Rosie's Riveters: Courtney & Scarlet O'Hara

Rosie's Riveters is a weekly posting written by Booklust readers about riveting females in literature. Many readers have strong reactions to the women in the books they read- either very positive or very negative. These are the characters we find riveting, for good reasons or bad ones, and they form the population of Rosie's Riveters. Through this weekly post, we can discuss females we love to hate, or love to love. And maybe, just maybe- we can determine why we react so strongly to them.

If you are interested in participating, please comment on this post or e-mail me and I'll add you to the line-up!

This week's post is by Courtney, over at Once Upon a Bookshelf. I did not know Courtney until she contacted me to guest post, but she won me over with her "Midweek Morsels" weekly post over at her blog. Food and books go great together (and with wine, I might add), and anyone who understands this concept understands me pretty well, too. So- go on over to Courtney's blog and enjoy her recipes and reviews.

Who is your Riveter?
Scarlett O'Hara

What book does she feature in?
Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (Originally published in 1936)

Do you love her or hate her?
Positively hate.

Describe her personality- how would you describe her to a friend?
"She knows what she wants, and doesn't let anyone or anything stand in the way of getting what she wants - even if it means hurting her family and friends in order to get it."

Can you compare her to a celebrity?
I can't think of one specific celebrity, but she reminds me of your stereotypical reality game show contestant.

What makes her riveting?
She fights for what she wants, and that kind of strength and determination aren't always found in female characters. She can be resourceful and has a strong head for business in a time when that wasn't the norm for women. She also rarely gives up on what she believes she really wants.

But she uses back-handed means to get her way, and it can be so infuriating to see someone be so selfish that they would sacrifice the happiness of a member of their own family so that she herself can be taken care of. It can also be infuriating that she doesn't see what the people around her are really like - she has these almost romanticized ideas about certain people (such as Ashley) that don't coincide with reality.

What do you most admire/despise about her?
She is extremely selfish and has no real scruples. She purposely made her sister's fiancee think that her sister was no longer in love with her, so that she could marry him instead, just so she would not be poor any longer. She never thinks about how her actions affect other people - and in one occasion it kills her husband and injures Ashley.

Then there is the whole Ashley/Melanie thing. She believes that she is in love with Ashley so much that she doesn't see what she already has until it's too late. And she begrudges Melanie, even though Melanie is the sweetest girl, who thinks the world of Scarlett, would do anything for her, and stands by her when the rest of the world wants to shun Scarlett.

Would you recommend reading the book in which the Riveter features?
Yes. Gone with the Wind is a classic for a reason - it gives us a picture of what life was like in a very important part of American history. There are some wonderfully strong characters in it and it is a fabulous story that gives us a picture of what things were like in a period we never would've lived through ourselves.

Any parting remarks?
While I loath Scarlett, I also have some respect for the tenacity she shows for getting what she really wants - just not the way she goes about getting it.