Giving a Damn about Scarlett

Gone with the Wind has been enjoyed mightily but seldom taken seriously. Some have attacked it as politically incorrect, while other have dismissed it as a moonlight-and-magnolias romance. Yet, almost a century after it was written, the novel still sells over 100,000 copies a year, the film adaptation appears on every list of all-time greats, and just about everybody knows who will "think about it tomorrow" and who "doesn't give a damn." Scarlett O'Hara, in fact, has become one of the most famous fictional characters ever created - an icon, a legend, a representative personality type, almost on a par with Hamlet. How has that happened? Moonlight-and-magnolias romances don't leave that kind of lasting impression. Plenty of books and articles have been written about Scarlett and her appeal, but few have risen above the level of the fan magazines. Isn't it about time someone took a serious look?