The novel is rich in supporting characters. Mammy, Dilcey, Pork, Uncle Peter, Belle Watling, Aunt Pittypat, India and Honey Wilkes, the Tarletons, Dr. Meade, the triumvate of women in Atlanta: Mrs. Merriweather, Mrs. Meade, Mrs. Elsing, Will Benteen, etc. The list goes on. All so richly drawn and complete.
Dilcey is my very favorite character in the book; I won’t watch the movie because it left her out entirely.
As much as I love the movie, the book will always remain my first love. If I had to give up one, the movie would go in a heartbeat. The characters are slightly different - I didn’t like the way they portrayed Pork in the movie as the book showed him to be resourceful and although not educated, intelligent. Dilcey, Honey and Will were absent completely, as were Scarlett’s two children Wade and Ella. Uncle Peter was Pitty’s guardian and the one who helped bring the young Melanie and Charles up and was praised by Charles as being smart and ‘owning the family body and soul’.
I realize though, that it was a long movie even cut the way it was and so some things had to be changed. For a movie made from a book it still stayed pretty close to the original.
And Rhett did NOT return Scarlett’s wedding band!