Ailsworth

I don't know what it means to vet a website. I am not nominating it for anything; I just enjoy reading the discussions.
I will consider it. For such an essay to be even half-way scholarly, I would need much more than just my memories of the texts. For there will be many gainsayers who would demand chapter and verse, and side by side comparisons. Both books are monsters, and the cost/benefit analysis leaves me with cold feet. If it were for a literature class and an important grade were involved, I'd work on it day and night. I can only say that if you read GWTW you will not miss the parallels, and if you have not read GWTW, you have missed much more than that.

On ‎5‎/‎15‎/‎2011 at 9:43 PM, psychoanaleesis said:

Last night was my first to watch Gone with the Wind and I could have loved it except that it was a tragedy. The characters started out with fatal flaws set by the author (except for Rhett Butler - he was a story or universe of his own). I'm still searching for the precise concept to integrate what I witnessed but the whole movie was great awesome! Superb acting, great casting, the characterization was very vivid yet the ending left a very rough texture in my mind. It is like the conflict was not resolved (my girl told me that there was another novel following this where Scarlett and Rhett got back together -wonder where I can find it locally?)

Apart from the above, I'm very happy that I saw the movie and look forward to having it in my movie library someday along with the likes of Iron Man, the Hannibal series and a few more (I enjoy books better so - meh).

What I wanted to talk about here were the similarities of Rand's characters from AS and the Fountainhead to the characters in GWTW. My eyes became as wide as saucers especially in the scene where Scarlett visited Rhett in the Union prison to ask for $300 for tax. My god! It's Dagny asking Fransisco money for the John Galt line!!!

The main difference that I witnessed between Rand and Mitchell's was that though the characters was that though equally vivid, their metaphysics were complete opposites. Rand produced heroes who were fully integrated or had little flaws while Mitchell's heroes gave me the feeling of looking at a cracked mirror especially with Scarlett.

Here is a list of equivalent characters I saw and a brief description as to why I think so.

Scarlett O'Hara = Dagny Taggart/ Dominique Francon - both had no primary "sense of guilt" but an overflowing "passion for life", intelligent, independent and both know how to run businesses. They were rather controlling too I suppose hat's what Rand was talking about when she said Dagny had too much optimism that she wished to extend it to others albeit Scarlett shows it in a bit immature way (and this is how Dominique comes in).

Rhett Butler = Francisco D'Anconia/ Gail Wynand - do I really have to explain this? Why, by just the way Clark Gable looks and his ability to change expression dramatically... that's how I always imagined Francisco would look like. Also, he understood everything that is to be understood about the story. He's trying to fight the flaws of the other characters and the story from the inside but knows the implication of his every action. He already advanced but not far detached (unlike Galt who watched from a distance until very later on in the novel). He's ruthless disciplined and would not hesitate to defend his philosophy even if it meant killing the very woman he loved.

Ashley Wilkes = Hank Rearden - They are both Men of their words. They uphold honor even though both do not know/refused to know its root (at least at first for Rearden).

Mammy/Big Sam = Eddie Willers - well intentioned help or advisers of the heroes.

Melanie Hamilton = Katie Halsey - as Rhett described her, she had "no life of her own, only heart."

I still think there are more but please feel free to comment if I overlooked major ones.

Thanks in advance.

Man, you should read the novel. For all that Miss Rand is accused of stealing from Nietzsche, I submit that she got more from GWTW than she would ever admit. Look at the lateral leap from Kyra to Howard Roark. Look at the change in prose! I tell you right now that Rhett Butler made Rand randy ;-), and she derived more raw philosophy from Mitchell even than from Aristotle.
I have heard Miss Rand speak at length on many novels, and her knowledge of literature is astounding, but she has few words for GWTW, and for good reason - to prevent her readers from drawing uncomfortable comparisons. Every drop of social commentary found in The Fountainhead will have roots in GWTW, mostly from the mouth of Rhett Butler, who, to readers of The Fountainhead will appear very Randian indeed. He gave Miss Rand the words she needed to make her own philosophy expressible in American terms.
This thread is the first time I have ever seen anyone other than myself with such thoughts, and I could write a thousand word essay on the parallels between GWTW and The Fountainhead, but 1) that would be very intense work only to set myself up for derision, and 2) I love The FOuntainhead (and Miss Rand) too much to broach an unnecessary controversy.