Gone with the Wind: Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Summary: Scarlett gets ready for the Wilkes' Barbecue and decides to wear the green muslin that shows off her 17 inch waist, despite Mammy's protestation that a proper lady can't show her bosom before the afternoon. They have a bargaining match which ends in Scarlett eating some breakfast and Mammy not telling Ellen about Scarlett's dress choice. Unfortunately, Ellen is not going to the Barbecue, as she has to settle the books and go over accounts with Jonas Wilkerson before he leaves, which leaves Gerald on his own as he escorts his daughters to the Wilkes'. On the way to the picnic Gerald engages in a little harmless flirting with the red-headed Mrs. Tarleton which leads to a discussion about her horses before winding up in a debate about whether or not it's a good idea to marry one's cousins.

from http://www.cornel1801.com/1/g/GONE_WITH_THE_WIND/1_online_pictures_quotes.html

Katiebug's Response: This follows the movie pretty closely, especially my favorite part with Mammy and Scarlett bickering. We're still getting this description of the Wilkes' as a strange people, as viewed by the neighbors, and the first actual discussion about whether it's genetically a good idea to keep intermarrying in a family. Mrs. Tarleton even offers up her own story about how she escaped a marriage with a cousin and the possibility of weak, washed out children. She even goes so far as to suggest that Ashley would do better with someone like Scarlett or one of her own daughters which is just cruel seeing how we all know **SPOILER ALERT**Ashley will, in fact, still marry Melanie. Hopefully soon, too. We're five chapters into this novel and we have yet to meet the object of Scarlett's affection. Perhaps Mitchell is doing this intentionally so that we feel Scarlett is really blowing the whole thing out of proportion when we finally do meet this Ashley.


Sammidrake's Response: So this chapter sees us start our way to the bbq we've heard so much about since Chapter 1. We're about 100 pages into the novel, and guess what, we're still not there. I'd like to agree with Katiedid and think that this is all just because Mitchell is a crafty one and symbolically showing us that Scarlett is a teenage girl with this whole thing in her head . . . just like these first five chapters are. I will say, though, that I found this chapter much easier to get through than the others. I like to attribute that to the fact that we're, I don't know, doing something.