American Masters

SHE WAS ALWAYS A WRITER AND ALWAYS A REBEL. SHE WAS A DEBUTANTE WHO CHALLENGED SOCIETY WITH A BRAZEN DANCE, A REPORTER WHO ROAMED TOWN WHEN WOMEN STAYED AT HOME. A PHILANTHROPIST WHO RISKED HER LIFE TO BE GENEROUS. A BORN STORYTELLER, SHE PRODUCED JUST ONE BOOK, BUT IT WOULD BECOME THE MOST POPULAR NOVEL EVER WRITTEN AND ONE OF THE MOST BELOVED FILMS OF ALL TIME. SHE GAVE US SCARLETT O'HARA AND RHETT BUTLER, TWO OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST LOVERS. LIKE SCARLETT, SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND BRASH. LIKE SCARLETT, SHE HAD GUMPTION. SHE WAS MARGARET MITCHELL, AN AMERICAN REBEL.

TYPEWRITER BELL CHIMES

MARGARET MITCHELL WAS BORN WITH THE NEW CENTURY IN 1900.

Woman as Margaret

MY PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE SOUTH, MOST OF THEM IN GEORGIA.

Narrator

MITCHELL'S HOMETOWN, ATLANTA, WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND IN THE CIVIL WAR. FIRE WOULD IMPACT MITCHELL'S LIFE WHEN SHE WAS JUST 3 YEARS OLD.

Man

MARGARET MITCHELL HAD A PECULIAR IDENTITY. SHE IS NOT A TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN BELLE. WHY DID SHE NOT FIT THAT MODEL? HER BROTHER EXPLAINED THE STORY THAT WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL, SHE'S PLAYING NEAR THE FIRE, AND HER SKIRT CAUGHT FIRE.

CHILD SCREAMS

Narrator

THE FIRE DID NOT HARM YOUNG MARGARET MITCHELL BUT IT CHANGED HER IDENTITY.

Woman

FROM THAT POINT ON, IN HER CHILDHOOD, HER MOTHER DRESSED HER IN PANTS. AND THE NEIGHBORS REFERRED TO HER AS "JIMMY." AND SHE WORE A LITTLE CAP AND SHE WORE TROUSERS AND SHE WAS A CUTE LITTLE CHILD BECAUSE, OF COURSE, MARGARET WAS VERY PETITE.

Narrator

MITCHELL LIKED BEING CALLED "JIMMY." IN AN ERA WHEN LITTLE GIRLS WERE EXPECTED TO PLAY WITH DOLLS, SHE PLAYED BASEBALL AND WAS "ONE OF THE BOYS." THE ATLANTA OF MITCHELL'S CHILDHOOD WAS A CITY ON THE MAKE. ITS MOTTO WAS "THE PHOENIX RISING FROM THE ASHES." IT WAS A MAJOR RAILROAD CENTER, THERE WAS LOTS OF MANUFACTURING GOING ON HERE. IT WAS A HUSTLING, BUSTLING, STRIVING COMMUNITY.

Pyron

ATLANTA IS NOT A GREAT BIG CITY IN 1900. IT HAS A GREAT BIG IDEA OF ITSELF IN 1900.

Narrator

MITCHELL'S PARENTS BOUGHT INTO THAT BIG IDEA. HER FATHER, EUGENE MITCHELL, WAS A LAWYER WHO HELPED BUILD ATLANTA'S FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY AND COFOUNDED THE ATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. HER FATHER WAS INTERESTED IN HISTORY AND PROBABLY A VERY SMART MAN. HE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A LITTLE DOUR AND ILL-TEMPERED. MITCHELL'S PARENTS WERE EMOTIONAL OPPOSITES. HER MOTHER MAYBELLE WAS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. MOTHER MAKES ME MAD! SHE YELLS DUTY AT ME ALL THE TIME.

Haskell

SHE WAS A VERY STERN SORT OF MORALISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL WOMAN. VERY WELL READ. SHE SPOKE SEVERAL LANGUAGES. HER GRANDFATHER WAS BORN IN IRELAND. SHE HAS A VERY, VERY STRONG IRISH IDENTITY AND AN INTENSE CATHOLIC IDENTITY.

Narrator

MAYBELLE MITCHELL EXPECTED GREAT THINGS OF MARGARET, AND MARGARET'S OLDER BROTHER, STEPHENS.

Pyron

STEPHENS MITCHELL SAID HIS MOTHER SAW LIFE AS A SOLDIER'S POST. IN A CLASSIC KIND OF SOUTHERN IMAGERY, HER BACK NEVER TOUCHED THE BACK OF A CHAIR. SO, BACK STRAIGHT UP ALL THE TIME.

Narrator

AS AN ADULT, MITCHELL WROTE OF HER CHILDHOOD, OF SUNDAYS SPENT IN THE COUNTRY, WHERE SHE HEARD STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR. I SAT ON THE BONY KNEES OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS AND THE FAT, SLICK LAPS OF GREAT AUNTS WHO SURVIVED THE WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION. I HEARD HOW GRANDPA MITCHELL WALKED NEARLY 50 MILES AFTER THE BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG, WITH HIS SKULL CRACKED IN TWO PLACES FROM A BULLET.

Woman

SHE WAS STRUCK BY THE TOUGHNESS OF HER MOM, "TOUGH" MEANING RESISTANT, STRONG, HAVING GREAT ENDURANCE. AND, IN FACT, SHE SAID SHE WAS 10 YEARS OLD BEFORE SHE REALIZED THE SOUTH HAD ACTUALLY LOST THE WAR.

Narrator

IN "GONE WITH THE WIND," SCARLETT O'HARA REFUSES TO BELIEVE THAT WAR WILL COME TO THE SOUTH. FIDDLE-DEE-DEE. WAR, WAR, WAR! THIS WAR TALK'S SPOILING ALL THE FUN AT EVERY PARTY THIS SPRING. I GET SO BORED, I COULD SCREAM! BESIDES, THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE ANY WAR. NOT GOING TO BE ANY WAR?! WHY, HONEY, OF COURSE THERE'S GOING TO BE...

Freer

MARGARET WAS BORN A WRITER. AS HER BROTHER PUT IT, SHE STARTED WRITING AT THE TIME SHE COULD HOLD A PENCIL.

Young Margaret

JULIA WESTON WAITED WHERE SAM HAD LEFT HER, ALONE, SHE THOUGHT, IN THE GREAT WOODS. SUDDENLY, SOMEONE CAUGHT HER HANDS. SHE FELT A ROPE BEING TIED AROUND HER WRISTS!

Pyron

MARGARET MITCHELL IS A NATURAL GENIUS. SHE HAS A SENSE THAT THE WORDS ARE NOT JUST FOR CONVEYING DATA BUT A MEANS OF CONVEYING FEELINGS AS WELL.

Narrator

MARGARET MITCHELL, AS THE FREE-SPIRITED JIMMY, WAS A WRITER. BUT NOT MUCH OF A STUDENT.

Pyron

CLEARLY, SHE DID NOT LIKE SCHOOL. SHE WAS TERRIBLE IN THE CLASSROOM. SHE TALKS ALL THE TIME, BAD ATTENTION SPAN. THIS ALSO SETS UP A PROBLEM OF CONFLICT WITH HER MOTHER, BECAUSE HER MOTHER BELIEVED IN THIS KIND OF ABSOLUTE, DISCIPLINED SORT OF EDUCATION.

Haskell

SHE PAID HER 25 CENTS TO READ DICKENS AND THACKERAY, AND MARGARET MITCHELL REBELLED BY NOT READING THEM AND READING THRILLERS AND ROMANCES. SHE JUST ABOUT BEAT THE HIDE OFF OF ME FOR NOT READING TOLSTOY OR THACKERAY OR AUSTEN, BUT I PREFER TO BE BEATEN. MARGARET MITCHELL HAS TWO REALLY CLEAR NOTIONS ABOUT HER MOTHER, SO THAT SHE ASSOCIATED HER MOTHER WITH PUNISHMENT. BUT THE OTHER SIDE, SHE ALSO DESCRIBED HER AS HER SAINT.

Narrator

IN THE FIRST TWO DECADES OF THE 20th CENTURY, MAYBELLE MITCHELL WAS AN IMPASSIONED LEADER IN THE SOUTHERN SUFFRAGIST MOVEMENT.

Haskell

HER MOTHER WAS A SUFFRAGETTE. MAYBELLE WAS AN ACTIVIST, WHICH WAS VERY UNUSUAL IN THAT DAY AND AGE. MARGARET MITCHELL WAS BORN IN 1900, SO THAT MEANS HER MOTHER WAS AMONG THAT WAVE OF SUFFRAGETTES THAT GOT WOMEN THE VOTE IN 1920.

Narrator

MITCHELL REVERED HER MOTHER, BUT IN HER JOURNAL, SHE WROTE OF A LONGING THAT WOULD NEVER BE SATISFIED. MOTHER DOESN'T UNDERSTAND ME. I LOVE MOTHER AND I SUPPOSE SHE LOVES ME, BUT SHE NEVER SHOWS HER FEELINGS, HARDLY EVER. I WOULD LIKE TO PUT MY HEAD IN MOTHER'S LAP. I FEEL LIKE I WANT TO CRY, BUT I'LL BE DERNED IF I DO. MANY YEARS LATER, MITCHELL WOULD WRITE OF A DIFFERENT MOTHER IN "GONE WITH THE WIND." A MOTHER SO PERFECT, SHE WAS UNREACHABLE FOR THE LIKES OF SCARLETT O'HARA. "ELLEN O'HARA WAS DIFFERENT AND SCARLETT REGARDED HER AS SOMETHING HOLY, APART FROM ALL THE REST OF HUMANKIND. WHEN SCARLETT WAS A CHILD, SHE HAD CONFUSED HER MOTHER WITH THE VIRGIN MARY AND NOW THAT SHE WAS OLDER, SHE SAW NO REASON FOR CHANGING HER OPINION." AS A SIGN OF THEIR GROWING PROSPERITY, MITCHELL'S FAMILY MOVED INTO A MANSION ON ATLANTA'S PEACH TREE STREET. THE MOVE WAS UPSETTING TO THE REBELLIOUS TOMBOY AND MAY HAVE TRIGGERED THE FIRST OF MANY ACCIDENTS WHICH WOULD CAST A SHADOW OVER HER LIFE.

HORSE WHINNIES

Narrator

SHE HAD A VERY SERIOUS ACCIDENT WITH THE HORSE. IT FELL ON HER. AND THAT WAS THE SAME LEG THAT WAS LATER INJURED IN LIFE AND I THINK WAS VERY PROBLEMATIC. I'M NOT SURE THAT IT EVER TRULY HEALED. MARGARET MITCHELL ALWAYS HAS SOMETHING GOING THE MATTER WITH HER. IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE BEING ACCIDENT-PRONE. ACCIDENT-PRONE OR NOT, MITCHELL HAD IRREPRESSIBLE ENERGY. AS A TEENAGER, SHE BEGAN WRITING AND STAGING PLAYS.

Haskell

SHE ADAPTED PLAYWRIGHTS, BUT SHE WROTE HER OWN PLAYS. AND A LOT OF THEM HAVE VERY INTERESTING KIND OF CROSS-GENDER THEMES. SHE HAS GIRLS ACTING LIKE BOYS. SO SHE'S VERY ATTUNED TO KIND OF CHANGING TIMES FOR WOMEN.

Narrator

THE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHT MAY HAVE BEEN AN EARLY FEMINIST, BUT SHE WAS STILL PART OF A RACIALLY DIVIDED CULTURE. IN 1915, D.W. GRIFFITH'S "THE BIRTH OF A NATION" WAS ALL THE RAGE. HAILED AS A BREAKTHROUGH IN MOTION PICTURES, FEW IN MITCHELL'S WORLD SEEMED TO NOTICE THE MOVIE'S RACISM. WE WANTED A PLAY. "BIRTH OF A NATION" WAS IN TOWN, AND WE WANTED SOMETHING LIKE IT. MITCHELL'S NEW PLAY WAS AN ADAPTATION OF A NOVEL CALLED "THE TRAITOR," ABOUT THE DECLINE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN. SHE DECIDED TO PLAY THE VILLAIN WHO BETRAYED THE HEROIC KKK.

Haskell

THIS WAS JIM CROW, AND EVEN NORTHERNERS WHO BELIEVED IN INTEGRATION DIDN'T NECESSARILY BELIEVE IN EQUALITY, SO THIS IS THE WORLD SHE WAS IN, AND IT MAKES US VERY UNCOMFORTABLE TODAY.

Narrator

AS A CHILD, MITCHELL HAD LIVED THROUGH ATLANTA'S TERRIFYING RACE RIOT OF 1906. SHE NEW RACIAL VIOLENCE AND SEGREGATION FIRSTHAND. IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, SHE WOULD DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE. RACE WAS NOT AN ISSUE AT WASHINGTON SEMINARY, WHERE MITCHELL ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL. BUT IT WAS NOT HER KIND OF PLACE.

Pyron

IT'S A VERY CLIQUEY PLACE. RICH GIRLS, RICH WHITE GIRLS. THE PRETTY ONES AND THE BRIGHT ONES AND THE GOOD ONES AND ALL THE REST WHO ABIDED BY THE RULES AND SO FORTH. AND THERE'S A KIND OF NATURAL DISHARMONY BETWEEN MITCHELL AND ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE. SHE WORE MEN'S CLOTHES. I MEAN, HER CLOTHES WERE WAY-OUT. AND I THINK, FOR THAT REASON, PEOPLE SORT OF LOOKED AT HER LIKE, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" SHE LIKES PLAYING AT THE EDGE OF SOCIAL ORDER, WHICH IS ALSO PLAYING AT THE EDGE OF REVOLUTION.

Narrator

AT WASHINGTON SEMINARY, MITCHELL'S WRITING REACHED A NEW LEVEL OF MATURITY AND INTENSITY. "WITH INFINITE CARE, PEGGY SLID THE GUN UP TO HER EYES AND FOUND THE MAN ACROSS THE SIGHTS. SHE MUST NOT MISS NOW. SHE WOULD NOT MISS. AND SHE DID NOT."

GUNSHOT

Narrator

IN HER STORY "LITTLE SISTER," MITCHELL CREATED THE CHARACTER OF PEGGY, A NICKNAME FOR MARGARET. AFTER GRADUATING FROM WASHINGTON SEMINARY, PEGGY WOULD BE HER NEW PERSONA.

Pyron

SO THAT THIS IS A KIND OF PERSONA THAT ALLOWS HER TO BE CREATIVE, TO BE... TO BE WILD. NOBODY IN HER FAMILY CALLED HER PEGGY.

Narrator

PEGGY WAS MITCHELL'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, AND PEGGY WAS AMBITIOUS. I WANT TO BE FAMOUS IN SOME WAY. ARTIST, WRITER, SOLDIER, PRIZE FIGHTER. ANYTHING FOR THE THRILLS! IN THE SPRING OF 1917, THE UNITED STATES ENTERED WORLD WAR I. YOUNG OFFICERS FROM ACROSS THE NATION CAME SOUTH FOR TRAINING. THAT'S WHEN MITCHELL MET LIEUTENANT CLIFFORD HENRY.

Pyron

CLIFFORD HENRY BELONGED TO AN UPPER-CLASS, SILK STOCKING, OLD NEW YORKER FAMILY. HE WENT TO HARVARD. HE WAS HANDSOME.

Narrator

AFTER A WHIRLWIND ROMANCE, 17-YEAR-OLD MITCHELL BECAME ENGAGED TO CLIFFORD HENRY.

Pyron

ALL OF THESE SOLDIERS COMING INTO THE HOUSES, WITH A SENSE OF BOTH GLORY AND IMPENDING DOOM, IT'S VERY ROMANTIC.

Narrator

WITHIN A MONTH, HE WOULD BE FIGHTING IN EUROPE, AND SHE WOULD BE ON HER WAY TO SMITH COLLEGE IN MASSACHUSETTS. MAYBELLE EXPECTED HER DAUGHTER MARGARET TO PURSUE AN EDUCATION. SHE ENVISIONED A MEDICAL CAREER.

Pyron

SHE'S NOT HAPPY AT SMITH THAT YEAR. ALSO, THIS IS HER MOTHER'S DECISION. IT'S NOT REALLY HER OWN DECISION.

Clark

HER MOTHER'S VISION FOR MARGARET AND HER MOTHER'S ROLE IN LIFE NEVER SEEMED TO FIT WELL FOR WHO MARGARET WAS.

Narrator

MITCHELL SAW HERSELF AS PROGRESSIVE, BUT SHE WAS NOT READY FOR SMITH COLLEGE.

Pyron

WHEN SHE WAS AT SMITH, SHE WAS TAKING AN AMERICAN HISTORY COURSE, AND THERE'S A SINGLE BLACK WOMAN IN THE CLASS.

Narrator

MITCHELL REFUSED TO BE IN CLASS WITH THE BLACK STUDENT. SHE ASKED TO BE TRANSFERRED.

Clark

SITTING IN A CLASSROOM WITH AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENT OFFENDED HER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS AN APPROPRIATE CONTEXT FOR BLACKS AND WHITES TO RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER. I THINK THAT MARGARET MITCHELL REFLECTED THE COMMUNITY THAT SHE WAS IN. I THINK SHE REFLECTED THE OPINIONS AND VALUES OF MANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT SHE KNEW.

Narrator

AS UPPER-CLASS SOUTHERNERS, MITCHELL'S FAMILY HAD LIFELONG, INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH BLACK DOMESTICS. IN A LETTER TO HER MOTHER, MITCHELL DEFENDED HER ACTIONS AT SMITH. I WANT TO KNOW IF THE TEACHER OF THAT CLASS HAD EVER UNDRESSED AND NURSED A NEGRO WOMAN OR SHIELDED A NEGRO MAN FROM BEING SHOT BY THE POLICE. MARGARET MITCHELL WAS A PERSON OF HER TIME, AND SHE WAS NOT A RADICAL ACTIVIST, FEMINIST, VOICE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE, BUT SHE WAS ALSO NOT ALTOGETHER CONTENT WITH THE RACIAL STATUS QUO. MITCHELL'S YEAR AT SMITH WOULD BE MARKED BY TRAGEDY. IN OCTOBER, HER FIANCE CLIFFORD HENRY WAS KILLED IN FRANCE, JUST AS THE WAR WAS ENDING. SHE WOULD NEVER FORGET HIM. NO ONE YET HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO PORTRAY TRUTHFULLY A GIRL'S FIRST LOVE. THAT FEELING ONLY COMES ONCE.

Pyron

SHE ALWAYS SENT MR. AND MRS. HENRY FLOWERS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF CLIFFORD HENRY'S DEATH. FOR 30 YEARS. UP UNTIL SHE DIED.

Narrator

THREE MONTHS LATER, HER MOTHER MAYBELLE WAS STRICKEN WITH INFLUENZA. MITCHELL TOOK THE NEXT TRAIN TO ATLANTA BUT ARRIVED TOO LATE.

Pyron

HER MOTHER'S DEAD, AND HER MOTHER HAS WRITTEN HER A DEATHBED LETTER, WHICH... IS SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY.

Woman as Maybelle

"DEAR MARGARET, I EXPECT TO SEE YOU AGAIN, BUT IF I DO NOT, I MUST WARN YOU OF ONE MISTAKE A WOMAN OF YOUR TEMPERAMENT MIGHT FALL INTO."

Pyron

IT IS DEVOID OF AFFECTION. IT'S ALL ABOUT DUTY, WHAT YOU SHOULD DO AND WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO. "GIVE UP YOURSELF TO OTHERS, BUT MAKE SURE TO LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE. THIS IS BADLY PUT. WHAT I MEAN IS THAT YOUR LIFE AND ENERGIES BELONG TO YOURSELF, YOUR HUSBAND AND YOUR CHILDREN." IT'S VERY OBJECTIVE, IT'S INTENSELY RATIONAL. AND IT'S ALSO A TANGLE. SO SHE SAYS, "YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOURSELF," AND THEN SHE SAYS, "OF COURSE, WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOURSELF IS WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOUR HUSBAND."

Narrator

MAYBELLE HAD WON THE RIGHT TO VOTE, BUT SHE HAD NOT RESOLVED THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FAMILY AND FREEDOM. ONLY 18, MITCHELL WAS LEFT ALONE TO CARRY ON THE STRUGGLE.

Woman as Margaret

I HAVE BEEN IN MOURNING AND VERY SICK AS WELL.

Narrator

MITCHELL HAD LONGED FOR HER MOTHER'S LOVE, BUT MAYBELLE GAVE HER A DIFFERENT GIFT -- THE FIERCE MODEL OF A WOMAN AHEAD OF HER TIME. AT HER FATHER'S INSISTENCE, MITCHELL FINISHED THE YEAR AT SMITH COLLEGE. MISERABLE, SHE WROTE TO HER BROTHER. "STEVE, THERE IS NO USE KEEPING ON HERE. THERE ARE SO MANY MORE TALENTED GIRLS THAN I. IF I CAN'T BE FIRST, I'D RATHER BE NOTHING." SHE RETURNED TO ATLANTA. HER FORMAL EDUCATION WAS OVER. BUT HER ROARING TWENTIES WERE JUST BEGINNING. THE ROARING TWENTIES WERE MADE TO ORDER FOR MARGARET MITCHELL. SHE BECAME A FLAPPER.

Haskell

I THINK, IN HER FLAPPER PHASE, SHE'S SCARLETT ALL THE WAY.

Pyron

SHE'S VERY, VERY SEXY AND VERY ATTRACTIVE.

Narrator

YOUNG WOMEN OF MITCHELL'S SOCIAL CLASS WERE EXPECTED TO BECOME DEBUTANTES. WITH A STRONG SENSE OF IRONY, SHE GAVE IT A WHIRL. DEBUT? POOH-POOH! IT STRIKES ME AS FUNNY THAT I SHOULD SHAKE A SHIMMY AS A DEB, FOR I HAVE NO MATRIMONIAL ASPIRATIONS. DEBUTANTES WERE CONSTANTLY IN THE NEWS. MITCHELL WAS INTERVIEWED AFTER ORGANIZING A GROUP CALLED "THE REBEL DEBUTANTES."

Man

MISS MITCHELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MARRIAGE?

Margaret

IT'S NOT ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION.

Man

WHAT DO YOU WANT, THEN?

Margaret

WE ARE COMING DOWN OFF THE AUCTION BLOCK AND WE ARE GOING TO WORK.

Man

DOING WHAT?

Margaret

OH, I'M GOING TO WRITE COMEDIES AND SHORT STORIES.

Narrator

IN "THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE," RUDOLPH VALENTINO ELECTRIFIED AUDIENCES WITH A STEAMY TANGO. MITCHELL DECIDED TO PERFORM A FRENCH VERSION OF THE DANCE AT A DEBUTANTE BALL.

Woman

MARGARET HAD A DANCE PARTNER THAT SHE DID THE "APACHE," WHICH, AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME, IT WAS A VERY EDGY DANCE. SHE WORE GARTERS AND SHE HAD LITTLE JINGLE BELLS ON THEM, SO EVERY TIME SHE MOVED, SHE JINGLED. HER PARTNER KIND OF ROUGHED HER UP. SHE KIND OF CRAWLED AROUND THE FLOOR A LITTLE BIT. AND THEN IT ENDS WITH A DIP AND A SOULFUL KISS.

Narrator

MITCHELL'S PERFORMANCE HIT THE NEWSPAPERS. SHE WAS THE TALK OF THE TOWN AND WAS BLACKBALLED FROM MEMBERSHIP IN THE JUNIOR LEAGUE.

Pyron

SHE THEN IS KIND OF AN OFFICIAL PARIAH AMONG THE ELITES.

Woman

THAT'S JUST THE WAY SHE WAS KNOWN BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T FIT INTO WHAT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO FIT INTO, WHICH WAS A JUST ORDINARY, EVERYDAY, SWEET, NICE SOUTHERN GIRL. SHE HAD SENSE.

Narrator

DURING THIS PERIOD, MITCHELL HAD ANOTHER HORSEBACK-RIDING ACCIDENT AND INJURED THE SAME ANKLE. ALONG WITH THE ACCIDENT CAME A SERIOUS BOUT OF DEPRESSION. THIS DEPRESSION IS NOTHING NEW. THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN MY LIFE, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. MORE THAN EVER IS THE DESIRE TO KNOW IF I'M WORTH ANYTHING. I FEEL LIKE A DYNAMO GOING TO WASTE. CALLING HERSELF "THE VAMP DELUXE," MITCHELL HID HER DEPRESSION FROM THE WORLD. SUITERS WERE VYING FOR HER ATTENTION, AND BY 1921, SHE HAD NARROWED THE FIELD TO TWO VERY DIFFERENT MEN.

Haskell

RED UPSHAW WAS A CHARACTER. HE WAS SORT OF THE MODEL FOR RHETT, BECAUSE HE WAS A ROGUE AND A RENEGADE AND HE WAS A KIND OF SWAGGERING CHARACTER, BUT WITHOUT THE CHARM OF RHETT.

Narrator

JOHN MARSH DIDN'T HAVE RED UPSHAW'S CHARISMA, BUT HE WAS A GOOD NEWSPAPERMAN WHO LOVED LITERATURE. I THINK HE FELL IN LOVE WITH HER WHEN HE FIRST SAW HER. AND, BUT SHE LIKED HIM, BUT I DON'T THINK SHE LOVED HIM. MITCHELL BEGAN DATING BOTH RED UPSHAW AND JOHN MARSH.

Man

SHE SORT OF WENT BACK AND FORTH. IN FACT, I THINK EVEN THERE'S SOME NIGHTS WHERE SHE HAD DATES WITH BOTH OF THEM. SHE WOULD GO OUT WITH ONE, COME HOME, THE OTHER ONE WOULD BE WAITING HIS TURN. I HAVE A PENCHANT FOR THE BIZARRE AND WILD THAT I'VE HAD TO RIDE MOST OF MY LIFE. BUT I GUESS I COULD RIDE IT BETTER IF I WERE MARRIED.

Narrator

MITCHELL FINALLY MADE UP HER MIND. SHE MARRIED RED UPSHAW.

Haskell

NOBODY UNDERSTOOD WHAT SHE SAW IN HIM. HE WAS A BOOTLEGGER. HE WAS DOWN ON HIS LUCK, AND ALSO THERE WAS SOMETHING A LITTLE DANGEROUS ABOUT HIM.

Narrator

THE LONG-SUFFERING JOHN MARSH WAS BEST MAN IN THE WEDDING. RED UPSHAW HAD NO JOB, SO THE COUPLE MOVED INTO THE PEACH TREE HOME, UNDER HER FATHER'S DISAPPROVING EYE. IT WAS HORRIBLE, ALMOST FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT THE ONE STRANGELY GOOD THING THAT CAME OUT OF IT, HE WAS SO UNSUCCESSFUL THAT SHE HAD TO GO TO WORK. EUGENE MITCHELL WAS UPSET BY HIS DAUGHTER'S PLAN TO GET A JOB.

Clark

FOR A MARRIED WOMAN TO GO OUT AND WORK WAS JUST SOMETHING ONE DID NOT DO, IN EUGENE MITCHELL'S EYES. NOT IF ONE WANTED TO MAINTAIN A RESPECTABLE POSITION IN SOCIETY.

Narrator

MITCHELL FAST-TALKED HER WAY INTO A JOB WRITING FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL SUNDAY MAGAZINE. I HAD NO NEWSPAPER EXPERIENCE AND HAD NEVER HAD MY HANDS ON A TYPEWRITER, BUT I SWORE I WAS A SPEED DEMON ON A REMINGTON AND GOT THE JOB.

Pyron

JOURNALISM IN THIS PERIOD IS EXTREMELY EXCITING. PEOPLE ARE TRYING NEW THINGS, DOING NEW THINGS. SHE IS ABSOLUTELY IN HER ELEMENT WHEN SHE'S DOING JOURNALISM IN THIS PERIOD.

Narrator

MITCHELL EMERGED AS A POPULAR WRITER KNOWN FOR HER STORYTELLING SKILLS. SHE INTERVIEWED THE FAMOUS AND THE INFAMOUS, WORKED IN DANGEROUS PARTS OF TOWN, AND SPENT TIME WITH PRISONERS ON DEATH ROW. SHE RELISHED THE ROLE OF DAREDEVIL, PERFORMING STUNTS LIKE RAPPELLING OFF A BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA. ONE WAY TO LOOK AT MARGARET MITCHELL IS AS A MODERN WOMAN OF THE NEW SOUTH. SHE ENTERED A PROFESSION THAT WAS LARGELY A MALE PROFESSION. FLAUNTING CONVENTION, SHE USED HER MAIDEN NAME AS HER BYLINE.

Haskell

THERE'S SUCH A STRONG FEMINIST SENSE IN HER. SHE WAS INTERESTED IN WOMEN WORKING. SHE DID ARTICLES ABOUT, DID WOMEN WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK AFTER THEY MARRIED?

Narrator

RED UPSHAW DISAPPEARED SOON AFTER MITCHELL BEGAN WORKING. HE RETURNED SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, PENNILESS AND ANGRY.

Haskell

THE MARRIAGE WITH RED UPSHAW WAS A DISASTER AND THERE WAS VIOLENCE. HE BEAT HER AND MAY HAVE EVEN TRIED TO RAPE HER AT ONE POINT.

Narrator

MITCHELL DIVORCED RED UPSHAW. IN COURT, SHE TESTIFIED HIS ASSAULTS HAD FORCED HER TO SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION.

Clark

SHE TRANSFORMED THAT EXPERIENCE IN HER FICTION INTO ONE THAT WAS MORE POSITIVE FOR SCARLETT. MITCHELL HAS DEPICTED WHAT WE MIGHT TERM TO BE A RAPE AS SOMETHING THAT SCARLETT TOOK PLEASURE IN AND THAT HAD POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR HER. IT'S NOT THAT EASY, SCARLETT! YOU TURNED ME OUT WHILE YOU CHASED ASHLEY WILKES, WHILE YOU DREAMED OF ASHLEY WILKES. THIS IS ONE NIGHT YOU'RE NOT TURNING ME OUT!

Narrator

MITCHELL, AT AGE 24, HAD ALREADY LEARNED SOME TOUGH LESSONS, BUT LIFE WAS ABOUT TO GET BETTER. ON JULY 4, 1925, SHE MARRIED JOHN MARSH. THIS TIME, SHE GOT IT RIGHT.

Parsons

JOHN MARSH WAS A PERFECT HUSBAND FOR HER BECAUSE HE ADMIRED HER GREATLY. HE WAS A WRITER AND A JOURNALIST. AND THEY LIKED THEIR LIFE TOGETHER. I THINK THEY HAD A WONDERFUL MARRIAGE. I'M NOT ALL THE WONDERS HE THINKS I AM, BUT I HAVE SUCCEEDED PRETTY WELL IN KEEPING HIM FOOLED. AND IF I CAN JUST KEEP HIM THAT WAY THE REST OF OUR LIVES, I THINK WE WILL BE VERY HAPPY.

Narrator

THEY LIVED IN A TINY APARTMENT MITCHELL CALLED "THE DUMP." MARSH NOW WORKED FOR GEORGIA POWER, AND MITCHELL HAD A REPORTER'S JOB, UNTIL SHE HURT HER LEG AGAIN. MY ANKLE WENT BAD AGAIN FOR NO APPARENT REASON. I'M ON CRUTCHES AND HAVEN'T TOUCHED THE FLOOR IN THREE WEEKS. AS IN THE PAST, MITCHELL'S LEG INJURY COINCIDED WITH THE RETURN OF DEPRESSION.

Haskell

SHE IS VERY VOLATILE, EMOTIONALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY, DURING THIS PERIOD. AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO WRITE. IT WAS OKAY TO WRITE FOR THE PAPER.

Narrator

BUT WRITING FOR THE PAPER WAS NO LONGER ENOUGH. MITCHELL SEEMED TO HAVE HIT A BRICK WALL. CITING THE INJURY, SHE QUIT HER JOB. SHE WAS PRETTY BORED BEING HOME ALL DAY WHILE JOHN WAS AT WORK. HE WOULD STOP BY THE LIBRARY AND HE WOULD BRING ARMLOADS OF BOOKS HOME FOR HER TO READ. ONE DAY, WHEN JOHN FELT THAT HE HAD EXHAUSTED ALL OF THE SOURCES AT THE LIBRARY, HE JUST TOLD HER, HE SAID, "YOU NEED TO QUIT READING AND WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK." MITCHELL WANTED TO WRITE A NOVEL. SHE HAD WORKED ON A JAZZ AGE STORY BUT DISCARDED IT. THEN SHE REMEMBERED AN INCIDENT FROM HER CHILDHOOD. I DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL. I DIDN'T LIKE ARITHMETIC. I SAW NO VALUE AT ALL IN EDUCATION. HER MOTHER WAS JUST FURIOUS WITH HER FOR SAYING THAT. AND, APPARENTLY, SHE JUST PICKED THE CHILD UP AND PLOPPED HER IN THAT BUGGY THAT THEY HAD. AND MOTHER DROVE ME DOWN THE ROAD TOWARD JONESBORO. SHE SHOWED ME THE RUINS OF HOUSES WHERE FINE AND WEALTHY PEOPLE HAD ONCE LIVED.

Wiley

PLANTATIONS THAT HAD BEEN BURNED BY SHERMAN AS HE CAME THROUGH GEORGIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR. SHE SAID THEIR WORLD HAD EXPLODED BENEATH THEM, AND SHE TOLD ME MY OWN WORLD WAS GOING TO EXPLODE UNDER ME SOMEDAY. AND YOU'D BETTER HAVE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN HANG ONTO. YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING WITHIN YOU TO SURVIVE AND MAKE IT THROUGH THIS LIFE.

Narrator

MITCHELL HAD FOUND HER STORY.

TYPEWRITER TYPING

Narrator

I WROTE MY BOOK FROM BACK TO FRONT. THAT IS, THE LAST CHAPTER FIRST AND THE FIRST CHAPTER LAST.

Wiley

SHE CLEARLY HAD THE GREAT PLOT OUTLINE IN HER MIND BEFORE SHE STARTED WRITING IT.

Narrator

MITCHELL WROTE HER INITIAL DRAFTS QUICKLY. IT WAS LIKE SHE HAD A KIND OF VISION. SHE SAW THESE THINGS DANCING BEFORE HER AND HER DUTY THEN BECAME TO TRANSLATE THESE IMAGES DANCING BEFORE HER INTO THE PRINTED WORD. "WITH THE SPIRIT OF HER PEOPLE WHO WOULD NOT KNOW DEFEAT, EVEN WHEN IT STARED THEM IN THE FACE, SHE RAISED HER CHIN. SHE COULD GET RHETT BACK. SHE KNEW SHE COULD." MITCHELL WAS DEEPLY INSECURE AS A WRITER. ONLY JOHN MARSH KNEW SHE WAS WORKING ON A NOVEL.

Haskell

HE WAS JUST A WONDERFUL SOUNDING BOARD FOR HER, A WONDERFUL READER. THE BOOK, THE CHARACTERS, THE PEOPLE ARE ALL OF HERS. BUT JOHN MARSH WAS HER EDITOR. SHE HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF LIVING WITH HER EDITOR, BEING MARRIED TO HIM.

Narrator

BECAUSE OF THE LEG INJURY, MITCHELL OFTEN WROTE IN PAIN. A NEW PERSONA WAS BEGINNING TO EMERGE.

Haskell

SHE LOVED TO DANCE, AND NOW SHE HAD TO WEAR THESE ORTHOPEDIC SHOES. THAT WAS A HUGE THING. THE ORTHOPEDIC SHOES THAT MADE HER FEEL LIKE A LITTLE OLD LADY, MATRONLY.

Narrator

SHE WAS LEAVING PEGGY BEHIND FOR THE MORE MATRONLY MARGARET. BUT SHE NEVER LOST HER SENSE OF HUMOR. I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DANCE ANYMORE. AND WE HAVEN'T ANY MONEY TO PLAY POKER OR SHOOT CRAPS. I GUESS THIS IS A MORAL UNIVERSE AFTER ALL. AND RESPECTABILITY IS THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WILD. SHE STARTED WRITING THE NOVEL IN 1926. SHE FINISHED IT, ESSENTIALLY, IN 1929, JUST ABOUT THE TIME OF THE GREAT CRASH. SO SHE HAD COMPLETED THE NOVEL IN THREE YEARS. IN MITCHELL'S MIND, THE MANUSCRIPT WAS FAR FROM COMPLETE. SHE WORKED ON IT SPORADICALLY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS AND THEN FINALLY ABANDONED IT. IT SEEMED, TO BE QUITE FRANK, PRETTY LOUSY AND I NEVER BOTHERED TO TRY TO SELL IT. MITCHELL MADE NO EFFORT TO PUBLISH HER BOOK. UNTIL FATE INTERVENED. IN THE SPRING OF 1935, AN EXECUTIVE FROM MacMILLAN PUBLISHING COMPANY IN NEW YORK CAME TO ATLANTA ON A BOOK SCOUTING TOUR. HAROLD LATHAM WAS LOOKING FOR NEW WRITERS. HE HAD HEARD INTRIGUING STORIES ABOUT A CERTAIN MARGARET MITCHELL OF ATLANTA. AT FIRST, SHE SAID SHE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A BOOK. DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO HIM. FINALLY, HE KEPT GOING, AND SHE ADMITTED, WELL, SHE WAS WORKING ON SOMETHING, BUT IT WASN'T READY TO BE SEEN.

Haskell

SHE KNEW ENOUGH TO KNOW HER LIMITATIONS. SHE KNEW SHE WASN'T LITERARY. EVEN FROM THE BEGINNING, SHE KNEW SHE WOULD BE JUDGED BY LITERARY STANDARDS AND SHE HAD MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THAT.

Narrator

LATHAM GAVE UP AND PREPARED TO LEAVE ATLANTA. THEN ONE OF MITCHELL'S FRIENDS MADE A REMARK WHICH MAY HAVE CHANGED HISTORY. AND ONE OF THE WOMEN SUPPOSEDLY SAID SOMETHING LIKE, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE WRITING A BOOK. YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS ENOUGH TO WRITE A BOOK." AND THAT'S ALL IT TOOK, AND SHE'S LIKE, SHE EXPLODES. I GOT SO MAD THAT I RUSHED HOME AND GRABBED UP WHAT MANUSCRIPT I COULD LAY HANDS ON, FORGETTING THAT I HADN'T INCLUDED THE ENVELOPS UNDER THE BED OR THE ONES THAT WERE IN THE POT AND PAN CLOSET. MY IDEA WAS THAT AT LEAST I COULD BRAG THAT I HAD BEEN REFUSED BY THE VERY BEST PUBLISHER.

Wiley

WHEN HAROLD LATHAM TOOK THE MANUSCRIPT, HE SAYS HE HAD TO GO BUY AN EXTRA SUITCASE, IT WAS SO LARGE. AND HE ALSO COMMENTED THAT IT WAS THE WORST MANUSCRIPT HE HAD EVER SEEN.

Narrator

THE NEXT DAY ON THE TRAIN, LATHAM RECEIVED A TELEGRAM... BUT HAROLD LATHAM DIDN'T SEND IT BACK. HE HAD STARTED READING AND WAS ALREADY HOOKED. WITH PUBLICATION LOOMING BEFORE HER, MITCHELL SPENT MONTHS REVISING AND CORRECTING THE HUGE MANUSCRIPT. BUT THERE WAS ONE SECTION SHE DIDN'T CHANGE -- SCARLETT'S RETURN TO TARA AFTER SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH GEORGIA. "BUT THE SMALL CLOUD WHICH APPEARED IN THE NORTHWEST FOUR MONTHS AGO HAD BLOWN UP INTO A MIGHTY STORM AND THEN INTO A SCREAMING TORNADO, SWEEPING AWAY HER WORLD, WHIRLING HER OUT OF HER SHELTERED LIFE, AND DROPPING HER DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THIS STILL, HAUNTED DESOLATION. WAS TARA SILL STANDING? OR WAS TARA ALSO GONE WITH THE WIND WHICH HAD SWEPT THROUGH GEORGIA?" "GONE WITH THE WIND" WAS PUBLISHED JUNE 30, 1936. THE REVIEWS WERE EXTRAORDINARY. SALES OF THE BOOK MADE PUBLISHING HISTORY, WHEN A MILLION COPIES SOLD IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.

Man

THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WENT CRAZY. THE BOOK CAUSED AN EXPLOSION AT BOOK STORES. THEY COULD NOT KEEP THEM IN BOOK STORES. IT WAS ON THE WAY TO BECOMING THE MOST SUCCESSFUL NOVEL EVER PUBLISHED IN AMERICA.

Narrator

"GONE WITH THE WIND" WAS PUBLISHED AT THE HEIGHT OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION. SCARLETT'S STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE HAD STRUCK A CHORD IN A VERY DIFFERENT ERA. MacMILLAN HAD TO CHARGE $3 BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A BIG BOOK. AND MARGARET MITCHELL WAS ASTONISHED THAT ANYBODY WOULD PAY $3 FOR A BOOK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEPRESSION. GOD KNOWS I DIDN'T EXPECT THE BOOK TO SELL LIKE THIS. I'M FLABBERGASTED. WHY DOES IT HAVE THE ENORMOUS APPEAL? IT IS A REALLY GOOD STORY. IT IS A REALLY GOOD STORY. IT IS A CORKING GOOD STORY. A GOOD STORY HAS TO HAVE A GOOD BEGINNING. AND MITCHELL HAD STRUGGLED WITH HER FIRST CHAPTER.

Wiley

SHE COULD NOT FIND A WAY TO OPEN THIS BOOK. EVENTUALLY, IT STARTED WITH A VERY SIMPLE LINE -- "SCARLETT O'HARA WAS NOT BEAUTIFUL, BUT MEN SELDOM REALIZED IT WHEN CAUGHT BY HER CHARM AS THE TARLETON TWINS WERE." I THINK MARGARET MITCHELL WAS THE FIRST ONE TO PUT A WOMAN FRONT AND CENTER. AND THIS IS DURING THE CIVIL WAR. BUT WHAT A WOMAN.

Narrator

WITH SCARLETT O'HARA, MITCHELL HAD CREATED ONE OF FICTION'S MOST CAPTIVATING AND INFURIATING CHARACTERS.

Haskell

SHE IS SELFISH, SHE'S GREEDY, SHE'S OBTUSE. SHE STEALS HER SISTER'S BOYFRIEND. SHE MARRIES THREE MEN SHE DOESN'T LOVE, BUT SHE'S FIERCELY COURAGEOUS. SHE'S HONEST, SHE'S STRAIGHTFORWARD. THERE'S SO MUCH OF THE REBEL IN HER THAT WOMEN AND YOUNG WOMEN ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE RESPONDED TO THAT.

Narrator

SCARLETT O'HARA MET HER MATCH WITH RHETT BUTLER.

RHETT WHISTLES

GASP

Narrator

HAS THE WAR STARTED? SIR, YOU... YOU SHOULD HAVE MADE YOUR PRESENCE KNOWN. IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT BEAUTIFUL LOVE SCENE? THAT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN VERY TACTFUL, WOULD IT? BUT DON'T WORRY, YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH ME. SIR, YOU ARE NO GENTLEMAN. AND YOU, MISS, ARE NO LADY. THROUGH RHETT BUTLER, MITCHELL VOICED THE HOPELESSNESS OF THE SOUTHERN CAUSE.

Conroy

HIS CHARACTER, I THINK, FOR ME WAS FORMED WHEN HE JOINED THE CONFEDERATE FORCES WHEN THEY WERE DOOMED. BECAUSE HE KEPT SAYING, "WE'RE GOING TO LOSE." THEY'RE COMING FOR US AND WE DO NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH, THE MILITARY STRENGTH, TO STOP THEM.

Narrator

WITH HER CRITIQUE OF THE SOUTH'S RUSH TO WAR, MITCHELL FEARED A SOUTHERN BACKLASH, BUT THE CRITICISM OF "GONE WITH THE WIND" WAS ALL ABOUT RACE. I DO THINK THAT SHE IS TOTALLY GLAMORIZING AND TOTALLY ROMANTICIZING WHAT SLAVERY WAS REALLY LIKE, WHAT BEING A SLAVE OWNER REALLY MEANT ABOUT YOU AS A HUMAN BEING, AND CERTAINLY WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO BE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING OWNED BY SOMEONE WHO COULD SELL YOUR CHILDREN AWAY FROM YOU. ANTICIPATING THAT A MOVIE WOULD BE MADE, MEMBERS OF THE BLACK PRESS DENOUNCED "GONE WITH THE WIND." MITCHELL WAS SHOCKED. THEY REFERRED TO THE BOOK AS INCENDIARY AND NEGRO-BAITING. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY GET SUCH AN IDEA, FOR AS FAR AS I CAN SEE, MOST OF THE NEGRO CHARACTERS WERE PEOPLE OF WORTH, DIGNITY, AND RECTITUDE. MITCHELL'S BLACK CHARACTERS ARE NOT CHARACTERS, THEY'RE CARICATURES. IF "GONE WITH THE WIND" IS THE LAST STATEMENT ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF SLAVERY IN AMERICA, IT WOULD BE A HORRENDOUS LEGACY FOR BLACKS TO LIVE WITH. BESSIE JORDAN WAS MITCHELL'S LIFELONG COOK AND CONFIDANTE.

Haskell

SHE GOT ALONG FAMOUSLY WITH HER HOUSEKEEPER, THEY WERE VERY CLOSE, AND HER HOUSEKEEPER WAS LIKE MAMMY. MOST OF THE TIME, BESSIE ANSWERS THE PHONE. I'D AS SOON PICK UP A SNAKE AS THE RECEIVER.

Bessie

HELLO?

Walker

BESSIE WOULD ANSWER THE PHONE AND SHE WOULD SAY, "NO, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MISS SCARLETT OR MR. RHETT. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM TWO."

Narrator

MITCHELL WAS BESIEGED BY PEOPLE WANTING TO KNOW IF SCARLETT EVER GOT RHETT BACK.

Bessie

LORD, HAVE MERCY.

Haskell

EVERYONE HAS A YEARNING FOR RHETT AND SCARLETT AS WE ALL DO AND ALL ROMANTIC STORIES, BUT SHE WAS TOUGH, AND SHE DID NOT HAVE THEM GET TOGETHER IN THE END AND I THINK THAT EDGE HAS REALLY GIVEN IT SOMETHING THAT IS VERY UNCONVENTIONAL. RHETT! RHETT! RHETT! RHETT! IF YOU GO, WHERE SHALL I GO, WHAT SHALL I DO? FRANKLY, MY DEAR, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN.

Narrator

FOREIGN SALES OF "GONE WITH THE WIND" SWEPT THE GLOBE. MITCHELL WAS SUDDENLY ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PEOPLE. SHE WAS SO FAMOUS THAT SHE GOT MAIL, ENVELOPES THAT JUST SAID "MARGARET MITCHELL -- GONE WITH THE WIND." MITCHELL HAD ONCE WANTED FAME, BUT THE REALITY OF IT WAS A SHATTERING EXPERIENCE.

TELEPHONE RINGS

Narrator

I LEFT TOWN THREE DAYS AFTER I WAS PUBLISHED. I'D LOST ABOUT 10 POUNDS IN AN ALARMINGLY SHORT TIME. I FELT DREADFULLY, WEPT WHEN THE PHONE RANG, AND IT RANG EVERY FIVE MINUTES. I WASN'T CUT OUT TO BE A CELEBRITY. I DON'T LIKE IT WORTH A DAMN. "GONE WITH THE WIND" WON THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LITERATURE IN 1937. THE BOOK'S PHENOMENAL SUCCESS ATTRACTED HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER DAVID O. SELZNICK, WHO PAID MITCHELL $50,000 FOR THE MOVIE RIGHTS, A RECORD SUM FOR A FIRST NOVEL. AFTER SELZNICK PURCHASED THE FILM RIGHTS TO "GONE WITH THE WIND," HE WANTED MARGARET MITCHELL'S HELP, WHETHER TO HELP HIM WRITE THE SCREENPLAY OR ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THINGS. SHE ABSOLUTELY REFUSED. IF SOUTHERNERS DIDN'T LIKE THE PICTURE AND KNEW I HAD WORKED ON THE SCRIPT, I'D NEVER LIVE IT DOWN. MITCHELL NEVER WENT TO HOLLYWOOD. INSTEAD, HOLLYWOOD CAME TO HER.

Announcer

GALA DAYS IN DIXIE. STREAMLINED WINGS OF THE WIND BRING HOLLYWOOD TO ATLANTA FOR A HISTORY-MAKING WORLD PREMIERE OF THE MOTION PICTURE EPIC "GONE WITH THE WIND." SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY IS AT FEVER PITCH AS DISTINGUISHED VISITORS ARRIVE, HEADED BY PRODUCER DAVID SELZNICK AND SCREEN STARS OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND AND VIVIEN LEIGH.

Narrator

ON DECEMBER 15, 1939, THE MOVIE OF "GONE WITH THE WIND" PREMIERED IN ATLANTA. AS CROWDS SWELLED TO THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, IT WAS APPARENT THE SOUTH HAD BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME FOR THIS MOMENT.

Haskell

THE PREMIERE WAS THE VINDICATION OF THE SOUTH. IT WAS AS IF THEY HAD FORCED SHERMAN'S ARMY INTO RETREAT. YOU KNOW, THEIR VICTORY, THE LONG DELAYED VICTORY. THIS WAS THE FIRST ARTICULATE FIERY RESPONSE FROM THE SOUTH AND FROM THE SOUTHERN WOMAN'S POINT OF VIEW THAT TOLD WHAT THEY CONSIDERED THE TRUE STORY.

Narrator

MITCHELL DID NOT ATTEND THE GLAMOROUS JUNIOR LEAGUE BALL ON THE NIGHT BEFORE THE PREMIERE. YEARS EARLIER, SHE HAD BEEN BLACKBALLED BY THE JUNIOR LEAGUE AND SOME WONDERED IF SHE WERE GETTING HER REVENGE. BUT CLARK GABLE FOUND HER AT A PRESS EVENT, PULLED HER INTO A PRIVATE ROOM AND SHUT THE DOOR.

Wiley

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY SAID, BUT WHEN CLARK GABLE CAME OUT, HE LATER TOLD PEOPLE THAT SHE WAS THE MOST FASCINATING WOMAN HE HAD EVER MET. THIS IS MARGARET MITCHELL'S NIGHT AND THE PEOPLE OF ATLANTA'S NIGHT.

BAND PLAYS

Announcer

DIMINUTIVE MARGARET MITCHELL, THE AUTHOR, WHO RARELY APPEARS IN PUBLIC ATTENDS TO SEE HER BRAINCHILD.

Narrator

AT THE PREMIERE, MITCHELL SHRANK FROM THE LIMELIGHT, BUT AFTER SEEING THE MOVIE, SHE SAID A FEW WORDS TO THE THEATER AUDIENCE.

Mitchell

THIS PICTURE WAS A GREAT EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR ME. AND I WANT TO COMMEND MR. SELZNICK'S COURAGE AND HIS DETERMINATION TO GET THE EXACT CAST HE WANTED. I THINK YOU'LL ALL AGREE WITH ME, HE HAD THE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT CAST.

Narrator

THE MOVIE'S BLACK ACTORS HAD NOT COME TO ATLANTA. IN THE ERA OF SEGREGATION, THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STAY IN THE SAME HOTEL AS CLARK GABLE AND VIVIEN LEIGH. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, HATTIE McDANIEL WOULD BECOME THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO WIN AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR HER PORTRAYAL OF MAMMY IN "GONE WITH THE WIND."

Haskell

I MEAN WE CANNOT BELIEVE THAT HATTIE McDANIEL WAS THE FIRST BLACK TO WIN AN OSCAR AND COULD NOT COME TO ATLANTA TO THE PREMIERE. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, EVEN IN HOLLYWOOD, WHEN SHE WENT TO THE OSCARS, SHE WAS AT A TABLE BY HERSELF. SHE COULDN'T BE WITH THE REST OF THE CAST.

Narrator

IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AFTER THE PREMIERE, MITCHELL WROTE TO HATTIE McDANIEL. "THE PREMIERE AUDIENCE LOVED YOU, AND SO DID I. THE MAYOR OF ATLANTA CALLED FOR A HAND FOR "OUR HATTIE McDANIEL." AND I WISH YOU COULD HAVE HEARD THE CHEERS.

APPLAUSE

Narrator

AS WORLD WAR II RAGED IN EUROPE, THE NAZIS BANNED "GONE WITH THE WIND." THEY CLAIMED IT INSPIRED THE FRENCH RESISTANCE.

Freer

I THINK THE NAZIS WHO BANNED "GONE WITH THE WIND" WERE AFRAID THAT IT WOULD GIVE PEOPLE HOPE. IT WOULD GIVE PEOPLE THE WILL TO SURVIVE UNDER OCCUPATION.

Narrator

THE RUSSIANS WOULD LATER BAN "GONE WITH THE WIND" THROUGHOUT THE SOVIET EMPIRE. SCARLETT O'HARA WAS NOT A FAN OF WAR, AND THAT MADE HER DANGEROUS. "THE CAUSE DIDN'T SEEM SACRED TO HER. THE WAR DIDN'T SEEM TO BE A HOLY AFFAIR BUT A NUISANCE THAT KILLED MEN SENSELESSLY." DURING THE WAR, SHE SENT COUNTLESS NUMBERS OF BOXES, PACKAGES, TO VICTIMS IN THE WAR-TORN COUNTRIES. BESSIE OFTEN HELPED HER. MITCHELL EMBRACED THE ROLE OF RED CROSS VOLUNTEER AND RAISED MILLIONS FOR THE WAR EFFORT.

Wiley

SHE, OF COURSE, WAS ASKED TO CHRISTEN THE USS ATLANTA. SHE RAISED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THAT AND WENT TO NEW JERSEY TO CHRISTEN THAT SHIP.

Announcer

THE VERY SAME MARGARET MITCHELL WHOSE NOVEL, "GONE WITH THE WIND," MADE LITERARY AND MOTION PICTURE HISTORY. WHAT MORE APPROPRIATE THAN TO HAVE ATLANTA'S FAVORITE DAUGHTER CHRISTEN THE ATLANTA? I CHRISTEN THEE THE USS ATLANTA.

Wiley

WHEN IT WAS SUNK DURING THE WAR, SHE RAISED MONEY AND SHE CHRISTENED A SECOND USS ATLANTA.

Narrator

BY THE 1940s, MARGARET MITCHELL WAS NOT JUST FAMOUS, SHE WAS RICH. NOTHING ABOUT HER CHANGED IN ANY SIGNIFICANT WAY WITH THE INCOME FROM "GONE WITH THE WIND." NONE AT ALL. FRIENDS WONDER WHY IN HELL I PERSIST IN DRIVING A 1929 MODEL CAR AND WEARING FOUR-YEAR-OLD COTTON DRESSES.

Walker

INSTEAD OF SPENDING IT ON HERSELF, SHE USED IT WISELY TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE.

Narrator

IN 1942, MITCHELL RECEIVED A LETTER FROM DR. BENJAMIN MAYS, PRESIDENT OF ALL-BLACK MOREHOUSE COLLEGE IN ATLANTA. HE SAID, "WILL YOU GIVE ONE SCHOLARSHIP OF $80 FOR ONE STUDENT?" AND MARGARET MITCHELL WROTE BACK AND SENT A CHECK, SO THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE RELATIONSHIP. IT WAS ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A STUDENT FOR A YEAR'S WORTH OF TUITION. THAT'S AN ATTRACTIVE SCHOLARSHIP. BENJAMIN MAYS WAS A POWERFUL FIGURE, WHO WOULD BECOME THE MENTOR OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HE SENSED THAT MARGARET MITCHELL MIGHT BE OPEN TO HIS IDEAS ON EDUCATION. HE WAS RIGHT. "DEAR PRESIDENT MAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR IDEAS ON THE BEST USE OF THE $2,000 I SENT YOU FOR MEDICAL AND DENTAL STUDENTS." MITCHELL AND MAYS BEGAN A SECRET CORRESPONDENCE. HE WOULD MAKE THE REQUEST AND SHE WOULD SEND THE MONEY TO EDUCATE AFRICAN-AMERICAN DOCTORS.

Johnson

RACIAL TENSIONS WERE VERY DIFFICULT AND DEEP AT THAT TIME. IT'S AMAZING THAT DR. MAYS AND MARGARET MITCHELL WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT RELATIONSHIP IN SPITE OF IT.

Narrator

A MOREHOUSE COLLEGE STUDENT COURIERED THE LETTERS BETWEEN MITCHELL AND MAYS. BECAUSE OF THE DANGEROUS TIMES, THE TWO NEVER MET. I WOULD LIKEN IT TO AN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN THE SENSE OF HOW THEY SENT THE LETTERS BACK AND FORTH. IF THE WORLD HAD DISCOVERED THAT MARGARET MITCHELL WAS SUPPORTING MOREHOUSE COLLEGE, THAT GESTURE COULD HAVE THREATENED HER LIFE WITH THOSE WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN INCLINED TO RETALIATE AGAINST ANYONE WHO'S PROMOTING BLACK EDUCATION. FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE, MITCHELL WOULD SEND SCHOLARSHIP MONEY TO DR. BENJAMIN MAYS. NONE OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN DOCTORS KNEW WHO THEIR BENEFACTOR WAS. LATER, SHE QUIETLY HELPED FUND THE FIRST HOSPITAL FOR BLACKS IN ATLANTA. THE TIME WILL COME WHEN ATLANTA WILL BE THE LARGEST NEGRO CITY IN THE SOUTH. WHEN THAT TIME COMES, I HOPE WE WILL HAVE EXCELLENT NEGRO DOCTORS TO STAFF THIS HOSPITAL.

Franklin

AS TIME PASSED, SHE GREW. SHE RELINQUISHED SOME EARLY BELIEFS AND CONVICTIONS WITH WHICH SHE HAD BEEN REARED AND BEGAN TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH HER OWN EYES.

Johnson

SHE MADE SUCH A GREAT CONTRIBUTION TO MANKIND. IT WAS GREATER THAN MONEY. IT WAS SOMETHING SHE DID FOR HUMANITY.

Narrator

MITCHELL'S PERSONA WAS SHIFTING AGAIN. NOW SHE IDENTIFIED HERSELF AS MRS. JOHN MARSH RATHER THAN MARGARET MITCHELL.

Freer

SHE COULD GO PLACES AS MRS. JOHN MARSH WHERE PEOPLE WOULDN'T KNOW MRS. JOHN MARSH BUT THEY WOULD CERTAINLY KNOW MARGARET MITCHELL.

Haskell

MARGARET MITCHELL'S SELF-IMAGE, HER PERSONA, NEVER SETTLED INTO ONE FORM.

Pyron

AM I A WRITER, AM I A WIFE? SHALL I BE FAMOUS ON MY OWN? SHOULD I MAKE MORE MONEY THAN MY HUSBAND? WHAT HAPPENS IF I MAKE MORE MONEY THAN MY HUSBAND? IS HE MR. MARGARET MITCHELL?

Narrator

IN SPITE OF HIS WIFE'S SUCCESS, JOHN MARSH STILL WORKED AT GEORGIA POWER. HE ALSO MANAGED THE BUSINESS OF "GONE WITH THE WIND," A FORMIDABLE TASK. BUT IN 1945, HE SUFFERED A MASSIVE HEART ATTACK AND WOULD NEVER WORK AGAIN. FOR TWO AGONIZING YEARS, MITCHELL NURSED HER HUSBAND UNTIL HE WAS OUT OF DANGER. THEY LIVED QUIETLY AND WERE SOMEWHAT RECLUSIVE. THEIR FAVORITE PASTIME WAS WATCHING MOVIES. BUT THEIR LOVE OF MOVIES WOULD END TRAGICALLY IN MITCHELL'S FINAL ACCIDENT.

TIRES SQUEALING

Narrator

ON AUGUST 11, 1949, MARGARET MITCHELL WAS HIT BY A SPEEDING CAR AS SHE AND JOHN MARSH WERE CROSSING PEACH TREE STREET. THEY WERE GOING TO THE MOVIES. MITCHELL WAS TAKEN TO GRADY HOSPITAL IN ATLANTA, WHERE SHE LAY IN A COMA FOR FIVE DAYS. THEN, ON AUGUST 16, 1949, MARGARET MITCHELL DIED. SHE WAS 48 YEARS OLD. SHE WAS BURIED AT OAKLAND CEMETERY IN ATLANTA. A HALF-CENTURY LATER, THE WORLD WOULD LEARN SHE HAD SECRETLY EDUCATED DOZENS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN DOCTORS, BUT IT WAS NO SECRET TO ANYONE THAT MARGARET MITCHELL HAD WRITTEN A BOOK FOR THE AGES.

Conroy

A WOMAN WHO HAD NEVER WRITTEN A NOVEL COMES OUT OF NOWHERE, WRITES A BOOK THAT BECOMES THE BIGGEST LEGEND, MOST SUCCESSFUL BOOK PUBLISHED IN THE 20th CENTURY. SHE WROTE A TEXT ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN. AND UNTIL WE BECOME MACHINES AND ALL CLONES, IT WILL CONTINUE TO SPEAK TO THE HUMAN CONDITION AND PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO READ IT.

Narrator

MARGARET MITCHELL'S LAST ACT OF REBELLION CAME FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE. SHE ASKED HER HUSBAND TO BURN THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF "GONE WITH THE WIND" UPON HER DEATH. WITH GREAT SADNESS, JOHN MARSH WATCHED AS THE FLAMES CONSUMED HUNDREDS OF PAGES. BEFORE IT WAS OVER, HE RESCUED SEVERAL CHAPTERS AND STORED THEM IN A VAULT, IN CASE ANYONE EVER QUESTIONED HER AUTHORSHIP. WE MAY NEVER KNOW WHY MARGARET MITCHELL WANTED TO DESTROY THE STORY SHE HAD SPENT A LIFETIME CREATING. BUT ONE THING SEEMS CERTAIN. "GONE WITH THE WIND" WILL LIVE ON AND ON. "IF THE NOVEL HAS A THEME, IT IS THAT OF SURVIVAL. WHAT QUALITIES ARE IN THOSE WHO SURVIVE THAT ARE LACKING IN THOSE WHO GO UNDER? I ONLY KNOW THAT SURVIVORS USED TO CALL THAT QUALITY 'GUMPTION.' SO I WROTE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAD GUMPTION... AND PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T." TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARGARET MITCHELL, VISIT pbs.org/AmericanMasters. "MARGARET

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