Gone With The Wind Summary: Plot, Characters and Themes of Margaret Mitchell's Novel
What Gone With The Wind is about
Gone With The Wind is a novel by the American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. It is set in Clayton County and Atlanta, Georgia, during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era that followed. It was the only novel Mitchell published in her lifetime. It won her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937.
The story follows Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled oldest daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner. When the war and Sherman's destructive March to the Sea leave her in poverty, she uses every means she has to claw her way out. It is a historical novel and also a coming-of-age story. The title comes from a poem by Ernest Dowson, Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae.
The novel opens on 15 April 1861. Seven southern states are breaking away from the Union because they want to keep slavery, which drives the South's economy. In Georgia, the family of Gerald O'Hara, a wealthy Irish immigrant, owns a plantation called Tara. Scarlett, aged 16, learns that Ashley Wilkes, the neighbour she secretly loves, is about to announce his engagement to his cousin Melanie Hamilton.
At a party at the Wilkes estate, Twelve Oaks, Scarlett gets Ashley alone and confesses her feelings. He tells her he cares for her only as a friend and will marry Melanie. She insults him and calls him a coward. Then she discovers that Rhett Butler, a man known for seducing young women, has overheard everything. When war is declared she accepts a proposal from Melanie's brother Charles out of spite. He dies of measles two months after leaving for the army. Scarlett is left a widow with a son, Wade. She grieves more for her lost youth than for a husband she barely knew.
Scarlett moves to Atlanta to live with Melanie and Melanie's Aunt Pittypat. The growing city revives her. She does hospital work and sewing for the Confederate Army, mostly to avoid gossip and partly because she thinks it might help Ashley. At a charity dance, Rhett, who is getting rich as a blockade runner, pays in gold to lead the first dance and chooses Scarlett. She dances in her mourning clothes and scandalises the town. Melanie's good name protects her.
By September 1864 Atlanta is under siege. Scarlett helps deliver Melanie's baby, Beau, with only a young enslaved woman called Prissy to assist. As the city burns, Rhett starts driving them all towards Tara. Then he leaves to join the army's final push. Scarlett takes the wagon home alone. Tara is still standing, but her mother is dead and the situation is bleak. This guide stops here to avoid giving away what happens next.
The main characters
Scarlett O'Hara is the centre of the book. She is vain, wilful and impatient with the rules of polite society. She is also determined.
Ashley Wilkes is the neighbour Scarlett loves. She remains convinced he secretly loves her back and stays with Melanie out of duty.
Melanie Hamilton marries Ashley and becomes Scarlett's sister-in-law. She is highly respected in Atlanta and repeatedly shields Scarlett's reputation.
Rhett Butler sees through Scarlett from the start. He thinks the war is a lost cause and profits from it anyway. He once infuriates her by proposing she become his mistress. She values his money, his sophistication and his shared contempt for Atlanta's hypocrisy.
Around them are Gerald O'Hara, Aunt Pittypat, Scarlett's son Wade, Melanie's son Beau and Prissy.
The themes
Survival is the driving force. The book's own description has Scarlett clawing her way out of poverty by any means available. Her flaws become tools once the old world collapses.
War shapes every turn of the plot. It kills her first husband, fills Atlanta with wounded soldiers and ends in the burning of the city.
Ambition runs through Scarlett's choices, from her pursuit of Ashley to her marriage made in pique.
Class is everywhere. Rules decide how a widow must dress and whom she may speak to. A plantation economy is built on slavery. The story tracks what happens to a privileged family when that order breaks down.
Who it suits
It suits readers who enjoy historical fiction with a strong, difficult heroine at its heart. It also suits anyone curious about a book that has shaped how the American South is remembered and argued over.
Why it still matters
Gone With The Wind was the top American fiction bestseller in both 1936 and 1937. More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide. A Harris poll in 2014 found it was the second favourite book of American readers, behind only the Bible.
Its standing is also contested. It is a controversial reference point for later writers of the South, both black and white. Scholars at American universities study and interpret it. The 1939 film adaptation won the Academy Award for Best Picture and is considered one of the greatest films ever made. Between the novel and the film, the story has become part of American popular culture.
