Re: Scarlett was Catholic?
Elizabeth Arroyo (elizabeth.arroyo@mail.trincoll.edu)
Mon, 18 Apr 1994 19:40:09 ECT
Peter Holloran asks if it were realistic that Scarlett O'Hara's family was
Catholic. Given that her father was an immigrant from Ireland, and her
mother's family was of French descent (Savannah residents who spoke French
at home), it seems realistic to me. (I know there's a book out there on
Catholics in the South--that might even be the title of it--but I don't
recall the citation. It came out in fairly recent years.) The antebellum
South was mainly but not completely evangelical Christian. I would imagine
that cities, in particular, would have their pockets of Catholics, since
that's where immigrants tended to cluster.
Furthermore, I know that Margaret Mitchell researched the book
meticulously and was a perfectionist as regarded historical accuracy, so my
guess is that she wouldn't have mentioned such things as a convent in
Charleston (the one Scarlett's youngest sister Carreen eventually entered)
if there weren't one. But that's just an aside; I'd say the French-Irish
background is the strongest argument for plausibility. --Elizabeth Arroyo,
Trinity College
(elizabeth.arroyo@mail.trincoll.edu)