what in the hell did scarlett o'hara

[blueknight]

see in that ugly ass ashley wilkes?:wtf:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. the great British accent? n/t

[NMDemDist2]

2. the soulful "puppy dog" eyes

but she was a fool for passing up Rhett IMHO

[catzies]

3. She fell in love with the "idea" of him and was too stubborn to give it up

until she was much older.

[madison2000]

4. her taste in men was immature

but got better as she had more experience!

[MissBrooks]

5. Good question...

I'd be all over Rhett, myself.

[China_cat]

6. Simple. Melanie wanted him.

[Silverhair]

7. He was intriguing

It was established in the first chapter that she could manipulate any man into doing anything that she wanted. Ashley understood the type of woman she was and that she and he would be a horrible mismatch. He had the strength of will not to give in to the desires of his passions, therefore she could not command him. And like the spoiled bitch that she was, she wanted what was outside her grasp. She was a huntress and he was a trophy.

When she finally gets Ashley she discovers that she doesn't really want him after all.

[MISSDem]

9. I don't recall her actually "getting" Ashley. However, either of the

gentlemen would work for me, they are just different types. None like that around these parts.

[Silverhair]

23. Toward the end. When Melanie dies.

She has a free field to go for Ashley. Rhett is angry and leaves so he won't be in the way. Then she realizes she does want him.

They also have one passionate kiss after the war during the period while everyone, (except Rhett) is living on the plantation. Then Ashley remembers that he is married and stops.

[Kahuna]

8. I beg your pardon. While I don't particularly care for the character..

I think Leslie Howard was divine. As I think all British actors are. :P

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. I'm with you.

And for the record, Clark Gable had disgusting breath from his cigars. Vivien Leigh hated doing love scenes with him, as would I.

I think Leslie Howard was adorable. Too bad he died so young.

FSC

[bobbieinok]

22. fell in love with LHoward the first time I saw him

in the 50s there were lots of old British movies on TV.....he was in The Scarlet Pimpernel and a WWII-setting remake.....and a movie about aircraft factories......and a movie from a Helen McInnes book in which a British couple goes to Europe in the late 30s or early 40s to try to stop a major Nazi plot

Howard was on the plane that was shot down near Spain.....the plane could have been warned, but the warning would have revealed that the British had broken the Nazi's code; I think there was an American female singer or actress on that plane as well

it took me a very long time to 'forgive Churchill' for that decision!?!!??!

wasn't Coventry bombed for the same reason? ie, taking the planes out would have revealed that the Nazi code was broken???

[Lizzie Borden]

10. She wanted hin cause she couldn't have him.

The unattainable.

[LDS Jock]

21. thats what I always thought

she would have tired of his weak ass self in a heartbeat if he had committed to her.

[stanwyck]

11. He's a symbol of the doomed South

clinging to a way of life that was vanishing. Meanwhile, the wily Rhett was a profiteer who came out of the war ready to build his empire. But Ashley was the plantation owner who lost it all and was adrift in the new post-war structure. Scarlett was like Rhett, a survivor. But she yearned for Ashley's romanticism. And Souterners still do. Never mind that the harsh reality was that most Southerners lived on small farms, not plantations. And those plantations that did exist, did so at the expense of slave labor. Slaves had their families split apart, weren't educated, and were worked into early graves. Many Southerners, like Scarlett, pine for a mirage. That moonlit, magnolia scented South is a dream. The reality was inhumanity, poverty, and exploitation.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Leslie Howard was the choice to play the unattainable Ashley because

he was the Jude Law of his day, the British actor that women swooned over.

[flygal]

13. that's exactly who he reminds me of

[Kahuna]

14. I swoon over him. Handsome, in the classic sense? No..

But there's just something about his manner and vulnerability. Plus, If we got into a fight and I needed to kick his ass, I probably could. :evilgrin:

[skygazer]

15. As is always the case with movies versus books

Ashley had a lot more depth in the book. GWTW was a book that was custom made for a miniseries - however, it came out long before the mini series (or television, for that matter) came into being.

The movie leaves out so much of the book that it's really just a bare outline. Never particularly liked it but enjoyed the book while still recognizing its absurdity.

[fudge stripe cookays]

17. Yep!

They completely left out Will Benteen, who was a pretty major supporting character.

FSC

[catzies]

18. Yeah, and her first two kids.

n/t

[KoKo]

19. He was the "Romantic Liberal" who knew Slavery was wrong...he was

appealing to her "better nature" which only won out when she saved "TARA." The rest of the time Scarlett was like Rhett...an opportunist.

[JVS]

20. His slightly effeminate Southern charm