Women and Femininity Quotes in Gone With the Wind

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Women knew that a land where men were contented, uncontradicted and safe in possession of unpunctured vanity was likely to be a very pleasant place for women to live. (8.78)

This seems really unconvincing. Women's lives are pleasant as long as they don't do anything like have opinions, or desires of their own that might displease their overlords? You might as well say that black people's lives were pleasant as long as they didn't try to stop being slaves—which of course is something that the novel thinks is true as well. Oops.

Quote #5

"And perhaps I'm staying here to rescue you if the siege does come. I've never rescued a maiden in distress […]."

"I won't need you to rescue me. I can take care of myself, thank you!"

"Don't say that, Scarlett! Think of it, if you like, but never, never say it to a man." (17.132-134)

Rhett's sentiments are echoed several times throughout the novel. Women (or white women) are only supposed to be attractive and enticing if they're helpless. The novel admires Scarlett to some degree, but the two loves of her life, Ashley and Rhett, are both really uncomfortable with her capability, and both arguably abandon her because of it. Go team.

Quote #6

[…] he felt the usual masculine indignation at the duplicity of women. Added to it was the usual masculine disillusionment at discovering that a woman has a brain. (36.19)

Frank sees women as duplicitous… but really it's his own sexism that makes him so easy to fool. He assumes that women don't have brains, and since women do have brains, he ends up looking like an idiot. Hard to pity him, really.