She's one of the most iconic female characters in literature. To this day, we borrow her lines (unknowingly,) such as "Great balls of fire!" and "Tomorrow is another day!" And yet, I had to ask, why? Scarlett O'Hara stands out as one of the most self absorbed, manipulative, overtly racist, flirtatious and aggravating leading ladies ever to grace a novel. Why, oh why was her character a hit?

I don't plan to finish the book, so I'll admit right here that my opinion is not the most educated one; but it appears at first blush that Scarlett's immortality branches from her flaws. When she connives for attention, she's like us. When she flings herself into a steep depression, in Scarlett, we see ourselves. Likely her behavior is worse than our own. I don't know many people who could match her for selfishness, because really, she's an absolute pain. But her incredible humanity, bad decisions and all, causes us to remember her.

While this does not make Scarlett admirable by any stretch, it does shed light on who we are. We instinctively like knowing other people are as messed up as ourselves. Scarlett-the-shamless-flirt is exactly the person we may take pride in not being. Like the thief who is comforted knowing that at least he isn't as bad as a murderer, we're uplifted to read about people who indulge in the same or worse behavior than we do. At the same time, others of us live vicariously through Scarlett, appreciating that she commits the sins we only imagine doing.

These perspectives are all entangled. Call it hedonism. Call it self-righteousness. Much of it is actually pride. In the end, we must realize that we each carry these flaws to some extent. Beyond the problems of a fictional character, we live with sin in a very real way. Ignoring the problem only results in a guilt-ridden existence, so we must inevitably come to terms with our inner O'Hara. With honesty.

Take this then, as a public confession. All the character flaws I despise in Gone With the Wind, I can claim for myself. I hate Margaret Mitchell's main character; but it's mostly because bits and pieces remind me of me. And in retrospect, it's funny that this brush with classic literature has led me back down this familiar trail of grace.

Instead of taking pride in what we are not, we can frankly recognize what we are. Christ demands that we have the courage to see ourselves realistically; there is no hiding where God is concerned. We live our lives disguising our mistakes from others, trying to do better, trying to win their hearts; but if we look at it correctly, all we're doing is splashing some paint on a tomb. (Matt. 23:27) We are not providing a solution.

Tim Keller wrote, "In Christ I could know I was accepted by grace not only despite my flaws, but because I was willing to admit them. The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This....undermines both swaggering and sniveling."

The love of Christ gives us the boldness to see ourselves truly, causing us to find refreshed humility every time we see our sin in someone else. Renewing ourselves constantly with the remembrance of sin, we're then freed to grow beyond the flaws.

But then again, is there really much to learn beyond grace? Or is it all just a matter of learning to accept forgiveness and re-learning again?