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The American Civil War (1861–1865), also known as the War Between the States, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy). Led by Jefferson Davis, they fought against the United States (the Union), which was supported by all the free states and the five border slave states. The Republican victory in that election resulted in seven Southern states declaring their secession from the Union even before Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861. Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a US military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.The south gain a series of victories at first. However, in 1962,"Toft Law" and "Liberated Black slave Manifesto" transferred the general farmers and the black slave invests war's enthusiasm, in fact has decided north the final victory militarily. On April 26 Sherman received the surrender of Joseph Johnston, thereby ending the war. The American Civil War was the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of civilian casualties. It legally abolished slavery in the United States, restored the Union and strengthened the role of the federal government. The social, political, economic and racial issues of the war decisively shaped the reconstruction era that lasted to 1877, and brought changes that helped make the country a united superpower.
1.2 Literature Review, Significance and Technique
Gone with the Wind is one of the most popular American novels, which is written by American female writer Margaret Mitchell in 1936. The novel mainly describes the life of Scarlett who is the daughter of Tara's master during the American Civil War. The full-length novel Gone with the Wind, has been translated into more than thirty languages, and the bestseller for a long time in the world. There are many experts and scholars have researched it home and abroad. But most researches are focus on Scarlett's character, the researches about Scarlett's attitude to love and marriage are few.
This paper describes the change and growth of Scarlett before the war, during the war and after the war. Try to analysis Scarlett's attitude to love and marriage. By doing more research on the former researcher, I hope that I can understand the American culture in the nineteenth century and know American feminist forming process. What's more, I can establish the correct view of love through the researchof her love, lest posterity to repeat and give some useful suggestions to the modern women.
This paper uses close-reading and text analysis. At first, I read Margaret Mitchell's masterpiece—Gone with the Wind and watched the movie. Then I read some scholars' books and articles closely. At last I summarized the works, organized my own ideas and finished the paper under the guidance of my tutor.
II. The Changes and Growth of Scarlett's Love View
2.1 The Period before the War
2.1.1 Scarlett in the Period before the War
The story opens on a large cotton plantation named Tara in rural Georgia in 1861, on the eve of the American Civil War. Scarlett O'Hara is the eldest of three daughters of Irish immigrant Gerald O' Hara and his wife, Ellen. She is seemingly run after by every young man in the county, except the refined Ashley Wilkes, for whom Scarlett longs for. She is upset to hear of Ashley's imminent engagement to his cousin Melanie Hamilton. At the barbecue of Twelve Oaks the next day Scarlett notices that she is being admired by a handsome but roguish visitor, Rhett Butler. Rhett disfavors among the male guests when, during a discussion of the probability of war, he states that the South has no chance against the superior numbers and industrial might of the North.
When Scarlett is alone with Ashley, she confesses her love for him. He admits he finds Scarlett attractive, but says that he and the gentle Melanie are more compatible. She accuses Ashley of misleading her and slaps him in anger, which is heightened when she realizes that Rhett has overheard the whole conversation. Upon leaving the library and rejoining the other party guests, Scarlett finds out that war has been declared and the men are going to enlist. Seeking revenge for being jilted by Ashley, she 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 and soon gives birth to a boy, Wade Hampton Hamilton. As a widow, she is bound by tradition to wear black and avoid conversation with young men.