Analysis of Scarlett in Gone with the Wind
"Gone With the Wind” is my favorite novel written by Margaret Mitchell, a southerner in the U.S., and the situation is described from the southern point of view. The author, used many stories she heard from her family who had lived through it, to weave this thrilling novel. It is full of dashing, daring men and women, thrilling episodes, and much romance. The heroine Scarlett in this book is so different from a traditional Chinese woman that I have decided to write something about her.
'Gone with the Wind' has represented the turbulent social reality in the South in American Civil War. Scarlett O’hara is beautiful then, in order to realize her dream of living better, she regards love and marriage as a chip of trade. There’s no true love in her three marriages, until the end, she understands that Ashley, the person she bears in mind for twelve years is not her true love, but one beautiful unreal image belongs to the South in the past and does not adapt to this coming new society. The person who she really loves is similar to her --- Rhett Butler.
To understand Scarlett better, I divided the essay into 4 parts as followed.
1. Scarlett’s Growth
Scarlett's growth can be divided mainly in two periods，before the Civil War and after it．To understand Scralett，we should know the two different ways of life have a great influence on Scralett’s character．
Before the Civil War breaks out, Scralett as well as other old aristocratic young ladies in the south lives an easy，luxurious life full of barbecues，balls and flirting with beaus．For a young lady who has only got 16，the life for her just means learning the arts and graces of being more attractive to men，which is also the south society’s regulation of woman．On one hand，by the diligently stubborn teaching of her mother and black mammy, the seed off the purity and tradition are buried deeply in her mind. But on the other hand，her Irish father also influences her by the Irish stubbornness，arrogance，etc．These two spirits conflicts frequently in the young girl’s mind．Just like her spreading skirts，the demureness of hair netted smoothly into a chignon and the quietness of small white hands folded in her lap, her true self was poorly concealed．
After the Civil War, Scralett’s true self, which is apparently opposite to the lady-mannered discipline of the old south，crazily yield sand matures in the desolate earth after the war．Scarlett’s anti-traditional behavior is more and more undisguised．
2. Scarlett’s Character of Breaking the Rules
Part of Scarlett's enduring charm for me is her aspiration to break the rules. She challenges nineteenth-century society's gender roles repeatedly, running a store and two lumber mills at one point. Scarlett is in some ways the least stereotypically feminine of women (in other ways the most), and the more traditional Melanie Wilkes is in many ways her foil. But Scarlett survives the war, several marriages, the birth of children, and even a miscarriage. Melanie, on the other hand, struggles with fragile health and a shy nature. Without Melanie Wilkes, Scarlett might simply be seen as harsh and "over the top", but beside Melanie, Scarlett presents a fresher, deeper female characterization; she lives a complicated life during a difficult period of history.
3. Scarlett’s Hopes and defects
The other charm of Scarlett to me is that she is always full of hopes of tomorrow, life and the future. Some of her lines from Gone with the Wind, like "Fiddle-dee-dee!" "Tomorrow is another day," "Great balls of fire!" and "I'll never be hungry again!" have become well-known all around the world. She is charming and candid．The dream of tomorrow would call back the strength to live today, and the hope of future would help her to swallow all the bitterness of the present．The land is the only thing，which helps her to maintain her consciousness of tomorrow．From the beginning to the end，land Traa is always the core of Scralett’s life．Her constant care for Traa is never stopped because only from it her consciousness of tomorrow can be realized．Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything．For it’s the only thing in this world that lasts；it’s the only thing worth fighting for.
Scarlett is remained as one of the most controversial literature figures from the day the book published till now．Her bad deed，bad words and bad thoughts after the war-time appropriately reflect her natural character——mixture，she is a blending of the good and evil，of practical and ideal，of despair and hope，and of yesterday and tomorrow．She is by far the most developed character in “Gone with the Wind.” She stands out because she is strong and saves her family but is incredibly selfish and petty at the same time.
4. Conclusion
From the analysis of her character, she cannot be regarded as a perfect woman. By a rough glimpse, she seems to be a rude，ignorant，and hypocritical remaining of the old Southern aristocrats．Just like other southern people，she hates the war, disgusts the new established south government, deeply recalls the previous life，together with the careless revealing of her attitude towards slavery．They become the root where the criticism derives from．However, Scarlett is real and believable.
Forgetting the past doesn’t really mean that nothing has happened. Forgetting the past is to accumulate energy of the future．The purpose of Scarlett’s looking forward is to survive to fight, because that is the miracle literature has created to attract，to move，and to encourage the people wherever they are． The old are gone with the wind, while the new are gathering new strength to march on.
