MovieChat Forums > Gone with the Wind (1940) Discussion > "GONE WITH THE WIND" vis-a-vis "VANITY F...

"GONE WITH THE WIND" vis-a-vis "VANITY FAIR"

posted 8 years ago by snsurone
6 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone else notice similarities between the two novels?

For example:
Becky Sharp and Scarlett O'Hara.
Both were strong-willed, intelligent women who were determined to make their way in life.
The difference is that Scarlett did so on her own via her lumber mills, while Becky was totally dependent on rich men for her support.
Both women had sons they disliked and never wanted.

Amelia Sedley and Melanie Hamilton.
Both were "good girls", devoted to their husbands, even if said husbands didn't really deserve it.
And both had sons they adored, although the impoverished Amelia felt forced to give up her boy to her wealthy in-laws who could provide him with a better life.
At least in "VF", Amelia survived and moved on, marrying Dobbin, while Melanie died.

George Osborne and Ashley Wilkes:
Both men were married to good women, yet secretly lusted after the "bad girls": Becky and Scarlett, respectively.
Of course, it's been a matter of much speculation whether Melanie knew of her husband's infatuation for Scarlett, but Amelia remained devoted to the memory of her dead husband until her eyes were finally opened to the truth via the letter from George to Becky begging her to run away with him.

Jos Sedley and Charles Hamilton:
Both were socially immature oafs (although Charles was not obese as Jos was).
They both married the wrong women, and both died early on: it had been hinted that Becky had murdered Jos for his life insurance policy.

Finally, both novels were set against a background of war.
And both heroines ended up alone.

The only difference that I can perceive is that there is no "Rhett Butler" in "Vanity Fair".
Could that have made any difference?

[–] d-resendes 8 years ago

How about with George Eliot s MiddEliots ?

[–] snsurone 8 years ago

Don't you mean "Middlemass"?

[–] d-resendes 8 years ago

Middlemarch. English novel written in 1872. Also The Mill on the floss. 1860 English novel where the main character is a woman that loves a man that is already engaged to be married to another woman.

[–] snsurone 8 years ago

You're right; it's "Middlemarch".
Sorry--a little too much brandy last night.

I've been self-medicating ever since this farce of an election!

[–] ClassicMovieholic 8 years ago

It follows much the same plot structure and character arcs of Vanity Fair, and many, including critics of the time, have noted the similarities. For her own part, when questioned about it Margaret Mitchell claimed never to have read Vanity Fair, and to be unaware of any similarities.

She did, however, note that she was inspired by Victorian novels in general. Dickens, in particular I believe, was a primary source for the plotting and breadth of characters presented in GWTW.

More intellectual critics and writers of the day found the book old-fashioned and overly conventional by the more experimental, modernist standards of the time. What they didn't realize was that Mitchell intended GWTW as a throwback to the sweeping scope coupled with incisive critique of a Victorian social novel...Vanity Fair being one of the archetypal examples of such a novel.

Furthermore, GWTW was experimental in ways the highbrow critics missed out on, not so much in its prose, but in its psychological and erotic elements (pretty explosive stuff for a mainstream, commercial novel of that day)...but that's another story.

[–] Mayesgwtw39 8 years ago

Interestingly, when I read Mitchell's correspondences with the Hollywood people, I get an idea that she liked Miriam Hopkins for Scarlett (though she would never, ever want to make a public choice.)Hopkins was a Georgia girl. Someone on Wikipedia seems to agree with me:

Although Margaret Mitchell refused to publicly name her choice, the actress who came closest to winning her approval was Miriam Hopkins, who Mitchell felt was just the right type of actress to play Scarlett as written in the book. However, Hopkins was in her mid-thirties at the time and was considered too old for the part

Miriam Hopkins played Becky Sharp in the first full-length Technicolor film of the same name.

But her temperamental ways were known in Hollywood. If Fleming thought he had his hands full with Leigh, how could he have ever managed Hopkins?!

According to precode.com:"Unfortunately, Hopkins’ volatile temperament won her few friends in Hollywood. She switched from Paramount to Warner Brothers in the back half of the 30s and often had to compete with Queen Bee Bette Davis for roles. "

And yet, of all the Hollywood stars Vivien Leigh met during the filming of GWTW, she quite liked hanging out with Miriam Hopkins and her husband, Anatole Litvak. She loved their beach home and company and thought that being with them made her not feel like she was in Hollywood. Hopkins was somewhat of an intellectual-well-versed in literature and art. Vivien Leigh was very interested in these subjects too.

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