Anatomy of a Southern Belle
by Kate Spears When Deep South Magazine asked me to do a guest post about what it means to be a Southern belle, I was honored. As the author of a blog called Southern Belle Simple, it makes sense that I should be able to offer some insight. I was also asked to include any inspiration or pearls of wisdom I have gained from Scarlett O’Hara, but from a modern perspective. Since one cannot in good faith speak about being a Southern belle without mentioning Scarlett O, the request seemed perfect. The mere mention of the phrase "Southern belle" evokes vivid images of the old South. Perhaps this is best demonstrated in the opening scene from "Gone with Wind" where a coy Scarlett teases the Tarleton twins on the front porch of Tara, both of them wrapped around her little finger. We can certainly learn from Scarlett to keep our chins up in the face of the greatest adversity as she often made lemonade when life gave her lemons, even if her judgment in some situations would cause us to scratch our heads. As this summer marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of "Gone with the Wind," we should also turn our