through an individual eyes, need an element of memory and legitimacy about them to be widely accepted. These often exaggerated ‘re-telling’s’ of the South’s past, help enormously in keeping the myth of the Old South alive. Most interestingly, Southern history, as both a professional and an amateur pursuit, has largely and consistently been written in the South by Southerners for Southerners and published by Southern Journals and Presses. 244 This allows the myth of the South to be contained and kept ridged in its dimensions allowing a variety of novels and other creative outlets to fully capture the myth of the Old South. Firstly, the use of culture to help keep the myth of the past alive allowed the Old South to be romanticised and henceforth idealised by many Southern generations to come. Clement Eaton, an American South historian believes in this view that the South was romanticised due to the media and culture. He argues that ‘the romantic spirit expressed itself most potently in the arts and social matters’. 245 Similarly, fellow historical writer, Wilbur Cash agreed that the South was romanticised by novels, however, it was the landscape described that was ‘a sort of cosmic conspiracy against reality in favour of romance’. 246 An example of this romantic landscape can be seen in the popular 1936 novel, ‘Gone with the Wind’ . The novel is set during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era and features descriptions of a lustrous landscape filled with opportunity and the perfect setting for a romantic novel. This romanticised image of the South allowed Margret Mitchell to ‘smooth over [any] ugliness that was present in the book’. ‘Gone with the Wind’ also discussed slavery and poverty in the novel, with the more recent film adaption allowing these to be put aside 244 Michael Brown, Placing the South, (Jackson, University Press of Mississippi, 2007) p.124. 245 Stephen A. Smith, Myth, Media and the Southern Mind , (Fayetteville, The University of Arkansas Press, 1985) , p.13. 246 Ibid, p.6.
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