Synopsis of story:
Scarlett is the daughter of a wealthy and prestigious planter in Georgia, USA. Father Gerald is an immigrant from Ireland. When he first arrived in Georgia, Gerald was penniless and won the ownership of Tarot Manor by gambling. So he began to start a business in this red land and weave his American dream. It was not until he was 43 years old that he married Allen, the daughter of a French immigrant on the east coast. 15. Gerald has a good heart but a bad temper, while his young wife has a good family education and strict moral values. She personally manages the daily affairs of the whole manor, and even treats the slaves in the manor and delivers babies. Therefore, the couple were respected by the surrounding white manor owners and loved by the black slaves. Daughter Scarlett O 'Hara grew up in this environment.
186 1 April, the north-south relationship in the United States has been very tense. People in Georgia are talking about the inevitable war.
However, Scarlett, who is 16 years old, has no interest in this. In addition to dancing and outing, there are those admirers who surround her. She was surprised when she heard that Ashley Wilkes would announce her engagement to Melanie at the picnic the next day. She has always liked Ashley's gentlemanly manner and handsome appearance, and thinks that she is much better than Melanie in all aspects. With her charm, she is sure to persuade Ashley to elope with her. But Ashley politely refused. Scarlett felt abandoned by Ashley. She slapped Ashley in the face in a rage and dropped a vase after Ashley left. Who knows, Butler has been eavesdropping. When Scarlett accused him of not being a gentleman, he retorted that Scarlett was not a lady.
When the news of the war came, the dance that night was cancelled. Scarlett suddenly decided to marry Charles, because it would save her face and stimulate Ashley and her suitors. In this way, the wayward Scarlett became Charles' wife two weeks later. Two months later, Charles died in the front, and Scarlett suddenly became a widow. Because she didn't love Charles, she was not sad or even happy about his death.
But the widow's life is unbearable for Scarlett, who is lively by nature. At this time, Ashley also came to the front. His wife Melanie wrote from Atlanta and invited her to stay at Charles' menstruation's house for a while. Scarlett left Tara and came to Atlanta. The change of environment made Scarlett feel a little better. As the war became more and more tense, women in Atlanta were mobilized to take care of the wounded and sick brought back from the front in the local hospital and sew munitions for the Confederate army. However, as Scarlett has just lost her wife, she can't attend the dance and party for the soldiers who are going to war. [ 1]?
/kloc-in the summer of 0/864, the northern army approached Atlanta, the capital of the confederacy. The city was besieged, and Charles's aunt and many families in the city fled Atlanta. Scarlett received a letter from her father and learned that her mother and two sisters were seriously ill. She just wanted to go home. However, because Melanie is about to give birth, Scarlett has to stay with her because of Ashley's entrustment. At the same time, Rhett calls home and asks Scarlett to be his mistress, but Scarlett refuses.
1in April 865, the confederate army surrendered and the war finally ended. Many southerners cry for their failure. In Scarlett's mind, the more important question is how to keep Tara.
After the war, some soldiers passed through Tara every day and returned to their hometown. One day, Scarlett found a young man in a coma at the door and rescued him. With everyone's concern, this young man named Will gradually recovered. Will was homeless, so he stayed in the tower and slowly took on many management affairs of the manor.
Ashley finally came back alive. He was ragged and haggard, and his original noble temperament was gone. The following spring, the new government ordered Tara to pay a new additional tax within a time limit, otherwise the estate would be auctioned off to offset the tax. It turned out that Jonas, the housekeeper who was driven out of Tara a few years ago due to negligence, became the head of the newly established Committee for the Liberation of Slaves. He tried to embezzle Tara, so he came up with the idea of forcing to pay additional tax. Scarlett and Will are at a loss. Scarlett hopes Ashley can help them do something, but Ashley's cowardice and incompetence disappoint them.
In despair, Scarlett suddenly remembered Rhett. If Rhett is willing to pay to keep Tara, Scarlett is willing to marry him or be his mistress. Scarlett and her family made a new dress with mother Ellen's moss green velvet curtains. The next day, Scarlett wore a new dress and went to Atlanta to find Rhett. Only then did she know that Rhett was imprisoned on suspicion of embezzling large sums of money from the Confederacy. Frustrated, Scarlett accidentally met her sister Suellen's fiance Frank Kennedy. He is already the owner of a shop and has a sum of money on hand. Scarlett understood that Suellen's desire for a rich life before was selfish. If Suellen married Frank, she would never use money to save Tara. So Scarlett lied that Suellen would marry Fontaine, and then easily took Frank into her arms. Two weeks later, they got married Tara is saved! But it was soon discovered that Frank had no business sense and turned a deaf ear to other people's suggestions, so his business was very bad. At this time, Rhett was released through various personal relationships. He lent Scarlett a sum of money, and Scarlett bought a closed wood processing factory behind Frank's back and started her own business. It is unprecedented for a woman to earn money by doing business like a man in Atlanta. This incident caused a great sensation. Frank was humiliated by her illegal business.
Scarlett is pregnant. She wanted to earn more money before production for a rainy day, so she bought the second timber factory. In the meantime, Scarlett drives herself to and from the lumber mills every day, and she has no friends except Rhett. One day, Rhett advised her to be careful on the road, suggesting that the Klan would retaliate against her if she was attacked by a black man. At that time, the Atlanta military government, which implemented the "Reconstruction Act", was planning how to eliminate the Ku Klan and all suspected southerners.
In June, Scarlett rushed back to Tara to attend her father's funeral. After the funeral, the Scarlett family, including Ashley, Melanie and Will, moved to Atlanta and bought a shabby house to live in. Melanie, who is kind and upright, quickly won the trust of women and became a respected figure. Although Ashley was entrusted by Scarlett to manage a lumber mill, it was badly run.
A few months later, despite the dissuasion and opposition of relatives and friends, Scarlett and Rhett got married. 187 1 Christmas, the power of the state government finally returned to the hands of southerners. Bonnie is so beautiful that Rhett devoted almost all his efforts to Bonnie. Rhett's efforts to change his image in the eyes of Atlanta residents are entirely aimed at establishing Bonnie's future position in Atlanta.
Scarlett is still attached to Ashley. On the afternoon of Ashley's birthday, Scarlett and Ashley had a very speculative conversation at the lumber mill. They recalled the picnic together. It was soon known to Rhett and Melanie. A few days later, Rhett took Bonnie on a long trip. After he left, Scarlett immediately went to Melanie to tell her about her mistake. But Melanie stopped her, and she repeatedly stressed that only Scarlett was her closest relative. Melanie forced everyone to believe in Scarlett and protect her unswervingly.
Soon, Scarlett found herself pregnant again. At this time, she began to miss Rhett and hoped that he would come back soon. On the day Rhett got home, Scarlett specially greeted him at the stairs. I wanted to tell him the news of pregnancy, but when I saw his sarcastic expression, Scarlett was out of breath. As a result, I slipped and fell down the stairs and broke my ribs.
Melanie, who has always been weak, disobeyed the doctor's advice and got pregnant again. After pregnancy, her health deteriorated rapidly. On her deathbed, she gave Scarlett the responsibility of taking care of Ashley. At this time, Scarlett suddenly realized that Melanie, who has always been thin, is actually a sword and shield to protect her. She realized for the first time that she loved Melanie.
With Melanie dead, Ashley seems to have lost her backbone. Like a child, he is more afraid than Scarlett. Scarlett realized that she didn't love Ashley, and her special feelings for Ashley were only because he didn't like other men to secretly love himself. Since then, the two spiritual pillars in her life have disappeared.
In the dense fog, Scarlett ran home in despair. In the fog, she seemed to relive a nightmare that had troubled her for many years. Finally, she saw the lights at home, and suddenly she felt that she saw hope, because there was Rhett in the world, and Rhett was the one she really loved!
However, all this is too late. Rhett has been disappointed in Scarlett and decided to run away from home and leave Scarlett At this moment, for Scarlett, all the light in life disappeared. Her only way out is to return to Tara. She felt so tired that her brain could no longer bear the pressure. She said to herself, "Let's leave it till tomorrow … Anyway, tomorrow is another day …"
Writing background:
The American Civil War destroyed the economy of Georgia and even the whole south, slaves regained their freedom, and the wind blew, and the good times when slave owners were pampered in the past drifted away. In order to survive, they must put down their airs and work hard, or they will die. Even the elite of Aram's upper class have to condescend, sell cakes and catch wagons. In order to express this theme, Mitchell also described many fascinating places in the southern United States to readers, vividly reappearing the life in Georgia during the Civil War and reconstruction. It shows the collapse of a traditional society and how people cope with the difficult process of this huge social change. Gone with the Wind is a novel about war, but it is actually about the influence of war on human mind.