Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas
explored in a literary work.
The Permanence of the Land
As Gerald tells Scarlett in the opening scenes of the
film, the land should be cherished because it can survive humanity’s
recklessness. However, it is not until Scarlett escapes from Atlanta
and returns to her destroyed home that she begins to believe her
father. Though her entire way of life is gone, she fights to keep
the land because it is all that remains of the world she lost. While
she is in Atlanta making her fortune, Scarlett knows that the land
will be there waiting for her. After Melanie, Bonnie, and Rhett
are gone from her life, Scarlett uses the land as a starting point
to help her rebuild. The South, too, lives through the horrors of
war and remains unbroken, though it is forever changed. The Old
South is gone, but as long as the land remains its people will always
be able to start life over again.
The Real Cost of War
Shying away from scenes of dramatic battles and military
heroism, Gone With the Wind expresses the true
horrors of war by showing the destructive effect it has on people
caught in the crossfire. Rather than focusing on glinting sabers
or dramatic cannon fire, the film instead concentrates on the pain-twisted
faces of hundreds of mutilated and dying soldiers. The cynical Rhett
is commended for his wartime “heroism,” but those few words of praise
are quickly overshadowed by the mobs of people desperate to hear
whether their loved ones are alive. Death is a frequent occurrence.
Dr. Meade’s family gathers close as they mourn the loss of their
oldest son and brother. When the younger boy swears vengeance against
the Yankees, Melanie squelches the young man’s desire with a simple
truth: it would do his parents no good to have both their sons dead.
Self-reliance As the Key to Success
The characters in Gone With the Wind are
most successful when they depend on no one but themselves. Scarlett
refuses to listen to other people’s opinions and builds a successful
business relying only on her own judgment and skills. Her insistence
that Ashley be by her side is only an impediment. Melanie, too,
refuses to allow the opinions of others to influence her, and while
some call her judgments foolish, she dies having lived a happier
life than anyone she leaves behind. Rhett, rejected by his family,
builds his fortune through his own confidence and abilities. Though
he remains unbeaten by war and Yankee imprisonment, his need for
Scarlett’s affection eventually drains him of his strength. Only
at the end of the film, when he heads out on his own, does he find
his feet again.
Personal Strength Can Lead to Loss
Though strong characters succeed through the Gone
With the Wind, the film suggests that strength is often
a person’s undoing. Scarlett, who has beaten poverty, the Yankees,
and public opinion, loses the man she has come to love because she
is too stubborn to see that she was wrong about Ashley. Melanie,
who has enough emotional strength to carry every other character
in the film on her shoulders, dies when her pregnancy proves to
be too much. Gerald, whose bravery made him such a skilled horseman,
dies taking a final, reckless jump. The determination that made
Rhett a successful smuggler and social black sheep proves to be
his undoing and causes him to stay with Scarlett long after he should
have let her go.
