Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Fictional Characters: 84

****SPOILERS TO FOLLOW****

84: Rhett Butler
Created by Margaret Mitchell for the novel “Gone with the Wind”
First Appearance: 1936

If only I was as cool as Rhett Butler. Maybe I’m foolish for even putting him this far down the list. I feel bad, actually. The dude is a pimp ass playa and he knows it, the ladies know it, hell the entire country knows it. And that’s not including the people in the book/film who also seem to know it. Now, I’ve never read the book, so I’m not 100% certain that he’s as slick there as he is when Clark Gable played him in the film – and don’t get me wrong, here, folks; I hate the movie. Its over-bloated, long, boring at points, and goes on for two hours after it ends – but that doesn’t matter. The dude I got to know during the 600-hour movie was as smooth a customer as there ever could be. And one slick bastard that I’ll never forget.

The man is a card shark, a gold thief, a womanizer, a money launderer, and an out and out criminal in every other regard one could ever think of, sans rape and/or murder (that we know about). He’s an enemy to society and a friend to every individual person he comes across, of particular note considering he existed during the time surrounding the Civil War, a time when everyone was divided. One thing everyone agreed on, though? Rhett Butler was the fucking coolest. Even after stealing gold from a Yankee treasury, not only is he simply imprisoned by the troops, but he’s seen outside his cell, playing cards and robbing them in an entirely different manner. What balls on this guy. And he does so with a smile.

The primary character in both the film and the book is Scarlett, but no one cares about her because she’s a stupid, petty bitch who ultimately gets what she deserves. And I know, I know, the lesson we take from the story is that being petty gets you no where and that bad people who do bad things will have bad things happen to them. Blah blah blah. That’s boring and creates only uninteresting characters. No depth to her at all. Rhett? All depth. His stance on political dealings, the war, and even on conceptual things like love and honor create in him a well developed character that is a pleasure to get to know. In the film, any minute this guy isn’t on screen is a minute wasted on other assholes that are far less deserving.

Now, now. I know, I know. This entire note is coming across more like a badmouth-fest against “Gone with the Wind” and less an article about a great character. That’s a fair claim. But that the tragic nature of “Gone with the Wind” in my estimation; you can have such an epic character almost get lost to time because the narrative he exists in is so shoddy, it almost falls apart around him. But its through him and his interactions with the rest of the story’s cast that allows the movie/book any real importance in history, aside from being the second movie in history to make me think I was in Hell the entire time I was watching it, after Green Lantern, of course.

The man is against marriage, but loves the idea of Scarlett so much. This is his only real flaw, as I see it. He could have – and likely has had – every other woman on the face of God’s green Earth, but the one he ends up wanting to spend the rest of his life with Scarlett. And this almost ruins him, both in my opinion and as far as his character’s development goes within the novel. He can’t keep his eyes off another woman, and after the tragedy of their (Rhett and Scarlett’s) child falling off a horse, an emotionally damaged and confused Rhett has to make a decision; stay with the vile Scarlett, or get the hell out of town.

He makes the right choice.

Favorite Portrayal: I’ve seen parts of the TV miniseries based on the official sequel to “Gone with the Wind” (titled “Scarlett”). That version of Rhett Butler is played by Timothy “James Bond?” Dalton. That mother fucker is a real pimp. Clark Gable? Fuck that shit. Give me Timbo any day.

Favorite Quote: Scarlett: Sir, you are no gentleman.

Rhett Butler: And you, Miss, are no lady.
YOU TELL ‘ER, RHETT!

Favorite Moment: I wish he’d just crushed her fucking skull in. He had the chance, and he let it go. What a waste. Alas!

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Added April 8, 2016 I’m almost 100% certain I’d said Timothy Dalton was the best Butler just to deliver another blow to the film. There is no way that he outdoes Gable. Don’t get me wrong, though, I love Timbo. Aside from that, I stand by everything said, here. And will until my dying day.