Gone with the Wind
M. Mitchell
Gone with the Wind
April 1861 Plantation Tara, stretching twenty-five miles from Atlanta, Georgia.
Twins Tarlton, Stewart and Brent, in love with the charming daughter of the owner of Tara, sixteen-year-old Scarlet, give her two news. First, the war between the North and the South is about to begin. Secondly, Ashley Wilkes marries Melanie Hamilton, which will be announced tomorrow, when the Wilkes’ house hosts a big reception.
The news of the impending war for Scarlett is nothing compared to the report of Ashley’s marriage. The subject of the sighing of almost all the young people of the district, Scarlet herself loves only Ashley, who, she thinks, is not indifferent to herself. She can not understand what he found in Melanie, this very real blue stocking.
Scarlet shares his experiences with his father, but Gerald O’Hara is convinced that his daughter and Ashley are not an ideal couple. He admits that although he is good
Scarlet appears at the Wilkes’ reception. She hopes to talk to Ashley and get him to change his mind. Among the guests is a certain Rhett Butler, who is told about the most eerie things. He was expelled from the military academy of West Point, and then was expelled from his home by the father after he refused to marry a girl whom, in the general opinion, compromised. But Scarlet now does not care about Butler. She needs to talk to Ashley.
Ashley leaves the library, Scarlet remains alone and furiously fires a vase into the wall above the sofa. To her confusion, it turns out that Rhett Butler was dozing on the couch, who was awakened by their explanation with Ashley. He expresses admiration for Scarlet’s spirit and determination and is surprised why Ashley Wilks remained indifferent to her virtues. Scarlet furiously slams the door and leaves.
Rumors about the war are being confirmed. Young people gather with weapons in their hands to defend the rights of their native South. On the first of May, the wedding of Ashley and Melanie should take place. To annoy them, Scarlet takes courtship of the shy and faint brother of Melanie Charles and agrees to become his wife. Their wedding takes place one day before the wedding of Ashley and Melanie.
Two months later Scarlet becomes a widow. Charles dies of pneumonia, never having been in combat. Scarlet has a son, Wade. In May 1862, she moved to Atlanta. She is forced to mourn and lead the sad existence of a grieving widow, although her whole nature is opposed to this.
But one day she appears at a charity bazaar in favor of the hospital, where she again meets Rett Butler. A cynic and a scoffer, he sees it through, understands perfectly well what inspired her to marry, and this freaks her out. When there is a collection of jewelry to buy medicines, she tears her wedding ring off her finger. Melanie admires her action and gives her own ring. Then Captain Butler buys the right to dance with Scarlet. This puts the local guardians of public morality in turmoil, but what to do – Butler insists on his, and the hospital needs money. Butler is tolerated solely because he delivers to the South numerous goods, despite the fact that the northerners have arranged a naval blockade of the southern ports. However, pouring oil on the fire of idle talk, Butler claims that he is not dealing with this feeling of patriotism, but for personal gain. He doubts that the southerners will be able to win, and the death for the cause of the South for him is no more majestic than the death on the rails under the wheels of the locomotive.
Rumors of Scarlet’s “scandalous” behavior reach Tara, and her father arrives in Atlanta to take her daughter home. But the meeting with Captain Butler leads to unexpected consequences. Gerald gets drunk and pisses in poker all the money that was meant for buying the most necessary. This embarrassment causes him to moderate his moral indignation, and Scarlet remains in Atlanta.
She occasionally meets with Rhett Butler, whose ironical attitude to what society honors as a shrine, and outrages, and attracts Scarlet, although she still loves Ashley Wilks.
Gradually, the situation in the theater of operations is complicated, and the former self-confidence of the southerners gives way to the understanding that the war is long and difficult. The first lists of the dead appear. Among them are many of Scarlet’s acquaintances. The Tarlton brothers were killed, but Ashley is unharmed. He comes for a short stay.
Scarlet hopes to talk to him privately, but next to her husband is always Melanie. Before leaving Atlanta, Ashley asks Scarlet to look after his wife, because she, in his opinion, does not have the vitality of Scarlet. Ashley is ready to fulfill his duty honestly, but he, like Rhett Butler, does not believe that the South can defeat a very powerful opponent.
1864 After the defeat at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the position of the southerners becomes critical. A message comes that Ashley is missing. Melanie is in a grief, and only the thought that she is carrying the baby Ashley, helps her to live. Butler continues to meet with Scarlet, but everything is limited to easy flirting, walks and conversations. He says that he wants to wait for Scarlet to forget the taste of the kiss that was rewarded by her incomparable Ashley Wilks. This leads Scarlet into a frenzy, and in this state she seems to Rhett and completely irresistible.
Butler makes inquiries through his friends in the North. It turns out that Ashley is alive. He is in a prisoner of war camp in Illinois. He is betrayed to join the military formations that guard the American territories from the Indians, but Ashley refuses. It is impossible for him military service on the side of the northerners, and he prefers the bondage to such freedom.
Atlanta is under siege. Almost all the male population in the militia. Scarlet intends to return to Tara, but Melanie begs not to leave her. Again appears Rhett Butler. He tells Scarlet that he yearns for her from that first meeting with the Wilkes. Asked by Scarlet whether he was proposing to her, Butler replied that he was not one to marry, and openly invited her to become his mistress. As it often happened, the conversation ends with a quarrel, and on demand Scarlett Butler leaves her house.
In the midst of the battle for Atlanta, Melanie begins labor. All of Scarlet’s attempts to lead her to a doctor fail – all the doctors remain with the wounded, whose number increases every hour.
With the help of a black Prissy, Scarlet takes birth – Ashley and Melanie had a son. Then Scarlet decides to leave Atlanta no matter what. She wants to return to Tara. Rhett Butler helps her and Melanie to leave Atlanta, which is about to enter the northerners, but refuses to deliver them to Tara. He reports that he decided to leave with the remnants of the defenders of Atlanta and continue with them resistance.
This news surprises Scarlet. She can not understand why the cynical Rett, always so skeptical about the holy cause of the South, suddenly decided to take up arms. She is also surprised that he leaves her when she is so helpless. To this, Rhett says that she is not at all helpless, and as for the reasons that prompted him to join the army, he himself finds it difficult to name them either from sentimentality or from a sense of shame for having been away from the fight earlier, preferring to make money to deliver goods. Scarlet does not believe in the sincerity of these words. It seems to him that he, as always, slightly mocks. But there is nothing to do, she has to make her way to Tara with her son, a servant and a helpless Melanie with a baby. The road is heavy and dangerous, but they get to Tara unharmed.
Return, however, does not promise any joys. Around there is chaos and ruin. The Wilkes estate was burned, Tara was more fortunate. The house was intact – there was a staff of northerners in it, but the estate was plundered. Moreover, the mother of Scarlet did not wait for her daughter. She died of typhus. The death of his wife becomes a terrible blow for Gerald, and he is injured by the intellect.
There is something to fall from, but Scarlet does not give up. She decides to do everything to save Tara from complete decay. Suddenly an uninvited guest appears in the house. Soldier-northerner decided to take everything that lies badly to his hands. But he underestimated Scarlet – she shoots at the marauder and kills him.
Life on the plantation is established with difficulty. Again, the northerners appear and take away what little remains. Moreover, they set fire to the house, and only through the desperate efforts of the households is it possible to put out the fire.
The Army of the South capitulates. The news comes from Ashley: he comes back. Melanie and Scarlet are waiting to wait, when he will appear in Tara, but he’s not there. Walking soldiers are walking past, returning home from the camps of prisoners of war. One of them, Will Bentin, remains in Tara and takes on the main care for managing the estate. Finally, Ashley appears, but Melanie meets him first.
1866. The war is over, but life has not become easier. Those who conduct the so-called Reconstruction of the slave-owning South, do everything possible so that former planters can no longer use their land. Tara is taxed with high taxes, and if the money is not paid, the estate will go under the hammer and, most likely, will get to the former supervisor Wilkerson. Scarlet hopes that Ashley will come up with a way out of the situation, but he honestly admits that he does not know what to do. Scarlet suggests that he quit everything and go somewhere to Mexico, but Ashley can not leave his wife and son to the mercy of fate.
Scarlet understands that only Rhett Butler can help her. However, now he is in a difficult situation. The new authorities threw him behind bars, and he is threatened by a gallows, if he does not share his capital, acquired during the siege.
Scarlet comes to him in prison. She pretends that everything is going well for her, but you will not get hold of Retta. He realizes that she came to him for money. Scarlet is forced to admit that she really needs three hundred dollars and for the sake of saving Tara she is ready to become Butler’s mistress. But he is not in a position to dispose of his finances. The parting is overshadowed by the scandal. Butler, hurt by the fact that Scarlet is only interested in his money, ironically advises her to show more warmth when she next turns to a man for a loan.
However, that’s exactly what she does. Learning that the lover of her younger sister Frank Kennedy has cash in which the sawmill is going to get, Scarlet launches all her feminine charm and soon becomes Mrs. Kennedy. Tara is saved, but the fact that for this sake had to cross the road to her sister, Scarlett does not bother.
Scarlet vengeance goes into business. She runs a Frank store, and then, borrowing from the released Butler money, buys the very sawmill Frank liked. Soon she gets a second sawmill, and her business goes smoothly. Money appears, but public opinion in Atlanta is against it – a real lady is not a person to do business. However, Rhett Butler assures her that this is an inevitable consequence of the choice she made – money and success lead to loneliness.
Gerald dies. Arriving in Tara for his funeral, Scarlet learns of Ashley’s intention to go to New York – he was promised a place in the bank. Scarlet persuades him to stay, offers work in the sawmill and half the proceeds from it. He refuses, but then Melanie comes to her aid. Under her pressure, Ashley accepts Scarlet’s offer.
The liberated Negroes, however, are working worse and worse, and to make the sawmill generate revenue, Scarlet begins to use the cheap labor of prisoners, overseen by the cruel and impure Johnny Gallagher. Honest Frank is terrified, but Scarlet stands on his own: this is the only way to make a profit. The sawmill, where Ashley is hosting, does not bring profit: he categorically refuses to use the labor of convicts.
Meanwhile, in response to the constant harassment of “carpetbaggers” and the debauchery of some former slaves, a Ku Klux Klan is being created, with active members Frank Kennedy and Ashley. The authorities are sparing no effort to put an end to the activities of this secret organization, and they manage to lure activists into a trap. Only timely intervention Butler helps Ashley save life and freedom, Frank Kennedy was less fortunate, and Scarlet again becomes a widow.
But then Rhett makes her an offer, and she answers with consent. They leave for New Orleans, and then return to Atlanta, where they soon enter a new house. Among their acquaintances there are too many business people, “carpet-baggers” – everyans and unknown businessmen who came from those southerners, who were not allowed to enter the decent houses before. Scarlett has a girl, and Rhett does not like her soul. But then Scarlet resolutely declares the reluctance to give birth, and this is the beginning of a crisis in her relationship with her husband. Rhett more and more often spends time outside the home and comes back drunk.
Ashly’s birthday is approaching. Melanie is going to have a party. On the eve of Scarlet meets Ashley in his office, and talking about the old days. This is a very sad conversation, Scarlet learns a lot about the man whom she loved so much, and what is now revealed to her inner gaze plunges her into sadness. Ashley is in the past, he can not bring himself to look to the future, can not adapt to the present. Memories of pre-war days and hopes cause her tears. Ashley tries to comfort her, hugs her, and then, for her misfortune, there are strangers. Soon the news reaches Melanie and Rhett. Scarlet refuses to go to the reception, but Rhett makes her almost a force. However, Melanie, the only one from all of Atlanta, does not believe evil malice and accepts Scarlet with the same warmth. Upon returning home, Rhett gives the will of jealousy, and then they for the first time after a long break find themselves in bed. Scarlet wakes up with a joyful feeling that Rhett loves her, but discovers that he is not in bed or in the house at all. He returns only the next day, letting his wife know that he had excellent walks on the side.
Then Rhett leaves for three months, and when he returns, Scarlet tells him that she is pregnant. Rhett’s insults offend her, a quarrel breaks out, which ends in misfortune: Scarlet falls down the stairs, and she has a miscarriage. Life again comes in the usual rut. Rhett goes head over heels into politics, and not without his participation, democrats-southerners manage to win a victory over the Republicans backed by the North. But then a new misfortune falls on the family: Rhett’s pet, the little Bonnie falls from her horse and breaks to death. Relations between spouses become even more formal. Scarlet has money, there is property, but there is no happiness at all.
Scarlet leaves Atlanta, but the telegram from Rett urges her to return urgently. Melanie is dying. Doctors forbade her to give birth, but she neglected their prohibitions – too much like her to give Ashley another child. On her deathbed, she asks Scarlet to take care of her son and about Ashley, because “he’s so impractical.” And she asks Scarlet to be kind to Rhett, because he loves her very much.
Now that Melanie is gone, Scarlet suddenly realizes how lonely she is and how much this woman meant to her, which she considered an obstacle to her happiness. Scarlet makes another discovery: she seems to have always loved not Ashley Wilks, but her dream of a strong, unbending man. Now, looking at Ashley – tired, insecure, all his mental forces spending to dignify defeat in this life – Scarlet whispers to herself that she has lost her lover, and instead has acquired another child.
Scarlet understands how much Rhett means to her. She is eager to tell him about it as soon as possible, but she has yet to receive another disappointment.
Rhett indifferently listens to her confession and says that now he does not care. His love for her faded away just as Scarlet’s love for Ashley faded. Rhett Butler admits that he fell in love with her at first sight, and, no matter how much he tried to throw dreams of her out of his head, he did not succeed. He did not lose hope that sooner or later she would appreciate his feelings, understand how well they fit together, but all his efforts to bring Scarlet love to their hearts. He says that after that night he left home early, because he was afraid that she would laugh him out and that if, on his return, she let him know that he was not indifferent to her, everything would be different. But this did not happen, and now he feels compassion for her.
Rhett declares his intention to leave for a long time, perhaps, to England and promises to return from time to time in order not to give a special occasion for gossip and gossip. On a desperate question Scarlet: “What about me?” Rhett with a sigh replies that he does not care anymore.
Alone with himself Scarlet reflects on what he has just heard. She is very hard, but her self-respecting vigorous nature refuses to admit defeat. Scarlet is convinced that not everything is lost and if nothing comes to mind that would help to correct the situation, tomorrow she will certainly find a way out.
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