Recasting: "Gone with the Wind" in American Culture (review)

282civil war history ing. An offhand comment on the paradoxical nature of Southerners reminds us of one of Connelly's themes in his previous book; but the statement, without amplification, seems awkward here. Similarly out of place is a remark that Schofield's organizational talents typified "middle class America on the rise" (p. 24). Better supported is the authors' judgment concerning the major question about Franklin: why did Hood order the assault? McDonough and Connelly go beyond tactical considerations to find their answer in Hood's personality. A reckless fighter who liked risky attacks, Hood "wanted to be a Robert E. Lee," as the authors put it (p. 66). But in late 1864 he found his dreams shattered, and vented his frustrations in one last vengeful outburst at Franklin. The plausibility of this view, however , is diminished by McDonough and Connelly's overemphasis of Hood's irrationality and their exaggerated contention that at Franklin "he was too emotionally unhinged to command" (p. 59). Well-researched, sometimes controversial, Five Tragic Hours is thus as solid and scrappy as the soldiers who fought at Franklin. It is a fine history of their service and sacrifice. Steve Davis Atlanta, Georgia Recasting: "Gone with the Wind" in American Culture. Edited by Darden Asbury Pyron. (Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1983. Pp. x, 232. $12.95 paperback.) For nearly fifty years, Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of the South, Gone with the Wind, has endured in the hearts and minds of the American public. Whatever its merits or shortcomings, it is safe that there has never been another book (and film) which has become such a large part of our mythos. Indeed, it is fascinating to note how often phrases or wellknown incidents from GWTW (how many other books/movies are known by their initials?) crop up in the most unlikely places. For example , on a recent episode of television's "Cagney and Lacey," a reference was made to Scarlett O'Hara, and her most famous epithet—"I'll think about it tomorrow"—was quoted. A toy company marketed a red stuffed teddy bear it named "Scarlett O'Beara." And even one of the buttons used in President Carter's 1976 campaign bore the inscription, "Scarlett O'Hara Loves Jimmy Carter." Because of the pervasive influence of GWTW, scholars are beginning to study it in greater detail. Darden Asbury Pyron's anthology is a welcome addition to the literature on the saga of Scarlett, Rhett, and the cast of thousands. Pyron divides his anthology into three sections: the critical setting, Gone with the Wind as art, and Gone with the Wind as history. He provides an introduction to each part to set the stage for the essays that follow. Under the first heading, there are two opposing reviews of book reviews283 GWTW which appeared in the 1930s: historian Henry Steele Commager 's positive assessment and Malcolm Cowley's condemnation. The final piece in this section by Richard Dwyer ("The Case of the Cool Reception") is an interesting examination of why literary historians have almost ignored GWTW despite its enormous popularity. By combing through numerous reviews, he concludes that the very popularity of the book, as well as its entertaining narrative, have condemned it to obscurity as far as "serious" literary critics were concerned. The articles in the remaining two portions of the book are informative and enlightening. Helen Deiss Irvin's "Geo in Georgia: A Mythic Dimension in Gone with the Wind," is an intriguing study of the concept of the Earth as the Great Mother in this novel. Irvin attributes some of GWTW's great appeal to its constant reminder of the Earth's abundance. She makes a good case for this, although she may be stretching the point in stating that thevarying shades ofgreen Scarlett wears throughout the book reinforce "her role as creature of nature" (p. 65). According to Mitchell herself, she never realized how often Scarlett wore green until Walter Plunkett, the movie's costume designer, pointed it out. Green just happened to be Mitchell's favorite color, so Scarlett wore it often. One of the best entries is Thomas Cripps's "Winds of Change: Gone with the Wind and Racism...