Annoying Gratuitous Detail in GWTW

Cafe Society
1

Why would Scarlett have had the sense to burn pine knots for light, when Mammy didn’t know to do so?

That detail, from her return to Tara following the fall of Atlanta, has always bugged me. Mammy is nursing her sisters during their bout with typhoid, and Scarlett walks into the bedroom, notices Mammy burning bacon grease (I think?) for lighting, and makes a mental note to tell her to use pine knots instead & save the bacon for cooking.

Why would a self-absorbed, flighty 19-yr-old have more sense than a woman of Mammy’s age and stature?

Even given all the overt racism in that otherwise wonderful book, I have to say that one detail seems particularly arrogant.

I know there are some GWTW afficionados around here - does this bug you, too?

2

Not as much as other errors do, like a 13 month pregnancy and the total lack of antebellum architecture in the real Atlanta at the time. :smiley:

3

I haven’t the slightest clue, but does grease give a “better” light than pine knots? If so, that might have been more of a character signifier for Scarlett – that she’s more worried about conserving supplies for cooking than making sure her sisters are comfortable.