Females' attitude toward love and marriage in Gone with the Wind

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1、Females attitude toward love and marriage in Gone with the Wind1. IntroductionMargaret Mitchells Gone with the Wind is considered to be one of the most popular novels and movies of all the time. It is the Pulitzer Prize winner of 1936. People continue to watch the adapted film and fantasize about th

2、is novel almost seventy years after it was written. Mitchells work relates the story of a rebellious Southern belle named Scarlett OHara and her experiences with friends, family, lovers, and enemies before, during, and after the Civil War. Through describing Scarletts life, Mitchell examined the eff

3、ect of the war on the old order of the South, and the aftermath of the war on what was left of the southern planter class. The novel is set in North Georgia at the time of the American Civil War, from 1861 to 1865 and beyond when the Southern plantation owners fought the northern Yankees for the rig

4、ht to own slaves. They lost the war, suffered innumerable losses of life in the process, and the romantic plantation life depicted in the early chapters of the novel was utterly destroyed. During this period the characters in the novel had to undergo the transition from a carefree playful life of pi

5、cnics and parties (underlain by the hard graft of their slaves) to one of hand-to-mouth living with hard physical labor, and finally, back to prosperity. This paper describes Margaret Mitchells environment of personal growth, life experience, marriage and other aspects of emotional description, and

6、her creative process of this immortal work, as well as inspiration for writing and writing background, and combined with the characteristics of the heroine Scarletts personality as well as her view of love and marriage. It has a further explore the awaking of self-consciousness about marriage and sp

7、irit of seeking autonomous right about life. The authors experience in emotion and thought established foundation for this works. 2. Biography of Margaret MitchellMargaret Mitchell was born on Nov. 8, 1900 in Atlanta to a family with ancestry not unlike the OHaras in Gone with the Wind. Her mother,

8、Mary Isabelle “Maybelle” Stephens was of Irish-Catholic ancestry. Her father, Eugene Muse Mitchell, an Atlanta attorney, descended from Scotch-Irish and French Huguenots. The family included many soldiers-members of the family had fought in the American Revolution, Irish uprisings and rebellions and

9、 the Civil War. The imaginative child was fascinated with stories of the Civil War that she heard first from her parents and great aunts, who lived at the familys Jonesboro rural home, and later, from grizzled (and sometimes profane) Confederate veterans who regaled the girl with battlefield stories

10、 as Margaret, astride her pony, rode through the countryside around Atlanta with the men. The family lived in a series of homes, including a stately home on Peachtree Street beginning in 1912.Margaret Mitchell had always been physically active but fragile. In order to play with her brother, Stephens

11、, and the other boys in the neighborhood, Margaret quickly became a tomboy. She dressed in knickers and called herself Jimmy. She wrote, produced, and directed plays, casting her friends and inviting the neighborhood over. The front parlor rooms of her home were perfect staging areas. Young Margaret

12、 attended private school, but was not an exceptional student. When, on one memorable day, she announced to her mother that she could not understand mathematics and would not return to school, Maybelle dragged her daughter to a rural road where plantation houses had fallen into ruin. Margaret fell in

13、 love with Lt. Clifford Henry who was a Harvard man in training at Camp Gordon in Atlanta. They quickly engaged. Margaret started her first year at Smith College in the fall of 1918. While at Smith College, she received word that Clifford was dead. Soon after, her mother became ill, and Margaret rus

14、hed home to see her but did not make it in time. Chastened, Margaret Mitchell returned to school, eventually entering Smith College in the fall of 1918, not long after the United States entered World War I. Her fianc, Clifford Henry, was killed in action in France. In January 1919, Maybelle Mitchell

15、 died during a flu epidemic and Margaret Mitchell left college to take charge of the Atlanta household of her father and her older brother, Stephens. Although she made her society debut in 1920, Margaret was far too free-spirited and intellectual to be content with the life of a debutante. She quarr

16、eled with her fellow debs over the proper distribution of the money they had raised for charity, and she scandalized Atlanta society with a provocative dance that she performed at the debutante ball with a male student from Georgia Tech.By 1922, Margaret Mitchell was surrounded by suitors, but two m

17、en remained the top competitors for her attention, an ex-football player and bootlegger, Berrien Red Upshaw, and a lanky newspaperman, John R. Marsh. She chose Upshaw, and they were married in September and the couple moved in with Margarets family. Upshaws irregular income led her to seek a job, at

18、 a salary of $25 per week, as a writer for The Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine where Marsh was an editor and her mentor. Shortly thereafter, Upshaw became abusive, and Margaret realized he was both a bootlegger and an alcoholic. The two separated and eventually divorced. Margaret landed a job as a r

19、eporter at the Atlanta Journal Magazine. Their marriage was stormy and short. They divorced in October 1924, and less than a year later, she married Marsh. The two held their wedding reception at their new ground-floor apartment at 17 Crescent Avenue a house which Margaret affectionately nicknamed “

20、The Dump.” Only months after their marriage, Margaret left her job at the Journal to convalesce from a series of injuries. It was during this period that she began writing the book that would make her world famous. 3. Writing Gone with the Wind and Its SuccessMargaret was forced to quit her job at t

21、he newspaper because of arthritis in her ankles and feet. She spent time at home in bed, reading voraciously. John, tired of lugging books home for Margaret to read, brought her a second-hand portable Remington typewriter with the words, Madam, I greet you on the beginning of a great new career. Joh

22、ns thought was that because Margaret had read basically every book in the public library, she should write her own book. Margaret began composing what her friends jokingly call, the great American novel, writing about what she had learned from the stories her elders had told her as she was growing u

23、p. The bulk of her work was completed. Only two people, John and her friend Lois Cole, who worked for Macmillan Publishing Company, knew the details of her writing. Margaret and John moved from the Crescent Avenue Apartments to the Russell Apartments at Peachtree on 17th Street. Lois Cole asked Marg

24、aret to show Latham around Atlanta. Margaret agreed to meet Latham but repeatedly refused his requests to see her manuscript. After an acquaintance cattily remarked to her that she was not serious enough to be a writer, Margaret finally gave in, gathering up her tattered manuscript and driving it ov

25、er to Lathams hotel. She told him to take the damn thing before she changed her mind. Latham was spellbound by the manuscript.After conferring with the head of the English Literature department at Columbia University, he bought it from Margaret. The book was officially released on June 30, 1936, and

26、 by Christmas it had sold one million copies. The popularity of the book began to change her life and she was besieged by letters and telephone calls from all over the world. The most popular question was Does Scarlett get Rhett back? Hollywood producer David O. Selznick bought the film rights to Ma

27、rgarets manuscript for $50,000, top dollar at the time. Once again, she was besieged, this time by would-be actresses wanting a part in the film. Margaret won Pulitzer Prize for her best-selling book. Atlanta rolled out the red carpet for Hollywood at the movies premiere at Lowes Grand Theatre, loca

28、ted on Peachtree Street in the heart of Atlanta. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh stayed at the Georgian Terrace. The black community was outraged that the hotel did not allow the movies black actors or actresses to stay there. On August 11, while crossing Peachtree Street to go to a theater, Margaret w

29、as hit by an off-duty cab driver. Suffering from internal injuries, she died several days later at Grady Hospital. Margaret Mitchell House, birthplace of Gone with the Wind, is dedicated to the City of Atlanta in honor of the indomitable spirit of Margaret Mannerly Mitchell. 4. Writing Sparking of t

30、he WorksMargaret Mitchells strong family interest in history helped Mitchell create a realistic backdrop for her novel Gone with the Wind. As several elements of Gone with the Wind had parallels with Margaret Mitchells own life, her experiences might have provided some inspiration for the story in c

31、ontext. Mitchells understanding of life and hardship during the American Civil War, for example, came from elderly relatives and neighbors passing war stories to her generation. She lived her entire life in Atlanta. Georgia, as had her parents and grandparents. Mitchell grew up immersed in family hi

32、story, listening to the stories of relatives who had survived the Civil War in northern Georgia. Both of her parents were well-versed in Georgian and southern history, and Mitchells brother edited the Atlantic Historical Bulletin. While Margaret Mitchell used to say that her Gone with the Wind chara

33、cters were not based on real people, modern researchers have found similarities to some of the people in Mitchells own life as well as to individuals she knew or she heard of. Mitchells maternal grandmother, Annie Fitzgerald Stephens, was born in 1845; she was the daughter of an Irish immigrant, who

34、 owned a large plantation on Tara Road in Clayton County, south of Atlanta, and who married an American woman named Ellen, and had several children, all daughters.4.1 Historic and Political Elements in NovelGone with the Wind includes a vivid description of the fall of Atlanta in 1864 and the devast

35、ation of war (some of that aspect was missing from the 1939 film). The novel showed considerable historical research. According to her biography, Mitchell herself was ten years old before she learned that the South had lost the war. Mitchells sweeping narrative of war and loss helped the book win th

36、e Pulitzer Prize on May 3, 1937.Upon the publication of Gone with the Wind, reviewers drew comparisons with William Makepeace Thackerays Vanity Fair and Leo Tolstoys War and Peace. Margaret Mitchell claimed not to have read Thackerays novel until after she had completed her Civil War saga and confes

37、sed her inability ever to get very far in Tolstoys monumental work. She did admit her saturation in Charles Dickens and her sense that her work was a Victorian type novel. Mitchell chose an epic moment in American history and never flinched in bringing it to life on a grand scale; a creative energy

38、reminiscent of the nineteenth century drove the work. From the memorable first sentence through the Twelve Oaks barbecue on the eve of the war, the fall of Atlanta, Scarlett OHaras unforgettable journey back home to Tara, and her beginning struggles during Reconstruction, Mitchells narrative power (

39、at the very top of its form) propels the reader through the limning of a culture (its grace and color and folly and weakness), a vivid evocation of the cauldron of war, and a bitter picture of the devastation following. An episode in the book dealt with the early Ku Klux Klan. In the immediate after

40、math of the War, Scarlett is assaulted by poor southerners living in shanties, whereupon her former black slave Big Sam saves her life. In response, Scarletts male friends attempt to make a retaliatory nighttime raid on the encampment. Northern soldiers try to stop the attacks, and Rhett helps Ashle

41、y, who is shot, to get help through his prostitute friend Belle. Scarletts husband Frank is killed. This raid is presented sympathetically as being necessary and justified, while the law-enforcement officers trying to catch the perpetrators are depicted as oppressive Northern occupiers. Although the

42、 Klan is not mentioned in that scene (though Rhett tells Archie to burn the robes), the book notes that Scarlett finds the Klan abominable. She believed the men should all just stay at home (she wanted both to be petted for her ordeal and to give the hated Yankees no more reason to tighten martial l

43、aw, which is bad for her businesses). Rhett is also mentioned to be no great lover of the Klan. At one point, he said that if it were necessary, he would join in an effort to join society. The novel never explicitly states whether this drastic step was necessary in his view. The local chapter later

44、breaks up under the pressure from Rhett and Ashley. Scarlett expresses views that were common of the era.4.2 Inspiration for the Characters Margaret Mitchell spoke of her research in accounts and memoirs of the period, but probably more important was her knowing people who had lived through the era.

45、 A child naturally indulged in old people and to the great drama of her region, Mitchell had gone horseback riding with Confederate veterans, sat listening in the parlors of faded belles, and taken every literary advantage of her exposure to the past. The result is a Balzacian sense of the texture o

46、f the periodScarlett OHaras green morocco slippers, the bright rag rugs in her bedroom at Tara, Melanie Hamiltons black lace mittensthat leads to the capturing of color and movement in great scenes like the Twelve Oaks barbecue and the ball in Atlanta. Alternating with such scenes are remarkably evo

47、cative descriptions of the languorous beauty of the landscape. These places and stories were mentioned in Gone with the Wind. Many researchers believe that the physical brutality and low regard for women exhibited by Rhett Butler was based on Mitchells first husband, Red Upshaw. She divorced him aft

48、er she learned he was a bootlegger amid rumors of abuse and infidelity. After a stay at the plantation called The Woodlands, and later Barnsley Gardens, Mitchell might have gotten the inspiration for the dashing scoundrel from Sir Godfrey Barnsley of Adairsville, Georgia. Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, t

49、he mother of US president Theodore Roosevelt might have been an inspiration for Scarlett OHara. Roosevelt biographer David McCullough discovered that Mitchell, as a reporter for The Atlanta Journal, conducted an interview with one of Marthas closest friends and bridesmaid, Evelyn King Williams, then

50、 87. In that interview, she described Marthas physical appearance, beauty, grace, and intelligence in detail. The similarities between Martha and the Scarlett character are striking.George Trenholm was as historical basis for Rhett Butler. It made international news in 1989 when Dr. E. Lee Spence, a

51、n underwater archaeologist and shipwreck expert from Charleston, South Carolina, announced his discovery that Margaret Mitchell had actually taken much of her compelling story of love, greed and war from real life and that Mitchell had actually based most of Rhett Butler on the life of George Alfred

52、 Trenholm. Like Rhett, Trenholm was a tall, handsome, shipping magnate from Charleston, South Carolina, and made millions of dollars from blockade running. Both the real life Trenholm and the fictional Rhett were accused of making off with much of the Confederate treasury and were thrown in prison a

53、fter the Civil War where they were visited by a beautiful woman with a fast reputation. Spences literary discovery that had its roots in his prior discoveries of some of Trenholms wrecked blockade runners made international news.5. The Relationship between Margaret Mitchell and Her Gone with the Win

54、dGone with the Wind was a classic literary works for women，it was mainly described emotional experience of married life and inner world about women. Generally speaking, a writers emotion and ideological values are always taken on the works, and Margaret Mitchell is no exception. So it is essential t

55、o explore the relationship between Margaret Mitchell and her Gone with the Wind.5.1 Margaret Mitchell and ScarlettIt was not difficult to see many similar characteristics between Margaret Mitchell and her heroine Scarlett. Much like the heroine Scarlett OHara, Margaret Mitchell enjoyed social events

56、 and being the center of attention. She was a lively and spirited girl with a great sense of humor. She was flirtatious and charming and always had a long string of beaux. After her mothers death, she also became the head of the family. She got married regardless of the ideological father of the con

57、servative opposition. Unfortunately, her first marriage failed. The most difference from Scarlett was that Margaret Mitchell finally owned true lover and lived a happy life. The marriage of Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh was more than a marriage of great love and deep friendship, it was a lucky li

58、terary match, both for them and for a world made richer by the creation of Gone with the Wind. John Marsh did a great help during their remarkable 24-year marriage, if Margaret Mitchell had not married John Marsh, Gone with the Wind might have never been written successfully. In addition to being Ma

59、rgaret Mitchells husband, best friend with constant support, he acted as her editor, proof-reader, researcher, business manager, and, in general, the source of inspiration behind her work. Margaret Mitchell performed her love story through Scarletts life and displayed her love by Scarletts tragedy.

60、The purpose was to allow people to sympathize Scarlett, and hoped she could catch another chance to gain true love. As a woman, one should circumspectly consider of her life and marriage. In Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell portrayed the inferior position of women in the south of America during

61、 the 19th century. Scarlett was beautiful, shrewd, brave and independent. In the ordinary course of events, she can marry an excellent or rich man or at least a man that she loves and also she can live a sweet life. But, she chose another way of life; she really took every possible chance to make he

62、r future brighter. She first married Melanies brother Charley. Just two months later she became a widow. In order to get money, she married her sisters fianc Frank. Scarletts marriage life showed that life was not a play-game as well as marriage. Margaret Mitchell described the heroine Scarlett and

63、her love entanglement with Ashley and Rhett. Scarlett was self-partial and priggish when she was a young lady; she was selfish but kind when she was a widow; she was shrewd and gainful when she was a businesswoman. Her life was filled with legend. Her ups and downs fully embodied her life condition

64、and her attitude toward life. She was a common woman but she acted like a great woman did. She was a modern woman in old ages. Scarlett had done well. She could love and hate with violence, She wanted not only to survive, but also to prevail and would use any means at hand to gain her ends, and she

65、won, still kept an uneasily known kind heart. She was a new woman in the old time. Scarlett completely rebelled against traditional civilization, life style and ideals of marriage. Her braveness, independence, diligence, optimism and the spirit to pursue happy life embodied American characters, she

66、was a heroine was adapt in building new life on the wasteland of the tradition. She pursued the freedom of personality and equality of gender. Although Scarletts family and marriage were unfortunately, as a woman, to face survive, she was honorable. 5.2 Margaret Mitchell and the Civil WarIn Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell reproduced t