gone with the wind
BECAUSE tomorrow is another day
Gone With The Wind is a sweeping piece of historical
fiction focusing on the life of a feisty Georgian woman named (Katie)
Scarlett O'Hara as she learns and loves during the American Civil War
period. Written by Margaret Mitchell and originally published in 1936,
the Pulitzer Prize-winning text was later adapted into a feature film
(1939) starring Clark Cable and Vivien Leigh. Gone with the Wind is one
of the most powerful and vivid pieces of American literature ever published,
a title which still influences culture today. Nowhere is this more apparent
than in Ai Tenshi Densetsu Wedding Peach and its portrayal
of the passionate angelic rebel, Angel Salvia.
It is important first to express that yes, as one may have guessed, Ohara Scarlet (Angel Salvia) is named after Scarlett O'Hara, the heroine from Margaret Mitchell's aforementioned novel. According to manga-ka, Yazawa Nao:
"...in the beginning Tomita-san (co-creator, anime script writer) was keen on the name "Salvia" because this name had such a passionate feeling, but we didn't have any ideas for her human name. Though we (the editor and I) suggested other names to him, for example “Violet” (Japanese-human-name would be "Sumire"), he didn't agree. And you know what happened after that..."
As suggested above, the creators didn't start out with the intention of naming Salvia after Scarlett - many different names were considered for the chatacter. In the end however, "Scarlet" won out as the name of the fourth love angel because it was unanimously decided that this name invoked a passionate feeling similar to "Salvia". It is well known that Tomita Sukehiro enjoys employing puns and word-plays when naming characters/items, so it seems only appropriate that in the end "Scarlet" became Ohara Scarlet. Yazawa-sensei explains the naming process for Scarlet as follows:
Salvia > scarlet sage > scarlet > Scarlett O'Hara > Ohara scarlet
After the character's name was finalised, various other elements about her personality and history would come to be inspired by Scarlett. Salvia's family in the angel world, although never mentioned in the series, all had names based on characters and actors linked to Gone With The Wind, according to ideas planned by the series staff.
Salvia's father was named butler after the character of Rhett Butler, Scarlett O'Hara's sardonic love interest and eventual third husband.Salvia's mother was named vivien after actress Vivien Leigh, who portrayed Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 film adaptation of Mitchell's book.
Salvia's brother was named lee also after the actress Vivien Leigh.
These characters were never portrayed in the canonical text however, other aspects inspired by Gone With The Wind were. Both of Salvia's love interests had their names derived from the text, similarly to how her family members above were named.
clark oasis was named after Clark Gable, the debonair actor who portrayed Rhett Butler in the film adaptation of Gone With The Wind. He is Salvia's love interest in the second episode of Wedding Peach DX and is physically modeled on Clark Gable.
dean butler was named after Rhett Butler, Scarlett O'Hara's love interest from Gone With The Wind. He was originally to be called Rhett Butler but "...in Japanese, "Retto (Rhett)" and "Sucaaretto (Scarlet)" have the same sound, "retto". "
In adddition, Salvia
and Scarlett O'hara have fairly similar personalities. Scarlett is a
fiercely independent woman, resourceful and with an unwavering streak
of optimism. Salvia is a loner who is quick-witted and endowed with
incredible emotional fortitude. Both characters share a thirst for independence,
a longing for affection and a painfully selfish streak which hinders
them in their pursuits. They are both outspoken and at times crass,
with each having a certain bitter dislike for the actions of other racial
groups (Scarlett and the freed slaves, Salvia and the devils). Their
personal strengths see them through hardships, regardless of their various flaws. In both texts, these defiant women must deal with their
positions in a changing world after wartime conflict and each must come
to terms with what is truly important.
Salvia's link to Scarlett is undoubtedly a type of textual tribute born from love, respect and good-natured humour. Fans of Gone With The Wind can look at Salvia and enjoy the contrasts in her representation of various elements inspired by Mitchell's novel. While those unfamiliar with the original text can find themselves interested in Gone With The Wind after enjoying Salvia's exploits. As Yazawa-sensei herself states, "..."Gone with the Wind" is very popular in Japan- of course we love it" and this is charmingly apparent in Wedding Peach.
Note: It should be added that some of the English language Wedding Peach releases incorrectly refer to Ohara Scarlet as "Scarlett O'Hara". In original series material, her name is consistently written as 小原スカーレット with a preferred romanisation of Ohara Scarlet. The fact that the characters' names are similar (with some humorous intent) does not mean that they are identical.