Read these top Gone with the Wind quotes and find nuggets of wisdom that can guide you.
Gone with the Wind is a classic masterpiece. It’s a novel by Margaret Mitchell, later adapted into a movie starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, and more. If you try to get deep into it, Gone with the Wind is a Civil War drama told through the life of Scarlett O’Hara, her struggles, regrets, and realizations.
There are all sorts of characters in Gone with the Wind. However, their strength and zest for life tie them together. In fact, many consider it a movie about strength and resilience and how they manifest in all aspects of one’s life.
Read the complete list of Gone with the Wind quotes below to see how these values are depicted in the movie and the book. We’re positive you won’t regret a single second you used to read through this collection.
And don’t forget to check out these Scarlett O’Hara quotes and Breakfast at Tiffany’s quotes.
Best Gone with the Wind Quotes
1. “With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.” – Rhett Butler
2. “I can’t let him go. I can’t. There must be some way to bring him back. Oh, I can’t think about this now! I’ll go crazy if I do! I’ll think about it tomorrow. But I must think about it. I must think about it. What is there to do? What is there that matters? Tara! Home. I’ll go home. And I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day!” – Scarlett O’Hara
3. “I’ve loved you more than I’ve ever loved any woman, and I’ve waited for you longer than I’ve waited for any woman.” – Rhett Butler
4. “As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this, and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!” – Scarlett O’Hara
5. Charles Hamilton: “You can’t mean you don’t want war!”
Ashley Wilkes: “Most of the miseries of the world were caused by wars. And when the wars were over, no one ever knew what they were about.”
6. “You’re throwing away happiness with both hands, and reaching out for something that will never make you happy.” – Rhett Butler
7. “No, I don’t think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That’s what’s wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” – Rhett Butler
8. “If I said I was madly in love with you, you’d know I was lying.” – Scarlett O’Hara
Famous Gone with the Wind Quotes
9. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” – Rhett Butler
10. “I’d cut up my heart for you to wear if you wanted it.” – Scarlett O’Hara
11. “I’m very drunk, and I intend on getting still drunker before this evening is over.” – Rhett Butler
12. Scarlett O’Hara: “Cathleen, who’s that?”
Cathleen Calvert: “Who?”
Scarlett O’Hara: “That man looking at us and smiling. The nasty, dark one.”
Cathleen Calvert: “My dear, don’t you know? That’s Rhett Butler. He’s from Charleston. He has the most terrible reputation.”
Scarlett O’Hara: “He looks as if—as if he knows what I look like without my chemise.”
13. “You’re like the thief who isn’t the least bit sorry he stole but is terribly, terribly sorry he’s going to jail.” – Rhett Butler
14. “No, my dear, I’m not in love with you, no more than you are with me, and if I were, you would be the last person I’d ever tell. God help the man who ever really loves you. You’d break his heart, my darling, cruel, destructive little cat who is so careless and confident she doesn’t even trouble to sheathe her claws.” – Rhett Butler
15. “Never pass up new experiences, Scarlett; they enrich the mind.” – Rhett Butler
16. Rhett Butler: “Don’t start flirting with me. I’m not one of your plantation beaux. I want more than flirting from you.”
Scarlett O’Hara: “What do you want?”
Rhett Butler: “I’ll tell you, Scarlett O’Hara, if you’ll take that Southern belle simper off your face. Someday I want you to say to me the words I heard you say to Ashley Wilkes, ‘I love you!’”
Scarlett O’Hara: “That’s something you’ll never hear from me, Captain Butler, as long as you live.”
Gone with the Wind Quotes That Will Shift Your Views on Love and Life
17. Rhett Butler: “Did you ever think of marrying just for fun?”
Scarlett O’Hara: “Marriage, fun? Fiddle-dee-dee. Fun for men, you mean.”
18. “I can’t go all my life waiting to catch you between husbands.” – Rhett Butler
19. “Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin’ for, worth fightin’ for, worth dyin’ for—because it’s the only thing that lasts.” – Gerald O’Hara
20. “Dear Scarlett! You aren’t helpless. Anyone as selfish and determined as you are is never helpless. God help the Yankees if they should get you.” – Rhett Butler
21. Rhett Butler: “Panic’s a pretty sight, isn’t it? We belong together, Scarlett. Let’s get out of here together. No use staying here, letting the South come down around your ears. Too many nice places to go and visit. Mexico, London, Paris—.”
Scarlett O’Hara: “With you?”
Rhett Butler: “Yes, ma’am. A man who understands you and admires you for just what you are. I figure we belong together, being the same sort. I’ve been waiting for you to grow up and get that sad-eyed Ashley Wilkes out of your heart. Are you going with me, or are you getting out?”
Scarlett O’Hara: “I hate and despise you, Rhett Butler. I’ll hate and despise you till I die.”
Rhett Butler: “Oh no, you won’t, Scarlett. Not that long.”
Gone with the Wind Quotes From the Novel
22. “Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
23. “Hardships make or break people.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
24. “It was better to know the worst than to wonder.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
25. “Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect. We take what we get and are thankful it’s no worse than it is.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
26. “That is the one unforgivable sin in any society. Be different and be damned!” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
27. “Until you’ve lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
28. “And apologies, once postponed, become harder and harder to make, and finally impossible.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
29. “Perhaps I want the old days back again, and they’ll never come back, and I am haunted by the memory of them and of the world falling about my ears.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
30. “All wars are sacred to those who have to fight them. If the people that started wars didn’t make them sacred, who would be foolish enough to fight them? But, no matter what rallying cries the orators give to the idiots who fight, no matter what noble purposes they assign to wars, there is never but one reason for a war. And that is money. All wars are, in reality, money squabbles. But so few people ever realize it. Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and fine words from stay-at-home orators.” – Margaret Mitchell, Author
Among All the Characters, Who Can You Relate to the Most?
Living in a time of war is not easy. It’s one of humanity’s most challenging hardships. However, through this trying phase in life, we grow and strengthen our spirit, just like the characters from Gone with the Wind.
No matter how different they are, they all exude strength in whatever they do, especially the heroine, Scarlett O’Hara. One of the most meaningful quotes from the book goes, “Hardships make or break people.” We can all relate to this, no matter where we are in life or what age we are.
In Gone with the Wind, Scarlett faces death, starvation, and even the loss of her loved ones. Yet, she never lost her resilience, faith, and hope through it all. Even when Rhett left her, she was determined to chase after him to show him how genuine her love was for him.
Gone with the Wind might have ended on an open note in this regard, but it’s evident in the rest of the story how strength emanated from each character. So, remember this lesson the next time you watch or read it. Remember that it’s a tale that goes beyond the troubles of war; it’s about strength in love and life, too.
