Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell up to page 159

Not gonna lie, this section was a little less entertaining than past ones. But hey, doesn't that hint that something great is building up? Even if it doesn't I'm going to pretend that it does, because the beginning of the book impressed me. Before I give my commentary, here's a very short summary:

Scarlett and Charles marry just one day before Melanie and Ashley’s wedding. The men then go off to war and Charles dies of measles two months later. Scarlett gives birth to a son and names him Wade Hampton Hamilton, after Charles’s commanding officer. Scarlett hates the restrictive and boring life of a widowed mother, hates the general excitement over the war, and hates that Ashley is married. She takes a trip to Atlanta to stay with Melanie and her aunt, Pittypat. One morning, Scarlett, Prissy, and Wade arrive in Atlanta to visit Melanie and Aunt Pittypat. Atlanta, a railroad hub, has sprouted army departments, hospitals, and foundries during the war. At the Hamilton house on Peachtree Street, Pittypat and Melanie are thrilled to see Scarlett. Uncle Henry, Pittypat’s brother, talks to Scarlett about Charles’s fortune, which is now Scarlett’s. The hustle and energy revive Scarlett. Her only complaint is that she must do volunteer nursing work in the soldiers’ hospitals, which are full of sweaty, wounded men that stink of gangrene. Scarlett is disgusted by nursing, and claims to hate it. Melanie is also disgusted by nursing and could be found vomiting after several of the procedures to remove the gangrene from wounded soldiers.

I feel bad for Scarlett now that her plan has backfired. She is now unhappier than she previously was without Ashley. But now she must be even more involved in his life and cannot move on and forget him because she was married into the same family he was married into. I can't blame her for being disgusted by nursing, I would be too. I just hope her situation improves!