What are the best quotes from the Gone with the Wind novel?


I first read this novel as a teenager and gave it another go a few days ago. For those of you, who have already read this book, I've rounded up the best quotes from the Gone with the Wind novel in this article. And for those who have yet to read this book, here is some context; 


Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is often considered the second most popular book after the Bible in the US. You can have an estimate of how popular this novel is by looking at the stats: over 30 million copies have been sold to date.


Although criticized for derogatory portrayal of African Americans in the Southern states, the novel has some of the best quotes to live by — for which it has gained a renewed attention among netizens. 


Which brings me to today…


Why should you read the best quotes from the Gone with the Wind? 


American journalist Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind for over a span of three years, and upon its first publication in 1936 — it became a bestseller. It deals with universal themes like tragedy of war, betrayal, love, and sadness.


Several critics praised the writing style, while several criticized for historical inaccuracies. Some went too far and compared the novel with Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. In 1937, Margaret Mitchell earned the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her book. 


25 best quotes from the Gone with the Wind


Did you know Gone with the Wind was also adapted into a movie of the same name two years later? The film-adaptation is the highest grossing movie of all time after adjusting monetary inflation. 


Just like the movie, the novel has many quotable lines for perfect Instagram captions.


Without further ado, here are the best quotes from the Gone with the Wind  with no particular order.



1. "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."


2. "If I said I was madly in love with you you'd know I was lying." 


3. "Vanity was stronger than love at sixteen and there was no room in her hot heart now for anything but hate." 


4. "Scarlett, always save something to fear — even as you save something to love." 


5. "Never pass up new experiences. They enrich the mind."


6.  "Be different and be damned!"


7. "Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them."


8. "I wish I could care what you do or where you go but I can't. My dear, I don't give a damn." 


9. "She hasn't your strength. She's never had any strength. She's never had anything but heart."


10. "What’s broken is broken — and I’d rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I live." 


11. "There’ll always be wars because men love wars." 


12. "Did it ever occur to you that even the most deathless love could wear out?" 


13. "Yes, I want money more than anything else in the world." 


14. "Anyone as selfish and determined as you are is never helpless." 


15. "It cannot have escaped your notice that for some time past the friendship I have had in my heart for you has ripened into a deeper feeling, a feeling more beautiful, more pure, more sacred. Dare I name it you?"


16. "In the end what will happen will be what has happened whenever a civilization breaks up. The people who have brains and courage come through and the ones who haven't are winnowed out." 


17. "Until the war, life was never more real to me than a shadow show on a curtain." 


18. "There's one thing I do know…and that is that I love you, Scarlett." 


19. "You have the heart of a lion and an utter lack of imagination and I envy you both of those qualities." 


20. "It's a curse — this not wanting to look on naked realities." 


21. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'll never understand or forgive myself. And if a bullet gets me, so help me, I'll laugh at myself for being an idiot." 


22. "If he's forgotten me, I'll make him remember me. I'll make him want me again." 


23. "She was not afraid of the darkness or the fog and she knew with a singing in her heart that she would never fear them again." 


24. "I wish I could care what you do or where you go but I can't... My dear, I don't give a damn."


25. "After all, tomorrow is another day." 



Bottom Line


I can't say that I get plenty of time to read books these days, but this book is absolutely one of my favorite American novels.


My favorite quote among all these is: "Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them."


Hope you enjoyed reading these lines which I consider some of the best quotes from the Gone with the Wind novel.


What's your favorite quote from the book? Let me know in the comments.