WEBVTT 00:00:00.430 --> 00:00:03.330 Hello everybody, hope you're doing well this 00:00:03.330 --> 00:00:07.549 October night. It is dark and stormy here, so 00:00:07.549 --> 00:00:10.710 I apologize if you can hear rain in the background 00:00:10.710 --> 00:00:13.830 during this episode. I tested it and I don't 00:00:13.830 --> 00:00:17.129 think you will be able to, but we'll see when 00:00:17.129 --> 00:00:20.969 this is done. So this episode is going to be 00:00:20.969 --> 00:00:25.030 another novel analysis, and this time it's going 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:28.929 to be about Melanie Wilkes. One of these days 00:00:28.929 --> 00:00:31.609 I do have to do one about Rhett as well. But 00:00:31.609 --> 00:00:34.729 the question of the day is, does Melanie know 00:00:34.729 --> 00:00:38.509 about Scarlett's feelings for Ashley and vice 00:00:38.509 --> 00:00:46.390 versa? So this is a question that I've seen people 00:00:46.390 --> 00:00:50.770 ask in other circles. And I was really surprised 00:00:50.770 --> 00:00:54.289 when I found out that the resounding answer to 00:00:54.289 --> 00:00:57.850 this question by most people was yes, Melanie 00:00:57.850 --> 00:01:03.289 does know. Because to me, this kind of contradicts 00:01:03.289 --> 00:01:06.530 a lot of what is put into the book. Obviously, 00:01:06.530 --> 00:01:09.370 people can have their own interpretations. But 00:01:09.370 --> 00:01:13.069 at the end of the novel, we are left with the 00:01:13.069 --> 00:01:17.620 idea that Melanie never had any idea that. scarlet 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:19.760 and ashley had this background affair going on 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:22.760 in fact i think we're led to believe that she 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:27.299 very much was against anybody even thinking that 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:31.459 so it really really surprised me that everybody 00:01:31.459 --> 00:01:34.519 seemed to think that this was the case everyone 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.299 was like melanie's not an idiot obviously she 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:39.060 knows that there's something going on she knows 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:44.870 people well she's able to read people so i would 00:01:44.870 --> 00:01:47.870 like to figure out again where these claims are 00:01:47.870 --> 00:01:49.930 coming from. So once again, we're going to go 00:01:49.930 --> 00:01:53.730 through different parts in the book and see how 00:01:53.730 --> 00:01:57.209 Melanie reacts to this idea of Scarlett and Ashley. 00:01:57.870 --> 00:02:00.390 So I'm not going to go through every single one 00:02:00.390 --> 00:02:03.030 of Melanie's scenes. Obviously, there are way 00:02:03.030 --> 00:02:05.769 too many of those, but I am going to highlight 00:02:05.769 --> 00:02:08.930 ones that come to my mind when this question 00:02:08.930 --> 00:02:14.759 is brought up. So let's get started. We meet 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:19.780 Melanie and we aren't really sure who she is 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:23.180 at first other than a really nice person. But 00:02:23.180 --> 00:02:25.560 we do find out pretty early on that she really 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:30.939 admires Scarlett. And when we first see her with 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:34.280 Scarlett after she and Ashley get married, Melanie 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:37.819 comes up to Scarlett and she's like... Oh, Ashley, 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.560 you must kiss her. Scarlett's my sister -in -law 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:44.460 now. Let me go to the exact scene. Hold on. We 00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:51.939 want... Let's hold on. Okay, so it says, Melanie 00:02:51.939 --> 00:02:54.719 said, you must kiss Scarlett, Ashley. She's my 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.699 sister now. And Ashley bent and touched her cheek 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:00.800 with cold lips, his face drawn and taut. Scarlett 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.800 could hardly take any joy from that kiss, so 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:04.919 sullen was her heart, and Melanie's prompting 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:07.199 it. Melanie smothered her with an embrace at 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:09.759 parting. You will come to Atlanta and visit me 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.199 and Aunt Pity Pat, won't you? Oh, darling, we 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:14.659 want to have you so much. We want to know Charlie's 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:19.419 wife better. So at this point, Melanie is totally 00:03:19.419 --> 00:03:22.000 convinced that Scarlett is in love with her brother 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:27.580 Charles and that Scarlett is going to be this 00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:32.060 amazing sister -in -law. I honestly think that 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:35.360 if she has any inkling here that Scarlett is 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:38.719 after her husband, then this scene is almost 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:42.039 kind of cruel because she tells Ashley to kiss 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:45.539 her like a sister right after the two of them 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:47.780 got married. Like if she did know anything, it 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:50.479 would also be like, ha ha, he's mine and you 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:55.120 can't do anything about it. Can we agree, at 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:57.939 least at this beginning part of the book, that 00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:00.699 Melanie has no clue what's going on with Ashley? 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:05.000 And then come to think of it before that, when 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:11.259 she is talking with Honey Wilkes, before Scarlett 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:14.639 gets engaged to Charles, before Melanie and Ashley 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:17.819 really announce they're engaged. Melanie gets 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:21.339 almost offended at this idea of Scarlett being 00:04:21.339 --> 00:04:26.319 in love with Ashley because it says, if you ask 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:29.019 me, said Honey with mysterious importance, there's 00:04:29.019 --> 00:04:31.259 only one person she does give a rap about, and 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:34.319 that's Ashley. So this is the girls gossiping 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:37.819 together, and they're saying, oh, Scarlett was 00:04:37.819 --> 00:04:41.620 being so fast today, and she was really laying 00:04:41.620 --> 00:04:44.220 it on thick with Stuart and Brent and Charles 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:47.300 and all them. And Honey's like, oh, but she actually 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:49.720 only has a crush on Ashley. So that's the context. 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:53.199 And Melanie responds, Honey, you know that isn't 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.899 so, and it's so unkind. It is too, Mellie, and 00:04:56.899 --> 00:04:58.759 if you weren't always so busy looking for the 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:00.699 good in people that haven't got any good in them, 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:04.629 you'd see it. So that's all we really see there. 00:05:04.850 --> 00:05:08.829 But Melanie is disapproving of anybody saying 00:05:08.829 --> 00:05:10.730 that Scarlett and Ashley have a thing for each 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:14.629 other. And I can't help but take her at face 00:05:14.629 --> 00:05:19.009 value here. So the question we have going on 00:05:19.009 --> 00:05:23.750 from this point is, does Melanie eventually come 00:05:23.750 --> 00:05:28.110 to realize that the two of them have some sort 00:05:28.110 --> 00:05:32.629 of attraction? So let's move on to when Scarlett 00:05:32.629 --> 00:05:38.949 goes to Atlanta. So Scarlett, when she first 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:41.110 goes to Atlanta, doesn't want to go because she 00:05:41.110 --> 00:05:44.050 doesn't want to live with Melanie. But when she 00:05:44.050 --> 00:05:49.329 does get there, she comes to at least concede 00:05:49.329 --> 00:05:52.110 that Melanie has some good sense. And that's 00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:55.269 going to be something that gets repeated over 00:05:55.269 --> 00:05:58.660 and over throughout the book. often mentions 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:03.480 how Melanie has tact, how she reads people well. 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:05.899 A good example of that, not to jump ahead too 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:08.740 much, but a good example of that is when Kathleen 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:11.379 Calvert gets married or is going to get married 00:06:11.379 --> 00:06:17.420 to their former overseer. And it's this big step 00:06:17.420 --> 00:06:19.600 down and Scarlett's like, oh, she can't be in 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:22.459 love with him, can she? And Melanie responds. 00:06:23.209 --> 00:06:25.310 Oh, Scarlet, of course she's not. How can you 00:06:25.310 --> 00:06:27.250 think such a thing? And Scarlet gets annoyed 00:06:27.250 --> 00:06:29.629 because she realizes that Melanie grasped the 00:06:29.629 --> 00:06:32.550 emotional climate of the situation while she, 00:06:32.610 --> 00:06:36.029 Scarlet, didn't. And so despite Melanie being 00:06:36.029 --> 00:06:38.910 so naive about the reality of Scarlet, if she 00:06:38.910 --> 00:06:40.889 indeed is, because that's what we're investigating 00:06:40.889 --> 00:06:46.350 right now, Scarlet does acknowledge several times 00:06:46.350 --> 00:06:49.829 that Melanie is the more empathetic of the two 00:06:49.829 --> 00:06:55.589 and that she... kind of gets people. So living 00:06:55.589 --> 00:06:58.389 with Scarlet while Scarlet is infatuated with 00:06:58.389 --> 00:07:01.170 Ashley, one would think she would be able to 00:07:01.170 --> 00:07:05.310 pick up on it. But also, Melanie really admires 00:07:05.310 --> 00:07:08.949 Scarlet. She has for a really long time. And 00:07:08.949 --> 00:07:13.009 when you admire someone, I think that could make 00:07:13.009 --> 00:07:17.670 you kind of blind to their faults. So back to 00:07:17.670 --> 00:07:19.730 what I was saying when Scarlet first comes to 00:07:19.730 --> 00:07:24.019 Atlanta. Scarlett says that Melanie mentions 00:07:24.019 --> 00:07:31.279 Ashley so often. And I think that this is another 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:34.899 example where if Melanie knew that Scarlett had 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:39.480 a crush on Ashley, then she would not be constantly 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:42.399 talking about Ashley and how proud of him she 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:44.779 is and how in love with him she is. Because Melanie 00:07:44.779 --> 00:07:51.579 does often say things like, For example, when 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:53.420 they're talking about when Ashley might be dead, 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:55.800 she says, I think that I would rather just die 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.620 if he were dead. And then one significant scene 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:02.899 where she tells Scarlett that she's pregnant. 00:08:03.699 --> 00:08:07.180 This seems to be a scene where she is totally 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:12.160 out of touch with reality. So let me see if I 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:20.570 can find it. Hold on just a second. Okay. So 00:08:20.570 --> 00:08:23.470 she tells Scarlett that she's going to have a 00:08:23.470 --> 00:08:27.329 baby. It says the hideous blow fell. She says, 00:08:27.329 --> 00:08:30.629 I've so envied you, Wade, and so wanted a baby. 00:08:30.709 --> 00:08:32.269 And I was so afraid that maybe I wasn't ever 00:08:32.269 --> 00:08:34.710 going to have one. And darling, I want a dozen. 00:08:35.149 --> 00:08:37.809 And then it goes on. Oh, Scarlett, I don't know 00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:40.250 how I shall ever write Ashley. It wouldn't be 00:08:40.250 --> 00:08:43.029 so embarrassing if I could tell him or, well, 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:45.389 not say anything and just let him notice gradually, 00:08:45.529 --> 00:08:49.529 you know. Then Scarlett is really rude and has 00:08:49.529 --> 00:08:51.870 this terrible moment where she's like, Dear God, 00:08:52.129 --> 00:08:54.470 said Scarlett, almost sobbing, as she dropped 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:56.710 the comb and caught at the marble top of the 00:08:56.710 --> 00:09:00.710 dresser for support. So Melanie then assumes 00:09:00.710 --> 00:09:04.230 that Scarlett is just worried about her because 00:09:04.230 --> 00:09:09.090 she is not really supposed to be having a baby 00:09:09.090 --> 00:09:12.490 because of her health and her figure or something 00:09:12.490 --> 00:09:16.620 like that. But then she asks Scarlet, Scarlet, 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:18.980 did you write Charlie and tell him when you found 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:21.360 out about Wade? Or did your mother do it? Or 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:24.340 maybe Mr. O 'Hara? Oh, dear, if only I had a 00:09:24.340 --> 00:09:27.200 mother to do it. I just don't see how. Hush, 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:30.399 said Scarlet violently. Hush. Oh, Scarlet, I'm 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.580 so stupid. I'm sorry. I guess all happy people 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:36.200 are selfish. I forgot about Charlie just for 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:40.320 the moment. And then Melanie feels really bad. 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:42.700 Scarlett says, you leave me alone. She's super 00:09:42.700 --> 00:09:47.139 mean. And Melanie assumes that it's because she 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:50.600 reminded Scarlett of Charles. So another important 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:54.299 thing to remember is that Melanie seems completely 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:56.559 under the impression that Scarlett really was 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.879 in love with Charles and that she's mourning 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:02.600 him. Because to go back a little bit, when they 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:05.919 first go to the bazaar, there's this little scene 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:11.960 where Melanie is like, pity Pat, don't bring 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:14.580 up Charles so much. I know she's always about 00:10:14.580 --> 00:10:16.820 to cry when you bring him up. She gets this weird 00:10:16.820 --> 00:10:19.600 look on her face. And then later when they're 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.700 at the bazaar and they're first talking to Rhett, 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:27.840 Melanie says something like, oh, Scarlet, you 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:31.440 shouldn't be here in your condition as a widow, 00:10:31.539 --> 00:10:34.299 blah, blah, blah. And she seems like she really 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:39.759 means these things. Sorry, I have to keep skipping 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:44.539 around in the book to find these parts. But it's 00:10:44.539 --> 00:10:47.539 actually the scene that first convinces Rhett 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:55.279 that Melanie is a genuine person. Hold on just 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:58.580 a second. Okay, so here's what it says. Scarlet, 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:00.720 darling, Captain Butler, you must forgive her. 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:02.960 She isn't herself when she hears poor Charlie's 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.600 name spoken, and perhaps, after all, we shouldn't 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:07.539 have come here tonight. We're still in mourning, 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.320 you see, and it's quite a strain on her, all 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.799 this gaiety and music, poor child. I quite understand, 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:15.720 he said with elaborate gravity, but as he turned 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:17.600 to give Melanie a searching look that went to 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.919 the bottom of her sweet, worried eyes, his expression 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.960 changed, reluctant respect and gentleness coming 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:25.690 over his dark face. I think you're a courageous 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:29.990 little lady, Mrs. Wilkes. So my point here that 00:11:29.990 --> 00:11:32.129 I'm trying to make is that when Scarlett first 00:11:32.129 --> 00:11:35.990 comes to Atlanta, Melanie sees Scarlett as a 00:11:35.990 --> 00:11:38.789 woman who is in mourning, who is genuinely mourning 00:11:38.789 --> 00:11:41.350 her husband. Now we know that Scarlett was not 00:11:41.350 --> 00:11:43.710 really mourning Charles at all. She was mourning 00:11:43.710 --> 00:11:46.409 the loss of her youth and the fact that she was 00:11:46.409 --> 00:11:50.250 cut off from all social life, but she isn't actually 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:54.059 missing this dead husband who to her was, pretty 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:56.759 much a stranger who she regretted marrying almost 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:00.399 instantly. But Melanie doesn't see any of that. 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:03.899 And I think that if Melanie did see any of that, 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.720 that it would be evident somewhere in the text. 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:10.200 Or Melanie is just the most sarcastic person 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:13.620 ever. And I don't see Melanie as anything but 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:15.960 genuine. Because in this scene here, Rhett is 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:19.139 somebody who is known for reading people really, 00:12:19.220 --> 00:12:23.460 really well. He's able to tell when people are 00:12:23.460 --> 00:12:26.539 lying or putting up a pretense. And with Melanie, 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:31.200 she's the one person he feels is just a genuinely 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:35.519 good, kind, sweet lady. A great lady, as he calls 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:41.299 her. And he can see that she actually cares for 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:45.759 Scarlett and isn't just pretending. So, anyway. 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:49.200 Throughout this whole sequence where Scarlett 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:54.840 is living in Atlanta, Melanie, in my opinion, 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:57.139 doesn't seem to have any sort of clue or else 00:12:57.139 --> 00:12:59.379 she wouldn't really say a lot of the things she 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:04.620 does say. And then if we move on to a little 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:07.460 further, when Melanie is even more pregnant, 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:11.720 Melanie mentions that Scarlett has to stay with 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:15.500 her during the shelling because that means, because 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:21.940 she had ashley ask scarlet to promise to take 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:27.240 care of her and if she knows that ashley in fact 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.919 did kiss scarlet at christmas furlough if she 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:33.220 had any idea that scarlet was just waiting for 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:35.820 a moment alone with him i don't think she would 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:39.000 have asked ashley to make that sort of promise 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:41.980 to scarlet because or to ask scarlet to make 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:45.480 that promise because That would just honestly 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:49.559 be a weird thing to say. I mean, this is a married 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:54.500 couple and the sister -in -law is living in the 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:57.679 house and has an infatuation with the husband. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.860 And you're telling me that the wife is like, 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.940 oh, I'm going to ask my husband to go tell this 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:08.179 sister -in -law who I know is in love with him 00:14:08.179 --> 00:14:11.559 that she has to take care of me. I think that 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:14.539 that is just way too generous on Melanie's part 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:17.799 that she could just not care that the two of 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:20.940 them have this thing for each other or even if 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:22.919 she just thinks it's one -sided that Scarlett 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:26.580 is only the one in love. And there's even one 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:30.559 part where Melanie is telling her about this 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:33.039 promise and it says that Scarlett looked down 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.789 at her in wonder and she was like... How possibly 00:14:36.789 --> 00:14:40.129 can she not understand that I love Ashley? I've 00:14:40.129 --> 00:14:45.549 given myself away a million times. So I think 00:14:45.549 --> 00:14:48.529 that this is the question that I am asking the 00:14:48.529 --> 00:14:53.009 rest of the fandom. Because, I mean, Scarlett 00:14:53.009 --> 00:14:58.090 is somebody who, from our perspective, is pretty 00:14:58.090 --> 00:15:00.350 obvious about her crush. And other characters 00:15:00.350 --> 00:15:03.289 do pick up on it. Honey Wilkes talked about it, 00:15:03.309 --> 00:15:06.450 as we said. India Wilkes picks up on it, and 00:15:06.450 --> 00:15:09.230 she spreads that gossip around later on, so there 00:15:09.230 --> 00:15:12.070 are other people who believe it. And then the 00:15:12.070 --> 00:15:15.070 whole scandal erupts in the last part of the 00:15:15.070 --> 00:15:18.529 book, and that causes a lot of issues for everybody. 00:15:19.570 --> 00:15:24.830 And that means that the secret is eventually 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:26.909 out in the open, and that's only because people 00:15:26.909 --> 00:15:32.009 noticed. But for Melanie to think that Scarlett 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:37.190 is in love with her husband, that is just not 00:15:37.190 --> 00:15:41.169 something that I see anywhere in the text. And 00:15:41.169 --> 00:15:45.509 I think that if she did have any idea of it, 00:15:45.649 --> 00:15:49.129 her behavior towards Scarlett would just be different. 00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:52.029 I don't think that she would be as grateful to 00:15:52.029 --> 00:15:53.789 Scarlett. I don't think she would worship her 00:15:53.789 --> 00:15:56.070 in the same way that she does. I don't think 00:15:56.070 --> 00:15:58.690 that she would talk about Ashley so much. I don't 00:15:58.690 --> 00:16:02.210 think that she would... give scarlet all of this 00:16:02.210 --> 00:16:08.009 you know pain if she really loves scarlet by 00:16:08.009 --> 00:16:10.110 mentioning him all the time and talking about 00:16:10.110 --> 00:16:13.809 how much she loves him because melanie really 00:16:13.809 --> 00:16:16.769 does talk about ashley all the time there's this 00:16:16.769 --> 00:16:20.090 one part when they're at tara i'm bringing up 00:16:20.090 --> 00:16:22.049 a lot of random little parts that are coming 00:16:22.049 --> 00:16:24.549 to my mind i'm sorry but there's this one part 00:16:24.549 --> 00:16:27.149 at tara where they have found out that ashley 00:16:27.149 --> 00:16:31.610 is going to come home and Melanie is giving up 00:16:31.610 --> 00:16:33.629 her food to hungry soldiers who come to Tara. 00:16:34.190 --> 00:16:37.809 And Scarlet says something to her that's like, 00:16:37.929 --> 00:16:40.190 Melanie, stop doing that. You're sick and hungry 00:16:40.190 --> 00:16:42.049 yourself. You shouldn't be giving your food up. 00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:45.289 And Melanie says, don't scold me, Scarlet, because 00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:48.409 I can only think that maybe some woman is giving 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:50.549 Ashley her dinner as he's on his way home to 00:16:50.549 --> 00:16:53.490 me. So she says these very sweeping romantic 00:16:53.490 --> 00:16:56.610 things about Ashley all the time in Scarlet's 00:16:56.610 --> 00:17:00.120 presence. So let's say that Melanie really does 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:05.400 love Scarlett as we're led to believe. And she 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:08.839 really appreciates her and loves her for everything 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:12.299 she's done for her. But she knows that Scarlett 00:17:12.299 --> 00:17:14.960 is in love with Ashley. Let's say that both of 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:18.960 those things are true. Then why would Melanie 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:24.619 talk to her like Ashley is her one true love 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:29.829 and she... and him have this really pure relationship, 00:17:29.849 --> 00:17:35.349 and Scarlett is in love with Charles and could 00:17:35.349 --> 00:17:37.309 have remarried a billion times but never did, 00:17:37.549 --> 00:17:41.569 and yada, yada, yada. Why would she not understand 00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:46.130 that you shouldn't say those sort of things to 00:17:46.130 --> 00:17:48.009 someone who is so in love with your husband? 00:17:48.029 --> 00:17:50.470 Because if she did understand that, it would 00:17:50.470 --> 00:17:54.279 be like she was teasing her. And it would be 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:57.779 really tactless. And as we've established in 00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:00.220 other scenes, Melanie is not tactless at all. 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:04.559 She has wonderful tact. She has tact when Gerald 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:08.779 comes to Atlanta to try to take Scarlet home. 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:12.480 She has tact when they kill the soldier. or when 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.660 Scarlet kills the soldier and she lies to everybody 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:17.720 about Scarlet accidentally setting off Charles's 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:22.160 gun. She has tact when she saves Scarlet's reputation 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.119 at the end of the book. Melanie's not a tactless 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:31.420 person at all. She is somebody who... is always 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:34.779 able to have a grasp on a situation, but she 00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:37.799 is very naive. She's very blind to what is really 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:40.319 going on. So I personally don't think that the 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:45.460 two things can be true, that Scarlett is completely 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:53.900 under Melanie's radar or that Melanie She realizes 00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:57.359 what the truth is, and she's just laying it on 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:00.180 thick for no reason. It doesn't make any sense 00:19:00.180 --> 00:19:03.599 to me that both of these things are true. Now, 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:07.460 obviously, as we've talked about, if Melanie 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:10.460 understands people so well, why can she not see 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.839 the reality of Scarlett? I think that's a whole 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:15.000 different question. I think that Scarlett is 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:20.440 somebody who... has been through a lot and Melanie 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:23.579 has seen that and Melanie is one of the only 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:26.180 people who gives her credit for that I think 00:19:26.180 --> 00:19:29.119 she sees during the suffering at Tara and when 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:31.960 they're in poverty and all that that Scarlett 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:34.059 is really giving her all for the family and I 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:37.660 think that even before that she sees Scarlett 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:39.500 as somebody who stayed with her throughout the 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:43.339 shelling who got her to Tara who helped her birth 00:19:43.339 --> 00:19:45.819 her baby and who has really done so much for 00:19:45.819 --> 00:19:50.789 her And this is something that everybody else 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:53.450 who lives at Terra seems to kind of gloss over. 00:19:53.509 --> 00:19:56.230 Nobody else really gives Scarlet the credit she's 00:19:56.230 --> 00:19:59.430 due for basically saving all of them, pulling 00:19:59.430 --> 00:20:02.250 them all out of starvation, and keeping them 00:20:02.250 --> 00:20:06.089 from losing Terra eventually, even if she does 00:20:06.089 --> 00:20:09.109 so in unscrupulous ways. I think Melanie is the 00:20:09.109 --> 00:20:12.299 one person in the book who... not only understands 00:20:12.299 --> 00:20:15.059 that side of Scarlet, that desperate side who 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:17.420 is trying to take care of everyone, but also 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:19.880 doesn't shame her for it. Like, for example, 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:24.200 Rhett. He understands Scarlet, but he also makes 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:27.180 fun of her for her pretenses and her lack of 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:30.160 scruples all the time. Melanie is different. 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:33.799 Melanie appreciates Scarlet for everything, and 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:37.079 I think that she... is indignant that everybody 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:42.099 else is so hard on Scarlett because she feels 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:44.500 that she sees a reality that nobody else sees. 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:47.319 And I think sometimes when you become convinced 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.339 of an idea, it can lead you to be kind of naive 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:53.279 about another hidden side of somebody, especially 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:56.220 if you feel like you are seeing a truth that 00:20:56.220 --> 00:21:00.819 nobody else is seeing. And I think that for that 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:05.289 reason, Melanie is able to kind of pass over 00:21:05.289 --> 00:21:07.869 everything that happens with Scarlett and Ashley. 00:21:08.509 --> 00:21:12.569 Now, in Melanie's defense, we don't really see 00:21:12.569 --> 00:21:17.009 any direct evidence in the book from Melanie's 00:21:17.009 --> 00:21:19.589 perspective that Scarlett is in love with Ashley. 00:21:20.250 --> 00:21:25.190 Scarlett says in her internal narration that 00:21:25.190 --> 00:21:27.230 she is always very obvious about it, that she's 00:21:27.230 --> 00:21:30.589 giving herself away a million times. But if we 00:21:30.589 --> 00:21:33.250 just look at what we see throughout the book, 00:21:34.410 --> 00:21:38.089 So Melanie did not see them kiss at Christmas 00:21:38.089 --> 00:21:41.130 furlough. She did not see them kiss at Tara. 00:21:41.910 --> 00:21:44.450 She never saw them declare love for one another 00:21:44.450 --> 00:21:48.690 or share anything but like a chest chased peck 00:21:48.690 --> 00:21:52.829 on the cheek or something like that. So we, from 00:21:52.829 --> 00:21:55.369 our knowledge, don't have any sort of evidence 00:21:55.369 --> 00:21:58.210 that Scarlett ever expresses her love for Ashley 00:21:58.210 --> 00:22:01.329 in front of her other than showing concern for 00:22:01.329 --> 00:22:04.890 him. For example, when he might be dead. It might 00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:08.250 be plausible from Melanie's perspective that 00:22:08.250 --> 00:22:11.869 Scarlett is just grieving a lost friend, somebody 00:22:11.869 --> 00:22:14.309 whom she's known for a really, really long time. 00:22:15.269 --> 00:22:20.369 So I think that. even though other people are 00:22:20.369 --> 00:22:24.410 able to pick up on Scarlett's infatuation, Melanie 00:22:24.410 --> 00:22:27.410 not doing so is not something that is necessarily 00:22:27.410 --> 00:22:30.750 stupid. I think the part where Scarlett is most 00:22:30.750 --> 00:22:33.130 obvious is probably when Melanie tells her she's 00:22:33.130 --> 00:22:36.210 pregnant because Melanie misunderstood that scene 00:22:36.210 --> 00:22:40.329 completely wrong. It's almost kind of comical 00:22:40.329 --> 00:22:44.210 how she turns it around so much. But other than 00:22:44.210 --> 00:22:46.569 that, there aren't really a ton of examples where 00:22:46.569 --> 00:22:50.390 Melanie is just, Not noticing how Scarlett feels. 00:22:50.990 --> 00:22:54.490 Now, when they're at Tara, Will Bentine quickly 00:22:54.490 --> 00:22:57.329 picks up that Scarlett is in love with Ashley, 00:22:57.410 --> 00:23:00.750 even without knowing her for that long. So perhaps 00:23:00.750 --> 00:23:03.170 Scarlett is doing something to make herself pretty 00:23:03.170 --> 00:23:05.809 obvious, but... For whatever reason, I think 00:23:05.809 --> 00:23:08.950 Melanie is just seeing Scarlet as somebody who 00:23:08.950 --> 00:23:12.250 is worried about a friend. And perhaps, you know, 00:23:12.250 --> 00:23:15.809 she sees that Scarlet must love her because she's 00:23:15.809 --> 00:23:20.589 done so much for her, Melanie, that she is so 00:23:20.589 --> 00:23:23.190 worried about Ashley for Melanie's sake. I mean, 00:23:23.210 --> 00:23:25.529 it might really be that she's thinking that too. 00:23:26.309 --> 00:23:29.849 But throughout all of this, we haven't really 00:23:29.849 --> 00:23:33.529 talked about the end of the book. Let's move 00:23:33.529 --> 00:23:37.890 on to probably the most prominent parts about 00:23:37.890 --> 00:23:42.710 Melanie and Ashley and Scarlett in part five. 00:23:43.069 --> 00:23:46.349 So hold on just a second. Let me find this one 00:23:46.349 --> 00:23:59.670 important part. Okay. So this is the part where... 00:24:01.390 --> 00:24:03.250 Scarlett and Rhett have just returned from their 00:24:03.250 --> 00:24:04.869 honeymoon, and they're staying at the National 00:24:04.869 --> 00:24:08.410 Hotel. And Melanie is hosting some sort of get 00:24:08.410 --> 00:24:10.369 -together in her living room, some sort of sewing 00:24:10.369 --> 00:24:12.910 circle, I think. And she leaves the room, and 00:24:12.910 --> 00:24:15.650 everybody starts gossiping about Scarlett. And 00:24:15.650 --> 00:24:21.509 when Melanie comes back, she gets really angry 00:24:21.509 --> 00:24:24.730 at everybody for saying stuff she believes is 00:24:24.730 --> 00:24:29.289 untrue. So let's listen to just everything Melanie 00:24:29.289 --> 00:24:32.559 says in this scene. Scarlet is my sister -in 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:35.059 -law too, said Melanie, meeting India's eyes 00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:37.619 squarely as though they were strangers, and dearer 00:24:37.619 --> 00:24:40.339 to me than any blood sister ever could be. If 00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:42.599 you are so forgetful of my favors at her hands, 00:24:42.660 --> 00:24:45.359 I am not. She stayed with me through the whole 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:47.680 siege when she could have gone home, when even 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:50.000 Aunt Pity had run away to Macon. She brought 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.200 my baby for me when the Yankees were almost in 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:55.099 Atlanta, and she burdened herself with me and 00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:57.339 Bo all the dreadful trip to Tarot when she could 00:24:57.339 --> 00:24:59.220 have left me here in a hospital for the Yankees 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:01.859 to get me. And she nursed me and fed me, even 00:25:01.859 --> 00:25:03.920 if she was tired and even if she went hungry. 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:06.960 Because I was sick and weak, I had the best mattress 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:09.359 at Tara. When I could walk, I had the only whole 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:12.019 pair of shoes. You can forget those things she 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:14.660 did for me, India, but I cannot. And when Ashley 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:16.940 came home, sick, discouraged, without a home, 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:19.380 without a scent in his pockets, she took him 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:22.640 in like a sister. And when we thought we would 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:24.460 have to go north and it was breaking our hearts 00:25:24.460 --> 00:25:26.920 to leave Georgia, Scarlett stepped in and gave 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:30.349 him the mail to run. Okay, so I'll just end it 00:25:30.349 --> 00:25:32.329 there. She actually does say a little bit more. 00:25:33.150 --> 00:25:37.089 But one of the last things she says is, how can 00:25:37.089 --> 00:25:39.730 you forget the favor Scarlett has done me and 00:25:39.730 --> 00:25:44.309 Ashley? So the way that she makes this passionate 00:25:44.309 --> 00:25:46.750 speech, this is in part five. This is towards 00:25:46.750 --> 00:25:49.190 the end of the book, okay? We have like 200 pages 00:25:49.190 --> 00:25:53.730 or less to go. And I think we can really tell. 00:25:54.329 --> 00:25:57.309 through this whole heated discussion, this claim 00:25:57.309 --> 00:26:00.549 that she's making, that she does not see anything 00:26:00.549 --> 00:26:03.950 between Scarlett and Ashley. Because she describes 00:26:03.950 --> 00:26:07.130 Scarlett as taking him in like a sister, which 00:26:07.130 --> 00:26:09.630 could not be farther from the truth. Scarlett 00:26:09.630 --> 00:26:12.430 was not thinking of him in a sibling -like way, 00:26:12.549 --> 00:26:17.049 and Melanie was completely naive to that. So, 00:26:17.069 --> 00:26:22.130 also, the way that she thinks that Scarlett also 00:26:24.049 --> 00:26:26.730 gave him the mill to run because she wanted them 00:26:26.730 --> 00:26:29.690 to come back to Atlanta instead of wanting just 00:26:29.690 --> 00:26:31.930 to keep a hold on Ashley she's acting like he 00:26:31.930 --> 00:26:34.809 she did it for the whole family and that is another 00:26:34.809 --> 00:26:38.630 thing that we know isn't true so Melanie defending 00:26:38.630 --> 00:26:41.430 Scarlett here I can only think this is what Melanie 00:26:41.430 --> 00:26:45.269 really passionately believes and if she believes 00:26:45.269 --> 00:26:51.619 all of this then why Would anybody think that 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:53.640 she thinks there is something going on between 00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:57.920 her sister -in -law and her husband? I think 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:00.160 that if Melanie did believe that, then it would 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:04.940 completely crush her world. It would completely 00:27:04.940 --> 00:27:10.680 devastate her. And we can see right here from 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:13.940 part five that Melanie is not going to budge 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:16.900 on this. This is... Always what she's going to 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:19.539 think and nothing's ever going to change her 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:23.579 mind about it. So then moving on further in the 00:27:23.579 --> 00:27:28.920 book, when the actual scandal between Scarlett 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:34.079 and Ashley happens, Scarlett goes to Melanie 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:38.170 to... try to explain what happened because it 00:27:38.170 --> 00:27:40.250 really just was an innocent hug that they had 00:27:40.250 --> 00:27:43.410 at the mill but she goes to her to try to explain 00:27:43.410 --> 00:27:45.369 and melanie says she doesn't want to hear anything 00:27:45.369 --> 00:27:49.250 from her that she would never believe anything 00:27:49.250 --> 00:27:54.589 that she said um if she tried or not that she 00:27:54.589 --> 00:27:56.430 would never believe anything she said but she 00:27:56.430 --> 00:27:58.369 didn't want to listen to any sort of explanation 00:27:58.369 --> 00:28:01.630 from her because it would be insulting to even 00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:05.799 think so that scarlet would ever cheat With her 00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:08.859 husband. And Melanie just seems totally repulsed 00:28:08.859 --> 00:28:12.980 by this entire idea. She describes them as being 00:28:12.980 --> 00:28:15.460 like three soldiers fighting against the world. 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.519 The three of them are a team. And she doesn't 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:25.799 seem to have any sort of knowledge that that 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:29.420 isn't how Scarlett really thinks of Ashley. Yeah, 00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:31.599 she says, we've been like soldiers fighting the 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.500 world together for so many years. I'm ashamed 00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:35.700 of you for thinking idle gossip could come between 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:38.240 us. Do you think I'd believe that you and my 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:41.619 Ashley? Why, the idea. Don't you realize I know 00:28:41.619 --> 00:28:43.339 you better than anyone in the world knows you? 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:46.319 Now, the two of them are alone. And I think that 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.259 if Melanie had any inkling of what was going 00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:51.099 on, Melanie could have very well just said to 00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:53.880 Scarlet, hey, I know you have a thing for Ashley, 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:56.980 but I'm okay with it. Because if Melanie does 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:59.960 know about it, then that means she must be okay 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:01.940 with it. She would not be defending Scarlett 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:06.339 like this if she wasn't okay with it, if she 00:29:06.339 --> 00:29:11.640 did know about it. So I can only think that she 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:17.019 doesn't know and she would refuse to ever even 00:29:17.019 --> 00:29:24.400 think of the idea. And then Scarlet says something. 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:26.980 It's a big turning point for her. It's in her 00:29:26.980 --> 00:29:30.559 mind. But she thinks to herself, once the thought 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:32.759 of flinging the truth tauntingly in Melanie's 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:35.819 face and seeing the collapse of her fool's paradise 00:29:35.819 --> 00:29:38.759 had been an intoxicating one, a gesture worth 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:42.220 everything she might lose thereby. But now all 00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:44.180 that had changed overnight and there was nothing 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:50.900 she desired less. So Scarlet is also. under the 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:53.720 impression that Melanie knows nothing. Rhett 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:55.779 is under the impression that Melanie knows nothing. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:57.859 Ashley, we don't really know. He's a bit of a 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.799 mystery. Melanie talks like she knows nothing. 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:06.779 So what evidence is there that Melanie actually 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:11.039 knows about Scarlett and Ashley? I'm asking this 00:30:11.039 --> 00:30:16.650 of everybody because the only... explanation 00:30:16.650 --> 00:30:20.170 people seem to have for why she might know is 00:30:20.170 --> 00:30:25.890 that she understands scarlet well or that she 00:30:25.890 --> 00:30:28.089 understands people well that she's empathetic 00:30:28.089 --> 00:30:31.329 that she's not stupid and it seems to me like 00:30:31.329 --> 00:30:35.990 people just love melanie so much that they don't 00:30:35.990 --> 00:30:37.829 want to think anybody actually could be that 00:30:37.829 --> 00:30:41.470 naive but to be quite honest i think that it's 00:30:41.690 --> 00:30:44.109 plausible that she could be that naive I think 00:30:44.109 --> 00:30:48.509 that that is Melanie's one tragic flaw is that 00:30:48.509 --> 00:30:51.170 she doesn't really see Scarlett for who she is 00:30:51.170 --> 00:30:54.470 that for years and years she protects this woman 00:30:54.470 --> 00:30:59.809 who has been in love with her husband and Scarlett 00:30:59.809 --> 00:31:02.190 does deserve her protection to some extent she's 00:31:02.190 --> 00:31:06.930 done a lot for Melanie and It is a touch of irony 00:31:06.930 --> 00:31:09.890 there in the writing that the one person who 00:31:09.890 --> 00:31:12.750 has a lot of justification to hate Scarlett is 00:31:12.750 --> 00:31:15.390 the one who defends her the most fiercely. But 00:31:15.390 --> 00:31:19.109 Scarlett doesn't come to appreciate Melanie until 00:31:19.109 --> 00:31:23.230 the very end, even though Scarlett is the one 00:31:23.230 --> 00:31:25.910 Melanie loves most, besides maybe Aisling and 00:31:25.910 --> 00:31:30.720 Bo. I think that that is the point that the story 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:32.960 is trying to make. And to try to say that Melanie 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:38.480 knows something is to kind of cheapen that theme 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:42.720 a little bit, I think. Because if Melanie just 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:46.079 knows everything, then there's no tragedy in 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:48.980 the way that Scarlett treated her. And I think 00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:51.299 that the end where Melanie dies and Scarlett 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:53.880 finally appreciates her is a little bit of a 00:31:53.880 --> 00:31:59.779 tragedy. played this woman all along. Now, Scarlett 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:03.480 didn't really do anything outright after the 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:06.559 scene in the paddock to try to get Ashley. She 00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:09.200 did at one point try to convince him to run away 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:13.200 with her. But I mean, other than that, they didn't 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:16.720 really do that much. So it's not like the two 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:20.539 of them actually hooked up at any point. But 00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:25.460 even so, Scarlett has not really been that great 00:32:25.460 --> 00:32:29.559 to Melanie behind her back. And I think that 00:32:29.559 --> 00:32:32.819 the whole point is really that Melanie defended 00:32:32.819 --> 00:32:35.819 Scarlett even when she didn't deserve it. And 00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:38.799 if Melanie had really known and continued to 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:41.680 defend Scarlett, that completely changes her 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:45.039 motivations and makes her seem like somebody 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:49.259 who would defend somebody who cared nothing about 00:32:49.259 --> 00:32:51.759 them. When Melanie seems to think of her and 00:32:51.759 --> 00:32:55.059 Scarlett as two besties who love each other so 00:32:55.059 --> 00:32:58.119 much. So let's go to the very, very end of the 00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:04.799 book, when Melanie is dying. And let's just see, 00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:10.319 there's one really, really important scene where 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:14.039 Scarlett thinks that Melanie might know. So hold 00:33:14.039 --> 00:33:26.630 on just a second. Okay. All right, here's what 00:33:26.630 --> 00:33:30.670 it says. Ashley said Melanie feebly and her fingers 00:33:30.670 --> 00:33:33.230 reached out to touch Scarlett's bowed head. Her 00:33:33.230 --> 00:33:35.509 thumb and forefinger tugged with no more strength 00:33:35.509 --> 00:33:38.250 than that of a baby at Scarlett's hair. Scarlett 00:33:38.250 --> 00:33:40.089 knew what that meant, knew Melanie wanted her 00:33:40.089 --> 00:33:42.890 to look up, but she could not, could not meet 00:33:42.890 --> 00:33:45.009 Melanie's eyes and read that knowledge in them. 00:33:45.109 --> 00:33:48.730 So Scarlett's afraid that Melanie knows. Ashley, 00:33:48.809 --> 00:33:50.710 Melanie whispered again, and Scarlet gripped 00:33:50.710 --> 00:33:53.089 herself. When she looked God in the face on the 00:33:53.089 --> 00:33:54.849 day of judgment and read her sentence in his 00:33:54.849 --> 00:33:57.329 eyes, it would not be as bad as this. Her soul 00:33:57.329 --> 00:34:01.369 cringed, but she raised her head. She saw only 00:34:01.369 --> 00:34:03.930 the same dark loving eyes, sunken and drowsy 00:34:03.930 --> 00:34:06.609 with death, the same tender mouth, tiredly fighting 00:34:06.609 --> 00:34:10.050 pain for breath. No reproach was there, no accusation, 00:34:10.050 --> 00:34:13.190 no fear, only an anxiety that she might not find 00:34:13.190 --> 00:34:15.920 strength for words. For a moment, Scarlet was 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:18.900 too stunned to even feel relief. Then, as she 00:34:18.900 --> 00:34:21.099 held Melanie's hand more closely, a flood of 00:34:21.099 --> 00:34:23.699 warm gratitude to God swept over her, and for 00:34:23.699 --> 00:34:25.760 the first time since her childhood, she said 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:29.659 a humble, unselfish prayer. Thank you, God. I 00:34:29.659 --> 00:34:32.239 know I'm not worth it, but thank you for not 00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:38.119 letting her know. So Scarlet is stating in this 00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:40.360 scene, and mind you, this is at the very end 00:34:40.360 --> 00:34:46.639 of the book, that Melanie, does not know a thing 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:50.260 that God was that good to her that Melanie never, 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:53.199 ever knew. And Scarlett is grateful for that. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:56.599 And she's judging this based on what she reads 00:34:56.599 --> 00:35:00.900 in her eyes. Now, also on her deathbed, Melanie, 00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:03.280 of course, could have confessed, oh, I knew everything 00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:07.239 about you and Ashley. And why wouldn't she, if 00:35:07.239 --> 00:35:09.280 she did know, why wouldn't she be like, hey, 00:35:09.340 --> 00:35:12.619 I knew, and I just let you get away with it. 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:15.679 because I understood, or whatever she's thinking. 00:35:16.420 --> 00:35:19.000 Why wouldn't she admit it? Why have this whole 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:22.199 scene where it's explicitly stated that Melanie 00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:25.639 did not know, at least in Scarlett's eyes? And 00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:30.420 then it keeps going, and Melanie dies, and then 00:35:30.420 --> 00:35:35.059 she goes and talks to Ashley. And one of the 00:35:35.059 --> 00:35:39.139 last things she says to Ashley is, remember she 00:35:39.139 --> 00:35:41.480 doesn't know anything she never even suspected 00:35:41.480 --> 00:35:45.159 god was that good to us don't cry sweet she'd 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:46.780 want you to be brave she'll want to see you in 00:35:46.780 --> 00:35:49.059 a moment and you must be brave she mustn't see 00:35:49.059 --> 00:35:51.780 that you've been crying it would worry her so 00:35:51.780 --> 00:35:55.539 this is the scene where scarlet realizes ashley 00:35:55.539 --> 00:35:59.340 really is in love with melanie and she reassures 00:35:59.340 --> 00:36:02.119 him that melanie in fact knows nothing about 00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:06.460 their whole emotional affair and i think that 00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:09.679 Since Margaret Mitchell now has repeated this 00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:13.460 twice, I can only take it at face value. I don't 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:15.900 know why Melanie would have known. I'm really 00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:18.699 trying to understand that aspect of the book. 00:36:21.199 --> 00:36:25.800 Because to me, it seems like there are no specific 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:28.539 scenes, no specific evidence that really makes 00:36:28.539 --> 00:36:32.019 it seem like Melanie would have any idea. Melanie 00:36:32.019 --> 00:36:34.559 seems to be totally repulsed by the idea that 00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:39.539 it could be true. So anyway, that's pretty much 00:36:39.539 --> 00:36:42.099 everything there is to do with Melanie. Melanie 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:45.059 does make Scarlett promise to take care of Ashley 00:36:45.059 --> 00:36:48.719 after she's dead. So maybe that could be a little 00:36:48.719 --> 00:36:52.119 bit of evidence. But from my perspective, that's 00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:54.380 just Melanie wanting her husband to be taken 00:36:54.380 --> 00:36:56.500 care of because he can't really take care of 00:36:56.500 --> 00:36:59.360 himself. And she thinks that Scarlett cares for 00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:02.980 him and could, you know, potentially help him. 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:07.619 She would have given her her blessing for them 00:37:07.619 --> 00:37:10.380 to get married if Scarlett were unmarried, but 00:37:10.380 --> 00:37:14.300 Scarlett is married to Rhett. And Melanie's not 00:37:14.300 --> 00:37:17.139 passing her husband over to Scarlett. She's just 00:37:17.139 --> 00:37:19.860 asking for him to be taken care of after she 00:37:19.860 --> 00:37:28.880 dies. So my whole idea about this is that Melanie 00:37:28.880 --> 00:37:33.150 is pretty much the most... genuine person in 00:37:33.150 --> 00:37:36.610 the book. She is not someone who ever tells any 00:37:36.610 --> 00:37:39.989 lies. She has a lot of honor. She's honest and 00:37:39.989 --> 00:37:43.250 she believes only in the goodness of others. 00:37:43.369 --> 00:37:46.269 That is stated over and over that she can only 00:37:46.269 --> 00:37:49.010 see goodness and honor in other people that she 00:37:49.010 --> 00:37:51.309 loves because she's only ever known goodness 00:37:51.309 --> 00:37:55.170 herself. So the book never gave me the impression 00:37:55.170 --> 00:37:59.230 that Melanie knows anything about Scarlett and 00:37:59.230 --> 00:38:02.389 Ashley. And yet this is an opinion I've seen 00:38:02.389 --> 00:38:06.750 crop up over and over. So if this episode did 00:38:06.750 --> 00:38:10.329 not convince you that Melanie doesn't know anything, 00:38:10.530 --> 00:38:14.389 then please leave a comment on some platform, 00:38:14.690 --> 00:38:18.570 leave a review, something, and make that argument 00:38:18.570 --> 00:38:20.949 and let me know why you think she might have 00:38:20.949 --> 00:38:27.349 an idea. But thank you for listening. And I hope 00:38:27.349 --> 00:38:32.739 that this wasn't too preachy. Um, have a wonderful 00:38:32.739 --> 00:38:36.239 week ahead of you and I'll see you next time.