Revelation

A couple of weeks ago, I started reading Gone with the Wind. With my love of classic literature, I don't know why I didn't pick it up until now. It's a captivating story.

I did notice that it has similarities to Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë in that it has a pretty unlovable heroine. Scarlett O'Hara flirts, lies, cheats, and steals through the whole book. I'm not to the end yet, and I'm unsure whether she's going to have a turnaround or if she'll continue on in her bad ways until the end of the book. I'm rooting for her to see the error of her ways. I caught a glimmer of it when she had a guilty conscience about the death of her second husband. She questioned her ways, but Rhett pulled her out of that and convinced her otherwise. That's why I don't know if she'll turn around since she's aligned herself with him.

Even though this is the first time I'm reading this one, I reread all of Jane Austen's works over and over. I had a startling revelation on my read-through of her book, Sense and Sensibility this time around. I always admired Eleanor. I saw her as elegant, and intelligent, and level headed. Then, I realized something. Since we're seeing it through Eleanor's eyes, I missed something. As she's talking about Lucy Steele, she is being really cutting. Her whole dismissal of her has to do with the fact that she's 'vulgar' and treats Lucy with disdain, not only because she doesn't speak as well as Eleanor and her sisters, but also because of her behavior. Yes, Lucy could be ingratiating, but I saw it, now, as her trying to fit in with a society that shunned her due to her low birth. And that is the thing, isn't it? Just because she was born into a family with minimal money, one that couldn't give her a proper education, she's disdained by everyone around her. I had my blinders on before and didn't see that Jane Austen was thumbing her nose at the aristocracy. I've heard others say it, but I loved her books so much that I didn't notice it before. I believe it was written that way intentionally. Now, I have my favorite of her books, Emma, on my 'To Be Read' list. I want to see if I missed anything in that book, like I did in Sense and Sensibility.

It makes me wonder how much we put blinders on in regards to the people in our lives. When we love them so much, it's difficult to see all of their faults. Of course, we don't want to focus on those faults, but if you need to lead them away from the wrong path, it's good to see them so you can check them. We're all human, with all our faults and frailties, but when we believe in Christ, it's good to recognize that so it doesn't alter our character and in so doing, alter our path forever.