gone with the wind 飘 中英文双语介绍

Gone with the Wind

Plot summary

Gone with the Wind takes place in the southern United States in the state of Georgia during the

American Civil War (1861

–

1865) and the Reconstruction Era (1865

–

1877) that followed the war.

The

novel

unfolds

against

the

backdrop

of

rebellion

wherein

seven

southern

states,

Georgia

among them, have declared their secession from the United States (the

Confederate States of America (the

with no ballots from ten Southern states where slavery was legal. A dispute over states' rights has

arisen[60]

involving

enslaved

African

people

who

were

the

source

of

manual

labor

on

cotton

plantations throughout the South. The story opens in April 1861 at the

owned by a wealthy Irish immigrant family, the O'Haras. The reader is told Scarlett O'Hara, the

sixteen-year-old daughter of Gerald and Ellen O'Hara,

on men, especially when she took notice of them. It is the day before the men are called to war,

Fort Sumter having been fired on two days earlier.

There are brief but vivid descriptions of the South as it began and grew, with backgrounds of the

main characters: the stylish and highbrow French, the gentlemanly English, the forced-to-flee and

looked- down-upon Irish. Miss Scarlett learns that one of her many beaux, Ashley Wilkes, is soon

to be engaged to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. She is stricken at heart. The following day at the

Wilkeses' barbecue at

cares

for

her.[60]

However,

he

knows

he

would

not

be

happily

married

to

Scarlett

because

of

their personality differences. Scarlett loses her temper at Ashley and he silently takes it.

Then Scarlett meets Rhett Butler, a man who has a reputation as a rogue. Rhett had been alone in

the library when Ashley and Scarlett entered, and felt it wiser to not make his presence known

while

the

argument

took

place.

Rhett

applauds

Scarlett

for

the

unladylike

spirit

she

displayed

with

Ashley.

Infuriated

and

humiliated,

Scarlett

tells

Rhett,

aren't

fit

to

wipe

Ashley's

boots!

Upon leaving the library and rejoining the other party guests, she finds out that war has been

declared

and

the

men

are

going

to

enlist.

Seeking

revenge

for

being

jilted

by

Ashley,

Scarlett

accepts a proposal of marriage from Melanie's brother, Charles Hamilton. They marry two weeks

later. Charles dies from measles two months after the war begins. Scarlett is pregnant with her

first child. A widow at merely sixteen, she gives birth to a boy, Wade Hampton Hamilton, named

after

his

father's

general.[61]

As

a

widow,

she

is

bound

by

tradition

to

wear

black

and

avoid

conversation with young men. Scarlett is despondent as a result of the restrictions placed upon

her.

Melanie, who is living in Atlanta with Aunt Pittypat, invites Scarlett to live with them. In Atlanta,

Scarlett's spirits revive and she is busy with hospital work and sewing circles for the Confederate

army.

Scarlett

encounters

Rhett

Butler

again

at

a

dance

for

the

Confederacy.

Although

Rhett

believes the war is a lost cause, he is blockade running for the profit in it. The men must bid for a

dance with a lady and Rhett bids

Everyone

at

the

dance

is

shocked

that

Rhett

would

bid

for

Scarlett,

the

widow

still

dressed

in

black.

Melanie

smooths

things

over

by

coming

to

Rhett's

defense

because

he

is

generously

supporting the Confederate cause for which her husband, Ashley, is fighting.

At Christmas (1863), Ashley has been granted a furlough from the army and returns to Atlanta to

be with Melanie. The war is going badly for the Confederacy. Atlanta is under siege (September

1864),

in

on

three

sides,

it

descends

into

a

desperate

state

while

hundreds

of

wounded Confederate soldiers lie dying or dead in the city. Melanie goes into labor with only the

inexperienced Scarlett to assist, as all the doctors are busy attending the soldiers. Prissy, a young

Negro servant girl, cries out in despair and fear,

left

to

fend

for

herself,

cries

for

the

comfort

and

safety

of

her

mother

and

Tara.

The

tattered

Confederate States Army sets flame to Atlanta as they abandon it to the Union Army.

Melanie

gives

birth

to

a

boy

named Beauregard,

and

now

they

must

hurry

for

refuge.

Scarlett

tells Prissy to go find Rhett, but she is afraid to

Prissy,

you

any

gumption?

Prissy

then finds

Rhett,

and

Scarlett

begs

him

to

take

herself,

Wade,

Melanie,

Beau,

and

Prissy

to

Tara.

Rhett

laughs

at

the

idea,

but

steals

an

emaciated horse and a small wagon, and they follow the retreating army out of Atlanta.

Part

way

to

Tara,

Rhett

has

a

change

of

heart

and

he

abandons

Scarlett

to

enlist

in

the

army.

Scarlett makes her way to Tara without him where she is welcomed on the steps by her father,

Gerald. It is clear things have drastically changed: Gerald has lost his mind, Scarlett's mother is

dead, her sisters are sick with typhoid fever, the field slaves left after Emancipation, the Yankees

have burned all the cotton and there is no food in the house.

The long tiring struggle for post-war survival begins that has Scarlett working in the fields. There

are

so

many

hungry

people

to

feed

and

so

little

food.

There

is

the

ever

present

threat

of

the

Yankees who steal and burn, and at one point, Scarlett kills a Yankee marauder with a single shot

from Charles's pistol leaving

A long succession of Confederate soldiers returning home stop at Tara to find food and rest. Two

men stay on, an invalid Cracker, Will Benteen, and Ashley Wilkes, whose spirit is broken. Life at

Tara slowly begins to recover when a new threat appears in the form of new taxes on Tara.

Scarlett knows only one man who has enough money to help her pay the taxes, Rhett Butler. She

goes to Atlanta to find him only to learn Rhett is in jail. As she is leaving the jailhouse, Scarlett

runs

into

Frank

Kennedy,

who

is

betrothed

to

Scarlett's

sister,

Suellen,

and

running

a

store

in

Atlanta. Soon realizing Frank also has money, Scarlett hatches a plot and tells Frank that Suellen

has

changed

her

mind

about

marrying

him.

Thereafter

Frank

succumbs

to

Scarlett's

feminine

charms

and

he

marries

her

two

weeks

later

knowing

he

has

done

romantic

and

exciting for the first time in his life.

gives her the money to pay the taxes on Tara.

While Frank has a cold and is being pampered by Aunt Pittypat, Scarlett goes over the accounts at

Frank's store and finds many of his friends owe him money. Scarlett is now terrified about the

taxes and decides money, a lot of it, is needed. She takes control of his business while he is away

and her business practices leave many Atlantans resentful of her. Then with a loan from Rhett she

buys a sawmill and runs the lumber business herself, all very unladylike conduct. Much to Frank's

relief, Scarlett learns she is pregnant, which curtails her activities for awhile. She convinces Ashley

to come to Atlanta and manage the mill, all the while still in love with him. At Melanie's urging,

Ashley takes the job at the mill. Melanie soon becomes the center of Atlanta society, and Scarlett

gives birth to a girl named Ella Lorena.

the most fashionable name of the day for girls.

The state of Georgia is under martial law and life there has taken on a new and more frightening

tone. For protection, Scarlett keeps Frank's pistol tucked in the upholstery of the buggy. Her trips

alone

to

and

from

the

mill take

her

past

a

shanty

town

where

criminal elements

live.

On

one

evening when she is coming home from the mill, Scarlett is accosted by two men who attempt to

rob

her,

but

she

escapes

with

the

help

of

Big

Sam,

the

former

negro

foreman

from

Tara.

Attempting to avenge the assault on his wife, Frank and the Ku Klux Klan raid the shanty town

whereupon Frank is shot dead. Scarlett is a widow for a second time.

Rhett puts on a charade to keep the men who participated in the shanty town raid from being

arrested. He walks into the Wilkeses' home with Hugh Elsing and Ashley, singing and pretending

to be drunk. Yankee officers outside the home question Rhett and he tells them he and the other

men had been at Belle Watling's brothel that evening, a story Belle later confirms to the officers.

The

men

are

indebted

to

Rhett

for

saving

them,

and

his

Scallawag

reputation

among

them

improves a notch, but the men's wives, with the exception of Melanie, are livid at owing their

husbands' lives to Belle Watling.

Frank

Kennedy

lies

cold

in a

coffin

in

the

quiet

stillness

of

the

parlor

in

Aunt

Pittypat's

home.

Scarlett

is

in

a

remorseful

state.

She

is

swigging

brandy

from

Aunt

Pitty's

swoon

bottle

when

Rhett comes to call. She tells Rhett tearfully,

replies,

him saying,

love him and doesn't want to be married again. However, Rhett kisses her passionately, and in

the heat of the moment she agrees to marry him. One year later, Scarlett and Rhett announce

their engagement.

News of the impending marriage is the talk of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Butler honeymoon in New

Orleans,

spending

lavishly.

Upon

their

return

to

Atlanta,

the

couple

take

up

residence

in

the

bridal suite at the National Hotel while their new home on Peachtree Street is being constructed.

Scarlett chooses a modern Swiss chalet style home like the one she saw in Harper's Weekly, and

red wallpaper,

thick

red

carpet

and

black

walnut

furniture

for

the

interior.

Rhett

describes

the

house as an

sardonic jabs between them turn into full-blown quarrels. Scarlett wonders why Rhett married

her. Then

does not want.

Wade

is

seven

years

old

in

1869

when

his

sister,

Eugenie

Victoria,

named

after

two

queens,

arrives in the world. She has blue eyes like Gerald O'Hara and Melanie gives her the nickname,

When Scarlett is feeling well again, she makes a trip to the mill and talks to Ashley, who is alone

in the office. In the conversation with him, she comes away believing Ashley still loves her and is

jealous

of

her

intimate

relations

with

Rhett,

which excites

her.

Scarlett returns

home

and

tells

Rhett

she

does

not

want

more

children.

From

then

on,

Scarlett

and

Rhett

sleep

in

separate

bedrooms, and when Bonnie is two years old, she sleeps in a little bed beside Rhett's bed (with

the light on all night long because she is afraid of the dark). Rhett turns his attention towards

Bonnie, dotes on her, spoils her, and worries about her reputation when she is older.

Melanie

is

giving

a

surprise

birthday

party

for

Ashley.

Scarlett

goes

to

the

mill

to

keep

Ashley

there until party time, a rare opportunity for Scarlett to see Ashley alone. When she sees him,

she feels

and

they

reminisce

about

the

days

when

they

were

young

and

talk

about

their

lives

now.

Suddenly Scarlett's eyes fill with tears and Ashley holds her head against his chest. Then in the

doorway

of

the

office

Ashley

sees

standing

his

sister,

India

Wilkes.

Before

the

party

has

even

begun rumors of an adulterous relationship between Ashley and Scarlett have started, and Rhett

and Melanie have heard the gossip. Melanie refuses to accept any criticism of her sister in-law

and India Wilkes is banished from the Wilkeses' home for it, causing a rift in the family.

Rhett, more drunk than Scarlett has ever seen him, returns home the evening of the party long

after

Scarlett.

His

eyes

are

bloodshot

and

his

mood

is

dark

and

violent.

He

enjoins

Scarlett

to

drink with him. Not wanting Rhett to know she is fearful of him, Scarlett throws back a drink and

gets up from her chair to go back to her bedroom. But Rhett stops her and pins her shoulders to

the wall. Scarlett tells Rhett he is jealous of Ashley and Rhett accuses Scarlett of

moon

you and I know you.

bedroom where passion envelops them.

The following morning Rhett leaves town with Bonnie and Prissy and stays away for three months.

Scarlett

finds

herself

missing

him,

but

she

is

still

unsure

if

Rhett

loves

her,

having

told

her

so

when he was drunk. She learns she is pregnant with her fourth child.

On

the

day

Rhett

arrives

home,

Scarlett

waits

for

him

at

the

top

of

the

stairs.

She

wonders

if

Rhett will kiss her, but to Scarlett's irritation, he does not. He tells her she looks pale. Scarlett tells

him she is pale because she is pregnant. Rhett sarcastically asks her if the father is Ashley. She

calls Rhett a cad and tells him no woman would want a baby of his. To which Rhett responds,

he side steps and she tumbles backwards down the stairs. She is seriously ill for the first time in

her life, having lost her child and broken her ribs. Rhett is remorseful, believing he has killed her.

Sobbing and drunk, Rhett buries his head in Melanie's lap and confesses he had been a jealous