If Gone With The Wind was rewritten as a historical romance : All Things Romance : the Agora@AAR

Marian Perera · 2021-07-07T06:31:41Z

The first line is, “Scarlett O’Hara was not like the other girls…” Scarlett is infatuated with Ashley, but realizes he’s the wrong man for her when he enlists in the Confederate Army. Rhett pretends to be a blockade runner, but is actually a spy for the Union. He and Scarlett have passionate sex, but since she doesn't know he's fighting to end slavery, she doesn't accept his proposal of marriage. Also, she's determined to only marry for love. Melanie is a quiet homebody because she’s preoccupied with her research in environmental chemistry. Her absorption with her work as well as her disgust for the Confederacy mean she and Ashley are soon estranged. As someone who supports her fellow women, Scarlett welcomes Melanie into her home. Ashley comes to Tara, demanding that she be returned to him, and Scarlett pulls a gun on him. Though she doesn’t shoot him, because if she killed anyone, she would never be able to live with herself. So the gun wasn’t loaded, but Ashley scuttles off anyway. Melanie invents a chemical fertilizer to make the soil of Tara so productive that Scarlett will never be hungry again. However, the taxes need to be paid. Scarlett decides to go to Rhett, tell him the truth and ask if she can borrow the money from him. Unfortunately Frank Kennedy meets her first, lies to her about Rhett’s whereabouts, and coerces her into marrying him instead. The only good thing about their marriage is that it produces a daughter, and Scarlett always wanted half a dozen babies. Frank Kennedy turns out to be a robber baron who’s ruthless, greedy and underhanded in his business practices. He patronizes sex workers like Belle Watling and is an abusive husband. Finally Scarlett pushes him away, but he falls, hits his head and dies, leaving her drowning in guilt. Led by Mrs. Merriwether, the people of Atlanta support Scarlett and reassure her that Frank Kennedy got what was coming to him. With their urging, she takes over his stores and mills, teaches former slaves to run those, and turns the now wildly successful businesses over to them. Recognizing what a treasure he has in her, Rhett proposes, but just before the wedding, Ashley kidnaps Scarlett in revenge for her sheltering Melanie. Rhett tracks them down and shoots Ashley. The epilogue shows him and Scarlett with all their children and grandchildren, while Melanie wins the first Nobel prize ever awarded for her groundbreaking discoveries.

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