Dona Flor and Scarlett O’Hara: One dilemma, two love stories in Brazilian and American cultures

Abstract

In this article we analyze two popular films, one from Brazil and another from the United States. Specifically, we examine and compare Bruno Barreto’s Dona Flor and her Two Husbands (Brazil, 1976) and Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind (USA, 1939). Both films have as a central plot a love triangle in which a woman, Flor and Scarlett respectively, is torn between two very different romantic interests. However, Flor’s decision to commit to two men contrasts with Scarlett’s solitary end. We demonstrate that the films express distinct ways of reconciling values associated to ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity’ through the heroines’ romantic relationships and, above all, their opposite endings.