Scarlett O'Hara

-----The heroine of Gone With The Wind



“After all, tomorrow is another day” is a very famous saying from Scarlett O’Hara, who is the heroine of the well-known novel, Gone With The Wind, written by Margeret Mitchell.


Scarlett, as an Irish descendant, is the oldest daughter of a planter who owns a large plantation. When she is young, the only thing in her head is to attract as many beaux as possible to be around her, because she enjoys the feeling of being the most popular belle in the county. She loves a man called Ashley, but unfortunately, he is going to marry his cousin, Melanie. She believes that Ashley loves her, so as a revenge, she marries a man, Charles, whom she doesn’t love at all, to hurt Ashley’s heart.


Soon, the Civil War breaks out and Scarlet’s life is totally changed. She loses almost everything. She has to make money with every effort and Melanie’s help. As Charles’s sister, Melanie always takes her sister-in-law, Scarlett, as someone who saves her life. Melanie loves Scarlett with all her heart, however, Scarlett hates Melanie all the time. Charles is dead in the war, and to get money to save Tara, her home, from being taken away, Scarlett marries Frank, who owns a store and a lumber mill. She is a little rich but she is not satisfied. She runs her own business, which is taken unwomanly and unacceptable by others. Frank is killed because he is to revenge for Scarlett’s being attacked by two scoundrels. Yet, Scarlett soon marry Rhett Butler, despite that everybody disapproves. Rhett is the only one in the world who can see piercingly what Scarlett is thinking and point it out. He is smart, rich and uninhibited, what’s more, he is regarded as the most evil scoundrel in the town. He loves Scarlett at the first sight of her. He knows she loves Ashley and he tries his best to pull Ashley out of her head, but he fails, even though they get married. His heart is eventually broken when their lovely daughter, Bonnie, and Melanie, who he respects most, are both dead. He decides to go away. Scarlett is alone again, as when she is young. She still holds the faith after so many bad things happening, because she strongly believes,”Tomorrow is another day”.


Scarlett is so unique, complicated and different. She is brave, selfish and cruel, simple-minded but proficient in business, independent but fragile. She loves and relies on Melanie and Rhett but she doesn’t know until they are going. She keeps using them and hurting them while they love her so much and are still stand by her side. She doesn’t love Ashley and the one she thinks she loves is just a image in her imagination. However, it is too late when she realises this. She is too brave and determined to care about others’ disapproval, but she can’t bear her beloved Mammy’s scolding words and bursts into tears. She does business with the most unpopular people and makes money from it, which is regarded as a shameand because of that she is isolated by all the respectable people in the town.. Nevertheless, she still gives this “dirty” money to help her “respectable” relatives who live in starvation.


Many People think that Scarlett is bad because of her unwomen behaviours and cruelty. I don’t think so. She is the ideal woman in that situation and should be others’ example. She knows what she needs and pushed with all her strength through the enormous hardship to get it. It should be praised highly of. However, she is too outstanding to be accepted by the populace of that time. Thererfore, she is miserable and desolated. It is a moving tragedy indeed, hence, it is a classic whose scent will last forever.



JiangXiaoning(Arthur)