[carton253]

I saw it when I was 14. I had just finished reading Gone With the Wind for the first time. I actually sighed outloud when Clark Gable appeared on the screen. (First time I saw him).

What I love about Gone with the Wind as I have read it over the years is that it is a book that has grown with me. At 14, I wanted to be Scarlett. By time I reached my 40s, I did not. At 14, I thought Ashley Wilkes the biggest loser. By time I reached my 40s, I realized just how devestating it could be when your world blew up.

Melanie is a wonderful character. Finally, Rhett Butler is still Rhett Butler and as I have grown up, my appreciation of the character grew with me.

Margaret Mitchell wrote a classic. I've read it about 30 times..and just writing this post makes me want to pick it up and read it again.

[Mygirlsmom]

Right there with you! I’ve read it 20 times or more and yes, as a teen, I remember skipping through the “boring” war stuff - lol

[kalee]

I always wanted to be Melanie from the first time I read the book when I was 12.

[ktscarlett66]

Ah, you and I must be sisters from another life. Your GWTW history is pretty much like mine. I wanted to be Scarlett too (my uncle called me ‘Crimson O’Toole)!!! Thought it would be a wonderful thing to have an entire herd of male admirers! Later, I thought Melanie was the stronger, better one to emulate although I still admire Scarlett’s feisty, flirty personality.

I too got more out of the book as I got older, realizing the depth of Rhett’s love for Scarlett and catching the little tale-tell mentions of him watching her like a cat at a mousehole. I’ve probably read it a hundred times, my cousin sent me a beautiful hardback copy of it when I was 16, inscribed ‘a copy less likely to wear out with many readings’. I first read it when I was in 5th grade, at age 10. And my mother took me to see it a year or two before that.

Never did like Ashley, I thought Scarlett was a fool in that respect. But I was probably the only girl in my HS who had a poster-sized movie still of Rhett on my bedroom wall.

[Publius]

When I first saw the movie in 1969, the women in the audience all sighed when Clark Gable first appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

At the end, when he said, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," the audience actually gasped.

It was a "time machine" response.

[buschbaby]

Reading all the replies is like reading my own mind. GWTW is very special to me. It's magical and tragic all at the same time.

Scarlett was a twit, but I still love her. Ashley was always too weak for me though I grew to appreciate him. Rhett can still make me sigh.

I always search resale shops and garage sales for hidden copies of GWTW that might be autographed. Anyone lucky enough to own one?