Trauma at Tara: The Different Faces of Post-War Trauma in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind and Why They Still Matter >>> Brooklyn Reymann In an interview with her publisher in 1936, author Margaret Mitchell was asked what her novel Gone With the Wind was about. Mitchell responded that, if her novel could be assigned a theme, it was one of survival. Specifically, Mitchell asked, “What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong and brave go under?” (Mitchell) It is that key element of survival, the mystifying answer to Mitchell’s question, which Gone With the Wind (1936) addresses. On the surface, Gone With the Wind is little more than a story of a young Southern woman (Scarlett) whose world is shaken by the onset of the Civil War. As the war progresses, the reader watches as Scarlett is forced to face the loss and separation of those closest to her at the hand of the Northern army. However, Mitchell, who had grown up listening to the Civil War stories of Confederate veterans, uses this literary outlet to expertly weave into her novel detailed descriptions of the loss, psychological trauma, survival, and desperation faced by those who lived through the war. These elements are illustrated most clearly by the key characters of Ashley Wilkes and Gerald O’Hara, and also by protagonist Scarlett O’Hara. Gone With the Wind provides varying descriptions of the different impacts that war had upon these characters. As a result of these detailed descriptions, the modern reader of the novel is presented with three cases that frame a wide spectrum of the different responses that war-related trauma elicits from those individuals affected by it. The recognition of this spectrum’s presence in this novel provides a new way to read and experience Mitchell’s story and offers a revealing glimpse into the nature of Civil War trauma. Prior to exploring the significance of the spectrum of traumatic responses presented in Mitchell’s novel, it may be helpful to provide a working definition of the word “trauma” as it will be used in our discussion. The word “trauma” often elicits an image of destructive and catastrophic experiences in the minds of many individuals. However, as Cathy Caruth points out in her paper “Violence and Time: Traumatic Survivals,” “the problem of trauma is not simply a problem of destruction but also, fundamentally, an enigma of survival” (Caruth 24). In other words, it is not only the destructive event that produces trauma, but also the very fact that the affected individual has survived such an event. If we accept this proposition, then Mitchell’s novel is not only one of survival, but also one of trauma, as it possesses both elements of survival and destruction while integrating their respective effects on the individuals who must face them. However, as previously noted, the effects of traumatic experiences may vary greatly in regards to their expression in different individuals. While some survivors of traumatic events may depart nearly unaffected, others may experience serious, often
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