Sarah Wheatley

The representation of women in Gone with the Wind

David Selznick’s adaption of Gone with the Wind has been firmly embedded within American popular culture. The film captures the tumultuous period surrounding the American Civil War and see’s protagonist Scarlett O’Hara, despite her flaws, emerge as a symbol of determination. Upon its release, the prominent white characters featured in this film offered female viewers a sense of empowerment, however, no equivalent character could be found for black viewers to relate to, the servants in this film being portrayed as comical and incompetent rather than as strong individuals.

Both the novel and Selznick’s film begin by focusing on Scarlett’s appearance, particularly her lust for life, which ‘shone through her eyes’. (Mitchell, 1992). The first time the viewer is shown Scarlett’s face in the film is through the use of a close-up, as she sits on the porch between the Tarleton twins. Whilst her appearance would denote that of a lady, her eyes betray her in this close-up, as it is clear by the way that she tries to hold back her tears that she has fooled herself into thinking Ashley Wilkes loves her. Béla Balázs argues that it is the eyes that are the most expressive part of the body and that through the use of close-up they would allow you to see into an individual’s soul. (Balázs, 2010). Selznick, therefore, draws us in by combining this technique with point of view shots so that we see many events happen through Scarlett’s eyes and root for her survival.

Significant to the story is when Scarlett takes on the burden of protecting Melanie, her baby and the servants. We see her go to great lengths to ensure their safety: marrying Frank in order to save Tara financially, collecting cotton in the fields with the servants, and all the while ignoring the idle gossip about her unladylike conduct; here Scarlett arouses disapproval because she is undermining female stereotypes, her business flourishing whilst many men were failing. Helen Taylor argues that because of the hardships that Scarlett’s character is forced to face and the tragedies that she must overcome, she represents for many viewers the heroine of

this story. (Taylor, 1989). The scene that perhaps best represents this change in Scarlett’s character is when she shoots the Yankee soldier who tries to steal from her. A close-up of the gun pre-warns us that Scarlett intends to use it to defend her household. In the aftermath of this event she expresses ‘I guess I’ve done murder’, showing no remorse for her actions which previously would have been inconceivable. In fact, rather than experiencing regret this traumatic encounter actually seemed to strengthen Scarlett’s resolve, as she was able to tell herself that whatever was thrown at her she could now overcome it.

There is an element of foreshadowing present in this film when Gerald tells Scarlett that the ‘land is the only thing in the world worth working for, fighting for and dying for’. Only when Scarlett experiences the uncertainty and hardship of war does the importance of this statement finally begin to make sense to her. In a dramatic sequence her silhouette can be seen standing against the red sky, its colour perhaps representative of her passion, as she raises her hand in a fist and vows never to go hungry again; the camera gradually zooms out and the music builds to a crescendo, giving us the impression that she has become a powerful and determined woman who has accepted Tara as her fight. This drive to defend her home is accompanied in the film by a suppression of emotion and a determination to look forward rather than fixating on the tragedies that have already taken place; hence, why Scarlett can be seen repeatedly holding back her tears as she refuses to look ‘backward, to dead times, to dead men, evoking memories that hurt and were futile’. (Mitchell, 1992). This point is reiterated by Selznick’s inclusion of the voices that can be heard calling her back to Tara at the end of the film, signifying just how important her home had become to her and leaving the story on an ultimately optimistic note.

Scarlett’s portrayal as a strong and resilient woman allowed many viewers in the 1930s to relate to her. They could see elements of themselves in Scarlett, and her ‘never give up’ attitude resonated with many of these women, who had just survived the Great Depression and were preparing themselves for another World War. Taylor argues that Scarlett’s return to find Tara still

standing was ‘undoubtedly an image of hope and inspiration’ for those whose homes were under constant threat from bombing. (Taylor, 1989). Molly Haskell similarly argues that Scarlett’ s portrayal as a strong working woman, who defies gender restraints, acted as a model for many women who had been forced to take on the responsibility of work in their husbands’ absence. (Haskell, 2009). Scarlett O’Hara, in spite of her flaws, represented this symbol of survival, inspiring young girls and reassuring women that they could endure the struggle of war.

Scarlett is not the only white woman who is portrayed as brave, as Ellen O’Hara and Melanie Hamilton are both depicted as strong individuals in their own right. The absent Ellen is a constant reminder of feminine virtue, having selflessly put the health of others above her own, whist Melanie despite her frailty never abandons her kindness throughout the story. Although Melanie never properly recovers from having her first child, she never once complains in either the novel or the film, it constantly being reiterated that in spite of her physical weakness she always has a strong heart. She even goes as far as to donate her wedding ring to the cause in one scene, only to have it returned to her by way of a letter from Rhett, who expresses his admiration of her courage and sacrifice. She is also portrayed as undeniable loyal, as even when gossip spreads that Scarlett and Ashley have been caught embracing, she never thinks to abandon her friend; the camera follows her as she walks towards Scarlett, kissing her on the cheek and welcoming her to the party, much to everyone and the audience’s surprise. In this way Melanie, like Scarlett, is portrayed as a resilient individual, her gentleness unwavering despite the changing situation around her, encouraging women never to lose sight of who they are.

In direct contrast to the detailed development of Scarlett and Melanie’s characters, the black women in this film are presented as undeniably one-dimensional, lacking any real personality and generalisations are often used to refer to them. Offensive stereotypes are drawn upon during Selznick’s adaption, Prissy being portrayed as hysterical and incompetent, whilst Mammy is shown to blindly dote on Ellen and Scarlett. Rather than being dominant, as Scarlett is, they often fade into the background of shots whenever white characters are also on screen; for example, in the scene in which the O’Hara’s are praying they are in the foreground of the shot, their faces in focus, whilst Mammy and the other black servants are blurred in the background. What’s more these black females are patronised and belittled, being likened to children, which places them outsight of the realm of the strong, respectable woman that an audience could relate to.

Despite the warmth of Mammy’s character she, like Prissy, is subject to the white perspective from which the novel and film were created, rendering her passive, as she is depicted as happily obeying the every word of Ellen and Scarlett. She is portrayed only in relation to the O’Hara family, there being no reference to her own desires or any indication of an emotional bond between her and the other black characters. (Cripps, 1983). James Loewen refers to the “magnolia myth”, which is fundamental to Gone with the Wind, in that the white women are mounted on pedestals, whilst the black field hands are depicted as

being care free and the house slaves devoted to the O’Haras. (Loewen, 1991). The film has, therefore, been criticised for its romanticised portrayal of these servants’ lives as care-free, as this was far from the truth for most individuals. Despite Mammy being portrayed as doting on the family she serves, she is not accorded the same respect in the film as she shows her mistresses. She is regularly not taken seriously by Scarlett and the dialect in which she talks makes her seem comical, as though she is muttering to herself rather than being portrayed as an influential women from whom people could draw strength. Although McDaniel was the first black actor to win an academy award for her performance as Mammy, some critics have pointed out that this may have been a political move, as Hollywood had seen the criticism that Birth of a Nation had encountered and hoped that this award would limit the disapproval that Gone with the Wind was subject to. In a way then, the fact that the film’s predecessor was as controversial as it was allowed Selznick some greater freedoms.

Whilst Gone with the Wind may not have suffered the same critiques that this earlier film did, outrage over the way in which Prissy was depicted couldn’t be avoided. The transition from novel to film caused her to suffer an even more harmful portrayal, as she is shown to be foolish, screaming in a high pitched voice and generally being incompetent. One scene, in particular, that displays this unintelligent characterisation of Prissy is when she claims to know how to deliver babies. When Scarlett sends her to get the doctor she returns singing, seeming detached from the urgency of the situation before confessing ‘I don’t know nothing about birthing babies’; having lied to her, Scarlett is yet again forced to take control of the situation, her competency being emphasised even more by the incapability of Prissy. The actress Butterfly McQueen, who played Prissy, herself complained that she suffered during the filming, not realising that she would be forced to play ‘just a stupid little slave’. (Taylor, 1989). Both Prissy and Mammy are portrayed as unwilling to adapt to the changing situation in the South, repeatedly asserting that they are ‘house servants’, unwilling to do the work of ‘field hands’, which they see as beneath them. They are, therefore, portrayed as hopelessly clinging on to how life used to be whilst Scarlett chooses to look forwards, the audience being given the impression that they would not have survived had it not been for her taking control of the situation. As a result of their representations, no such positive messages of determination and reassurance for black women could be drawn from this film.

Gone with the Wind can be seen to racially discriminate in its representation of women. Where the characters of Scarlett and Melanie develop over the course of the film, and we as an audience are able to relate to elements of their personality, Mammy and Prissy are not accorded the same privilege, the only characteristic that they display being that of loyalty to their mistress. When Scarlett defies stereotypes to emerge as this symbol of determination, the black women in this film are themselves stereotyped, allowing them little opportunity to develop as individuals, and denying black viewers positive examples that they could aspire to.

Bibliography

Balázs, Béla, Béla Balázs: Early Film Theory: Visible man and the spirit of film (New York: Berghahn Books, 2010).

Cripps, Thomas, ‘Winds of change: Gone with the Wind and Racism as a National Issue’, Darden Asbury Pyron (ed), Recasting “Gone with the wind” in American culture (Miami: University Presses of Florida, 1983).

Haskell, Molly, Frankly, my dear: Gone with the wind revisited (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009).

Loewen, James, ‘Teaching Race Relations from Feature Films, Teaching Sociology, 19:1 (1991), 82-86.

Mitchell, Margaret, Gone with the Wind (London: Macmillan, 1992).

Taylor, Helen, Scarlett’s women: “Gone with the wind” and its female fans (London: Virago, 1989).