Perception and Judgement

The author uses the theme of perception and judgement to demonstrate how easily people can jump to conclusions and distort facts.

When the novel opens with Scarlett going into labor, the first word of her narration is “Joshua” (3). It is unclear if this is her child, her spouse, or some other male in her life. What is clear is that Joshua is of utmost importance. Scarlett senses that something is wrong, but she is not sure of what to do. This foreshadows how Scarlett will handle everything else that is to come.

Scarlett has mixed feelings about attending the May Mothers. Perhaps, this is how Scarlett has always been, but it also could be because of the loss of Joshua, which the reader is unaware of. Scarlett admits that she “was never going to be a regular, but I went as often as I...