S. side of the Atlantic. The handy Godey's Lady's Book explains more in this October 1872 essay about Halloween customs on both sides of the pond:

About the day itself there is nothing in any wise peculiar or worthy of notice, but since time almost immemorial All Hallow Eve, or Halloween, has formed the subject theme of fireside chat and published story. There is, perhaps, no night in the year which the popular imagination of the Old World has stamped with a more peculiar character than the evening of the 31st of October…

There is a remarkable uniformity in the fireside customs of this night throughout England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Nuts and apples are everywhere in requisition, and are consumed in immense numbers. From this fact the name of “Nutcrack Night” has often been applied, especially by the people of the north of England… But the grand sport of Halloween is the “ducking.” A number of apples are placed in a tub of water, and the juveniles— the use of their hands restricted— take turns in diving therefor, catching them with their teeth.

In this country Halloween was for a time strictly observed, but of late years it has been forgotten by almost all, except the juveniles. Amongst the old-style English, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh residents, the games mentioned above are practiced to some extent, and the occasion is also made noticeable for the baking of the old-fashioned potato pudding. Amongst the American people but little other sport is indulged in than the drinking, by the country folk, of hard cider, and the masticating of indigestible “crullers,” or “doughnuts.” The gamins make use of the festival to batter down panels, dislocate bell-wires, unhinge gates, destroy cabbage-patches, and raise a row generally. 

--Godey's Lady's Book, October 1872

Of course, these days, most people associate Halloween with dressing up in costumes and while that wasn't the practice in Scarlett's era, we couldn't let the day go by without mention of Victorian fancy dress...or fashion plates. You see, although it wasn't a Halloween tradition,  fancy dress parties in general were part of high-society social calendars. Costumes of literary or historical figures were popular choices, as were peasant costumes or "native" dress from foreign lands. Other common sartorial choices included representations of nature or the four seasons. 

So in honor of Halloween and Victorian costume parties, we've got a colorful selection of GWTW-era fancy dress styles below for you to enjoy. Happy Halloween!

Doppelganger Dresses, Part 9: Melanie's Dress for Scarlett's Wedding to Charles

Today Doppelganger Dresses features what I think to be Melanie's prettiest costume in GWTW, the blue and white gown she wears to Scarlett and Charles' wedding.

One of the unique features about Melanie's dress is the crisscross pattern of wide ribbons that decorate the hem of the skirt. It turns out that variations of this style were actually common in the early 1860s. With this in mind, we've found two dresses that bear resemblance to Melanie's own. Interestingly, both dresses incorporate pink instead of blue like the movie version. 

Check them out after the jump and let us know what you think.

Dolls, Drug Smuggling, and Civil War Blockade Runners

There's a blog post title I never thought I'd type. But check out the link below for a fascinating look at a clever way in which the Confederacy smuggled in contraband drugs for medicine. Doesn't this sound like a sly trick that Rhett would think up?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101027/ap_on_re_us/us_civil_war_dolls_2

Poster of the Week

This week's poster imagery also served as the cover art for the original 1939 movie premiere program. Don't Rhett and Scarlett look so elegant (and not at all angry at each other) in their surprise party finery? 

Image from moviegoods.com.

The Quotable Rhett Butler: Call Him Ishmael

This series is really forcing me to brush up on my Bible lately. Rhett Butler will make a believer out of me yet. This week, another quote that traces back to the Old Testament: 

"After the surrender Ashley had much more than I had when I was thrown out. At least, he had friends who took him in, whereas I was Ishmael."

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter XLIII

I will admit to scratching my head at this one, before paying a visit to my friend Google, of course. The only Ishmael I could think of top of my head was a roamer, but then he was also into hunting whales and stuff. I somehow didn't think that's what Rhett had in mind. But then Google revealed that Rhett actually meant to say "I was a wild donkey of a man," and it all started to make sense...

Ishmael was the eldest son of Abraham (Abram at that time, but let's keep it simple). Abraham's wife, Sarah, could not conceive so she sent him to sleep with her maid Hagar instead.  In the good tradition of the Old Testament where everything has to be terribly violent and terribly unfair, she then becomes abusive towards Hagar when the latter falls pregnant. Hagar tries to do the reasonable thing and run away, but God orders her to return to her mistress. He also takes this occasion to impart some happy news to her. Her son? will be awful: 

"He will be a wild donkey of a man; 

his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers."

                                   Genesis 16

Apparently, the "wild donkey" metaphor refers to the child growing up to be a wanderer, not an ass. (Not that they wouldn't both work for our hero, of course.) Fast forward a few years and Sarah gives birth to a boy that they name Isaac. She then conveniently notices that Hagar's son, Ishmael, is "mocking," whatever that means, and asks Abraham to send both mother and child away. God agrees, so Abraham sends them off into the desert with a little food and water. You know, just enough for them to die halfway. Which they don't, because God saves them and helps Ishmael fulfill his destiny of having a really, really big family. But that, my friends, is another story. 

So there you have it. That's what means to be cast out like Ishmael. And for being "mocking" nonetheless, Rhett couldn't have chosen a better analogy. It should be noted, however, how grim and violent his references to the Bible become when he talks about his father. Here he casts his father as Abraham, who might be an important biblical figure and all, but is also a little on the narrow-minded, abusive side of the spectrum (where "a little" is an euphemism) and definitely not the best father one could hope for in this life.

And this raises a question, that, if you choose to engage it, can be our topic of discussion for this week. Given the grim terms he uses to describe the event and the obvious bitterness towards his father, do you think Rhett resented being thrown out or welcomed it as well-deserved freedom?

Doppelganger Dresses, Part 8: Carreen's Twelve Oaks Dress

The youngest O'Hara girl is the subject of this week's Doppelganger Dresses. On the other side of the jump, you'll find a period fashion plate that features an outfit quite similar to the blue dress with geometric trim and yellow cap that Carreen donned for the Twelve Oaks barbeque. Take a look and, as always, let us know what you think in the comments. 

Additionally, be sure to check out sidebar where you'll find our new page, Walter Plunkett and the Costumes of GWTW. Here you'll everything related to our coverage of Gone with the Wind costumes, including a link to our bio of Walter Plunkett, our updated slideshow of Plunkett's sketches (thanks to reader D. for sharing her lovely sketches with us!), and a master list of links for Doppelganger Dresses series for easy reference.    

Rue de la Paix

Bonnie Butler makes her Rue de la Paix debut this week. No doubt the little Miss Butler would be the envy of the Atlanta pre-school set with all her goodies. 

Bonnie's Room by carol@themovies on Polyvore.com