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ArchivesOrigin of Katie Scarlett O'Hara's middle name
in reply to a message by genis
Those were great symbolic meanings which you gave, Genis, and perhaps the author had some -- or all -- of those in mind when she named her character.
In the novel, the origin of the character's middle name is given as having been a family surname in Ireland. And the surname Scarlett, though associated with the color, is more specifically an occupational name for a dyer or seller of bright fabrics. (*A Dictionary of Surnames* by Hanks & Hodges)
Just a bit of Gone with the Wind trivia... Author Margaret Mitchell orignally planned to name her character "Pansy O'Hara". Fortunately, her editor didn't like that name and asked her to change it.
-- Nanaea
In the novel, the origin of the character's middle name is given as having been a family surname in Ireland. And the surname Scarlett, though associated with the color, is more specifically an occupational name for a dyer or seller of bright fabrics. (*A Dictionary of Surnames* by Hanks & Hodges)
Just a bit of Gone with the Wind trivia... Author Margaret Mitchell orignally planned to name her character "Pansy O'Hara". Fortunately, her editor didn't like that name and asked her to change it.
-- Nanaea
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middle name
The edition I have is the 1939 hardback (with color stills from the movie) foolishly handed down from my mother when I was a eight (I ruined the spine). The text mentions that the character is named for her paternal grandmother. Not a specific surname reference, but it would certainly make sense.
As for Pansy, I wondered before what the logic was behind that choice. The colors? Cold-hardiness? General adaptability? Editors, those cold-hearted scumbag types, how I love them.
The edition I have is the 1939 hardback (with color stills from the movie) foolishly handed down from my mother when I was a eight (I ruined the spine). The text mentions that the character is named for her paternal grandmother. Not a specific surname reference, but it would certainly make sense.
As for Pansy, I wondered before what the logic was behind that choice. The colors? Cold-hardiness? General adaptability? Editors, those cold-hearted scumbag types, how I love them.
1