Question of the Week: 10/17-10/23/16

Question-HeaderJoin the fun… Meg Groeling and Sarah Kay Bierle were talking about quote-able lines from movies. So here’s some Civil War pop-culture:

What’s your favorite quote-able line from Gone With The Wind?



16 Responses to Question of the Week: 10/17-10/23/16

  1. Does anyone remember the November 1976 TV debut? Highest ratings ever. I have to go with Rhett Butler’s assessment of Southern assets: ‘All we’ve got is cotton, and slaves and… arrogance.’ My mother-in-law loved Clark Gable. My father just missed meeting him when her served with the 351st Bombardment Group in England. Gable flew several combat missions with the 351st and produced a number of training films.

    1. Different strokes for different folks, Guy. While military history continues to be ECW’s “bread and butter,” we have a lot of readers who like a lot of other areas, too. Just as you probably rolled your eyes at this question, we get eye-rolls from other readers when we post “another mud-and-blood” question. Just doing our best to share the love.

      1. Bullseye, Chris! It’s a hobby. We’re not going to solve world hunger or find a cure a for cancer. ECW is a delightful buffet. Maybe I’ll take this, not that!!

    2. The female viewpoint is fluff? A look at the war on the home front is fluff? War translated into a Pulitzer prize-winning novel is fluff? War transforms society. On the home front. If you’ve ever actually read the book (which is brilliant, and socially revolutionary, while cloaking itself as a love story) you wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it.

      The film is also excellent. Best line? Fiddle-dee-dee.

  2. “Oh, if I wasn’t a lady, what would I tell that varmit!?”

    “When I’m wearing a new bonnet, all the [book-keeping] figures I ever knew go slap out of my head.”

    Though far from a “model Southern lady” of the 1860’s, Scarlett O’Hara does have some amusing quotes. And for all concerned blog readers, I promise this was just a frivolous Question of the Week to have some fun. We’ll continue with the usual serious military and war-related topics in the future!

    1. Out of curiosity, are you still doing research on Margaret Mitchell, Sarah? I saw you were a few months ago. I have been hoping to read whatever it is you are writing after all your research. Mitchell is a very interesting historical figure. What I especially love is the way she stood right between the two centuries — toe to toe with the nineteenth and twentieth. Cheers! 🙂

      1. Hi Jillian,
        Yes, I’m finishing up my researching and writing about Margaret Mitchell and “Gone With The Wind.” I’m working on an essay which will be published in a forthcoming collection, and I’ll probably develop a lecture/presentation on the topic. Occasionally I share some extra thoughts on this project on my own Facebook Page – “Sarah Kay Bierle – Gazette665” I think we might be following each others bookshelves on GoodReads? Nice to hear from you!

      2. Hi Sarah! Yes, we follow one another on Goodreads, and I’ve been following your Facebook page for a while as well. 🙂 (And your blog. I love your thoughts on history and the female perspective on the war, there.)

        VERY best wishes with your research. If the paper you write is in a collection I can access, I’d love to read it! I’ve never researched Ms. Mitchell professionally, but I’ve read a lot of books about her and find her to be a fascinating study. I’ll be on the watch for updates on your page.

        All the best,

        Jillian 🙂

  3. Well, since I have been mentioned here, I will leave a comment–I have two favorite quotes. One is for Mrs. Mackowski, and one for me.
    “The best days are the days when babies come!” said Melanie, Ashley’s wife. For those who think this is fluff, I say fiddle-dee-dee. Imagine how much a baby represented to the South after the War. All the hopes in their world could be clenched in his or her little fingers. The best days are still the days when babies come!

    . . . and hanging for years on my refrigerator door, right next to whatever diet I was trying that month? “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!” I have been less successful in this arena.

  4. My favorite quote is from Clark Gable as Rhett Butler: “I think it’s hard winning a war with words, gentlemen.”

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