Though strong characters succeed through the Gone With the Wind, the film suggests that strength is often a person's undoing. Scarlett, who has beaten poverty, the Yankees, and public opinion, loses the man she has come to love because she is too stubborn to see that she was wrong about Ashley.

Scarlett realizes that she loves and depends on Melanie and that Ashley has been only a fantasy for her. She concludes that she truly loves Rhett. After Melanie dies, Scarlett hurries to tell Rhett of her revelation. Rhett, however, says that he has lost his love for Scarlett, and he leaves her.

It remains one of the most popular and commercially successful films ever made. Its main theme, from the Max Steiner score, is recognized throughout the world. In its use of color, scene design, and cinematography, it set new standards. The film won eight Academy Awards, more than any film up to that time.

In summary, Gone with the Wind offers a romanticized view of the American Civil War from the perspective of the Confederacy. It focuses on Scarlett O'Hara, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy planter, following her romantic trials during the war and into the Reconstruction period.