Irvine Valley CollegeOnline Literature Study of the School of Humanities and Languages

Literature 110 - Popular Literature

Spring 2013 - Ticket #62740  // Marjorie Coverley Luesebrink, MFA, Instructor

Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

again, a Chapter-by-Chapter outline - here is is!  Spark Notes on *Gone With the Wind.*

 

Unit 5b : The Lure of Romance (continued)

 

As you can see, the "official" beginning of the "pulp" fiction Romance Genre tends to be pegged in the early 1970's.  But that is more or less simply a publishing convention - a story in which the main event is a relationship between a woman and a man has been around since at least the time of Anthony and Cleopatra!   What is more important, though, is the difference between Old World Romantic Fiction and New World Romantic Fiction.  They really have had different paths!

Anthony and Cleopatra (Ancient Romance)

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1895)

For the most part, the ancient romance, the Medieval Roman, and the love-and-relationship tales from the Romantic Era of Literature had always/already existed as "stereotyped" pieces in some way.  In these stories [Anthony and Cleopatra, Tristram and Isolde, Heloise and Abelard and so on] several semi-predictable elements were usually found.  

First, the lovers were "larger than life" - and more noble, as well.  Finer, more beautiful, selected above all humans by fate . . . .

Romeo and Juliet - one of the Movies

Second, the story tended to end tragically.  Death of both parties was in favor:  Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra.  Or they might have a fate of never seeing each other again (with other grisly details thrown in!):  Heloise and Abelard are perfect examples of the tragic end with both characters still alive but ultimately unable to be together. 

Heloise and Abelard.  If you don't know this love story - it is HERE.

Third, the story was clear about what was to blame:  FATE had determined that they would not be together.  [This act of fate might be war, strife between clans or countries, class differences (mistaken), or duty that calls.]

Finally, the lovers needed to be lovers for life and eternity.  In typical old country/European romances, the bonds of love were not severed by death - we had the feeling that this love was timeless and ageless and would endure forever in the great beyond.

Each one of these "given" traditional romantic conditions are important when we examine *Gone with the Wind* - because each of these conventions was overturned in one way or another by Mitchell.

It makes sense, then, to first make a distinction between European or Continental Romance Stories and those that were home grown in America.  

Something changed about "romance" in the journey across the sea, in the settlement of a new land!  This lecture will, in a sense, argue that the "American Romance Genre" is a kind of story unique to the US.

Spoiler Confession:  I realize that to discuss the pattern and plot of *Gone With the Wind* that I will have to reveal a lot more of the book than just the first 10 Chapters - but you will forgive me, I hope.  It is too good to put down, in any event!

First, the Patterned Structure of the American Romance Novel:

(Meeting of
Heloise and Abelard),
Angelica Kauffmann,
Musée de l'Hermitage, Saint-Petersbourg

Patterned Structure

This is from the Romance Novel section of Wikipedia.

According to the Romance Writers of America, the main plot of a romance novel must revolve around the two people as they develop romantic love for each other and work to build a relationship together. Both the conflict and the climax of the novel should be directly related to that core theme of developing a romantic relationship, although the novel can also contain subplots that do not specifically relate to the main characters' romantic love. Furthermore, a romance novel must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." 

The architecture of the structure, then, is generally laid out for the Romance Novel.  There needs to be a meeting of man and woman, a realization (even amidst denial) of a romantic relationship, a struggle to allow a relationship to develop, one or several obstacles to union, and then a resolution of sorts.  In the "standard-issue" Romance Novel the resolution is usually a happy one - but note what even the Romance Writers themselves say - it doesn't have to be that the lovers are now glued together - we just have to have an "emotionally satisfying" or "optimistic" ending.

Again, since the Romance Writers of America doesn't make its appearance until after 1970 - while *Gone With the Wind* was written in the 1930's - the relationship between *GWind* and later genre fictions is much like that of Mary Shelley with the horror and sci-fi stories that were influenced by her work.  

Mitchell's *Gone With the Wind* was such a popular success that it single-handedly shaped the entire genre of American romance writing to follow.  And, since her work sets the mold, Mitchell's writing is more subtle, more wide-ranging, has more sub-plots, and is less predictable than much of the work that would build on her very American idea of Romance.

 

Cover of American Romance Series

As we saw earlier, the Old Country/European model for the Romantic Love Story included four main elements.  Let us see how these are changed in Mitchell's work.  [In fact, most American romances tend to disregard important elements of the Old Model!]

First, the lovers were "larger than life" - and more noble, as well.  Finer, more beautiful, selected above all humans by fate . . . .

Oh my - Scarlett and Rhett?  Even in the first ten chapters of *Gone With the Wind* we can see that our lovers, neither of them, are models of nobility and moral integrity.  Rhett is simply a war profiteer.  Yes, he has money - but he clearly comes by it in many illegal ways.  He owns and runs a bordello.  He trades guns and ammo and whatever else the war needs on the black market.  He is a gambler.  He is a loan shark.  Even at the very last of the story, when Rhett mellows a little, he is still a bounder and a liar.  He makes peace with the old families of Atlanta only because he wants his daughter to be able to get into "society."  Well?  I know that our culture has developed a kind of indifference to criminal behavior as long as it makes money - but Rhett is not the kind of man we want our heroine to fall in love with!  Or do we?

Mitchell fixes this problem in an interesting way.  Scarlett does not consider herself in love with Rhett for most of the pages of the book.  That saves her from the literary problem of loving someone unworthy.  Instead, Scarlett spends most of the book madly hoping for a chance with Ashley. 

Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilke

[And he is, indeed, a prince of a man - noble in every way that we might judge character.  He is loyal to Melanie, he does his duty even when it is unpleasant, he respects the law and the rights of others, he suffers with the suffering of all of his loved ones.]

But of course, even the fact that she loves a man who is worthy of being loved does not really improve HER character!  She can be seen as shallow and selfish and self-absorbed right from the very beginning.  By Chapter 10 we realize that she might be a drama queen and a bit dishonest, as well.  Her character does not improve markedly for the rest of the book.  In fact, later on, even the behavior that "saves" Melanie and the rest of her family is not the result of selflessness on her part - and Mitchell makes that clear to the reader.  Scarlett's "heroic" actions are clearly the result of her own determination not to be poor any more!  

Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara

So why have American audiences adopted *Gone With the Wind* as the most favorite "romance" of the last century (and maybe this one as well?)  Good question - I would suggest that Americans do see themselves in these characters to some extent.  We know we are not perfect, and we are comfortable with main characters who are less than perfect heroes and heroines.  This is a great subject to ponder on the class discussion list!

This house is said to look like Twelve Oaks, Ashley Wilkes' home in *Gone With the Wind*

 

Second, in European or classic romances, the story tended to end tragically.  Death of both parties was in favor:  Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra.  Or they might have a fate of never seeing each other again:  Heloise and Abelard.  It goes on and on.  

In modern genre romances, we usually find that there is a marriage at the end - a very happy ending for both the lovers.  The books that end this way, though, are usually of the most "patterned" plots and intended for a certain kind of mass audience.

Still and all, there are many American romances that end somewhere in the middle.  Such a book is *Gone With the Wind*!  At the close, Scarlett and Rhett have parted, but we don't even really know if that is for good.  In any case, both parties are still alive - and Rhett even says that he will continue to let Scarlett live in the Atlanta house and that he will support her and come by from time to time.  Already in the story, Scarlett and Rhett have re-invented themselves several times - and we believe that another transformation is always possible, it would seem! 

 

More on Plot Patterns from WikiPedia -

Others, including Leslie Gelbman, a president of the Berkley Group, use a more shortened definition, that a romance must make the "romantic relationship between the hero and the heroine ... the core of the book."[2] In general, romance novels reward characters who are good people and penalize those who are evil, and a couple who fights for and believes in their relationship will likely be rewarded with unconditional love.[1] Bestselling author Nora Roberts sums up the genre, saying "The books are about the celebration of falling in love and emotion and commitment, and all of those things we really want."[3] Women's fiction (including chick lit) is not directly a subcategory of the romance novel genre, because in women's fiction the heroine's relationship with her family or friends may be equally as important as her relationship with the hero.[2]

Some romance novel authors and readers believe the genre has additional restrictions, from plot considerations such as the protagonists meeting early on in the story, to avoiding themes such as adultery. Other disagreements have centered on the firm requirement for a happy ending, or the place of same-sex relationships within the genre. Some readers admit stories without a happy ending, if the focus of the story is on the romantic love between the two main characters (e.g. Romeo and Juliet). Others believe the definition should be more strictly worded to include only heterosexual pairing. While the majority of romance novels meet the stricter criteria, there are also many books that are widely considered to be romance novels that deviate from these rules. Therefore, the general definition, as embraced by the RWA and publishers, includes only the focus on a developing romantic relationship and an optimistic ending.[4][5]

As long as a romance novel meets those twin criteria, it can be set in any time period and in any location. There are no specific restrictions on what can or cannot be included in a romance novel.[1] Even controversial subjects are addressed in romance novels, including topics such as date rape, domestic violence, addiction, and disability.[6] The combination of time frame, location, and plot elements does, however, help a novel to fit into one of several romance subgenres.[1] Despite the numerous possibilities this framework allows, many people in the mainstream press claim that "all [romance novels] seem to read alike."[7] Stereotypes of the romance genre abound. For instance, some believe that all romance novels are similar to those of Danielle Steel, featuring rich, glamorous people traveling to exotic locations.[8] Many romance readers disagree that Steel writes romance at all, considering her novels more mainstream fiction.[9]

Romance novels are sometimes referred to as "smut" or female pornography.[10][11] While some romance novels do contain more erotic acts, in other romance novels the characters do no more than kiss chastely. The romance genre runs the spectrum between these two extremes.[12] Because the vast majority of the romance novel audience are women, most romance novels are told from a woman's viewpoint, in either first or third person.[13]

 

Continue to next page -  to Unit 5c

 

More about *Gone With the Wind* - Lecture 5c

 

Return to Lecture Schedule

Romance:  

A very interesting site about contemporary romance fiction (note especially the sub-genres of this for publishing purposes):  http://www.writing-world.com/romance/romgenres.shtml

Popular romance writers are legion, so I chose only one site of a popular romance fiction author - but all you need to do to find out more about your favorite is to enter the name into Google Search.  But maybe some of you have read:  Nora Roberts - http://www.noraroberts.com/

Surprisingly enough, one of the best selling romance writers of today is actually a man, Nicholas Sparks, and we see his books on shelves and towels everywhere:  http://www.nicholassparks.com/TheNovels.html

 

 

Marjorie Coverley Luesebrink:  write to me with questions!

Marjorie Coverley Luesebrink, MFA, your Instructor, is a Professor of English in the School of Humanities and Languages, Irvine Valley College, Irvine, California.

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