Anyone that knows me knows that my all time favorite movie is "Gone with the Wind." Ever since I was little I was obsessed with the adaption of Margaret Mitchell’s book of the same name. Either it was because of the fashion or because of Scarlett O’Hara’s ferocity. As I have grown up and watched "Gone with the Wind" time and time again, I have found quite a few life lessons within the epic film.
1. Sometimes you have to worry about it tomorrow.
When life is looking down and there is just too much to handle sometimes you just have to say screw it and not think about it for a little bit.
2. Cherish the land.
Throughout the film, Mr. O’Hara keeps telling Scarlett that the land is all we have. This is true still to this day, we rely on the earth for everything and we need to respect and preserve it while we still can.
3. Beauty is pain.
Scarlett is vain, she’s constantly worried about her waist size and looks. Women still to this day will sacrifice comfort for beauty based on societies perception of what is beautiful.
4. “What a gentleman thinks and says are two different things.”
Mammy, I feel is the most honest character in the whole film, she tells it like it is and doesn’t care if it upsets Scarlett or anyone else. I think this is pretty self explanatory, but to sum up people will say what they need to get what they want.
5. Always believe in yourself.
If you want to go places in life, you have to have self-confidence and lots of it.
6. “With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.”
Rhett Butler once again makes an amazing point, no matter what people say, a reputation is not necessarily everything. If you’re willing to stand for something even if your reputation is ruined, you’ll still be successful.
7. People usually expect something in return.
As Rhett Butler teaches us, we usually do favors to others when we expect some form of payment either monetary or otherwise. In Rhett’s case, he was a blockade runner (but for profit and not out of the kindness of his heart).
8. Not all men are gentleman.
Seriously, not every guy you meet is a knight in shining armor.
9. If there’s a will, there’s a way.
When Scarlett returns to Tara she vows to never go hungry again, regardless of what she has to do. This determination will set her up as a successful businesswomen, which was almost unheard of at the time.
10. You can’t always get what you want.
For those who have seen the film, it is known that Scarlett spends the majority of her time fawning over Ashley Wilkes who marries his cousin Melanie (yes, I know, major ew, but it was acceptable then). She’s so in love with the idea of him that she eventually ruins her marriage to Rhett. Sometimes you have to accept that life doesn’t always go your way.
11. A woman can do a man’s job.
As I have previously mentioned, Scarlett becomes a successful businesswoman in the lumber industry. People in town judge her for doing such masculine things, but she doesn’t care.
12. We can’t wait forever.
If you want something done and done right, you have to do it yourself. If you want to be with someone, you’ll have to fight for them. Life doesn’t serve this stuff up on a silver patter.
13. We look past the hurt our loved ones cause us.
As much as Scarlett loves Ashley, he continually hurts her due to the fact that he’s married to someone else. Scarlett accepts this and keeps torturing herself by keeping him in her life because she loves him. This is still true to this day with so many people.
14. “I’m sorry” doesn’t fix everything.
As Scarlett learns at the very end “sorry” just isn’t enough sometimes, because let's be honest here, actions speak so much louder than words.
