Gone With The Wind

On a windy afternoon in March, Scarlett sets off alone in a wagon for Johnny Gallegher’s mill. Archie won’t drive her to a convict labor camp, so she carries a pistol for protection. On the way, she must drive through Atlanta’s shantytown area: “She always felt uneasy driving past this dirty, sordid cluster of discarded army tents and slave cabins. It had the worst reputation of any spot in or near Atlanta” (1000). In the shantytown, she is accosted by a large Black man who turns out to be her old Tara foreman, Big Sam. He is overjoyed to see Scarlett, and she invites him to work for her. Sam confesses that he killed a man and is now running from the law, which is why he wants to return to Tara. Scarlett tells him to wait for her, and she will help him get away on her return trip from the mill.

At the mill, she finds the convicts being fed starvation rations. Johnny has been keeping the best food for himself and pocketing the large sums of money Scarlett sends each month for the workers’ food. Angrily, Scarlett breaks into the stores and orders the cook to feed the men and argues with Johnny about his abusive treatment. By the time Scarlett travels back through the shantytown, darkness has fallen, and she is attacked by a white man and a Black man. They try to drag her from the carriage, and the Black man rips her dress, intending to rape her. Big Sam arrives just in time to deal with the ruffians. He and Scarlett escape in the carriage.

That evening, Scarlett is still in shock from the attack. Frank quietly arranges transport to get Big Sam out of town. Then, he deposits Scarlett at Melanie’s house under the protection of Archie before going to a political meeting with Ashley and several other men. Scarlett complains that the men should be home protecting them instead of running off to a meeting. Ashley’s sister India, who now lives at the Wilkes house, tells Scarlett that they are Klan members who intend to deal with the men who attacked her: “You’ve exposed every well-behaved woman in town to attack by putting temptation in the ways of darkies and mean white trash. And you’ve put our men folks’ lives in danger” (1023).

Rhett arrives unexpectedly to ask where the men are meeting, saying it’s a matter of life or death. The Yankees are anticipating an attack on the shantytown and have laid a trap for the Klan members. Melanie tells him the location, and he goes off to warn the men. Later that evening, Yankee officers come looking for Ashley. He soon appears with Rhett and Hugh Elsing. All three men seem to be drunk. Rhett is a friend of the officers and swears that they spent the evening at Belle Watling’s brothel. This scandalizes the ladies. Rhett says that Belle and her girls will give the men an alibi. Frustrated, the Yankees leave but insist that Ashley must come in for questioning the following morning.

Once they depart, Rhett rushes Ashley upstairs because he has been shot in the shoulder. He also gives instructions to Archie to ride to the old Sullivan plantation and burn the Klan robes he finds there. He will also find two dead bodies. They are to be moved to the vacant lot behind Belle’s place. Archie is to make it look like the men shot each other. One of the bodies belongs to Frank.

Word spreads quickly among the rest of the Klan members that Belle has given alibis to most of Atlanta’s leading citizens, who were part of the raid. The Yankee officers are annoyed because they can’t prove a case against anyone. Ashley’s flesh wound is hidden when he appears for questioning, and nothing can be proved against him either. The respectable townsfolk hate the idea that they owe their salvation to Belle Watling and Rhett Butler—both outcasts from good society.

Belle appears in a carriage outside the Wilkes home to have a private conversation with Melanie. The latter openly declares her gratitude to Belle, but the madam says it would be unseemly for them to acknowledge each other publicly: “‘I shall be proud to speak to you. Proud to be under obligation to you. I hope—I hope we meet again.’ ‘No,’ said Belle. ‘That wouldn’t be fittin’. Good night’” (1056).

In the days that follow Frank’s funeral, Scarlett ponders her own past bad behavior. She has been drinking brandy on the sly to calm herself:

Added to her stunned sense of loss at Frank’s death, were fear and remorse and the torment of a suddenly awakened conscience. For the first time in her life she was regretting things she had done, regretting them with a sweeping superstitious fear (1057).

Rhett arrives, and the two speak privately in the library. Scarlett confesses her pangs of conscience and tells Rhett about her recurring dream: “When I wake up from that dream, it seems like there’s not enough money in the world to keep me from being afraid of being hungry again” (1067).

Rhett comforts her and says that his visit has another reason. He must go away to England for several months, but he has decided to propose marriage to Scarlett before he leaves. She takes a dim view of marriage in general and says, “It’s fun for men […] But all a woman gets out of it is something to eat and a lot of work and having to put up with a man’s foolishness—and a baby every year” (1073). Rhett retorts that Scarlett has already married a boy and an old man, so she doesn’t understand the fun side of marriage. Then, he kisses her so passionately that she becomes weak in the knees. Without consciously intending to do so, she agrees to marry him.

When Rhett returns, he brings Scarlett a four-carat engagement ring. Everyone is shocked, but the ladies, in particular, are outraged: “These women […] could be as implacable as furies to any renegade who broke one small law of their unwritten code” (1082). Mammy is particularly judgmental of Scarlett’s actions, and she expresses a poor opinion of Rhett.

When Scarlett mentions the old woman’s disapproval on their honeymoon, Rhett says, “Mammy’s a smart old soul and one of the few people I know whose respect and good will I’d like to have. But, being a mule, I suppose I’ll never get either from her” (1089). Mammy even declines the $10 gold piece Rhett offers as a wedding gift. Scarlett and Rhett declare that they don’t love one another, but they understand each other and have fun together. Rhett advises that they should enjoy their time in New Orleans and forget the “old cats” in Atlanta.