Gone with the Wind

Plot summary

Gone with the Wind takes place in the southern United States in the state of Georgia during the American Civil War (1861–1865) and the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877) that followed the war. The novel unfolds against the backdrop of rebellion wherein seven southern states, Georgia among them, have declared their secession from the United States (the "Union") and formed the Confederate States of America (the "Confederacy"), after Abraham Lincoln was elected president with no ballots from ten Southern states where slavery was legal. A dispute over states' rights has arisen[60] involving enslaved African people who were the source of manual labor on cotton plantations throughout the South. The story opens in April 1861 at the "Tara" plantation, which is owned by a wealthy Irish immigrant family, the O'Haras. The reader is told Scarlett O'Hara, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Gerald and Ellen O'Hara, "was not beautiful, but"[54] had an effect on men, especially when she took notice of them. It is the day before the men are called to war, Fort Sumter having been fired on two days earlier.

There are brief but vivid descriptions of the South as it began and grew, with backgrounds of the main characters: the stylish and highbrow French, the gentlemanly English, the forced-to-flee and looked-down-upon Irish. Miss Scarlett learns that one of her many beaux, Ashley Wilkes, is soon to be engaged to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. She is stricken at heart. The following day at the Wilkeses' barbecue at "Twelve Oaks," Scarlett informs Ashley she loves him and Ashley admits he cares for her.[60] However, he knows he would not be happily married to Scarlett because of their personality differences. Scarlett loses her temper at Ashley and he silently takes it.

Then Scarlett meets Rhett Butler, a man who has a reputation as a rogue. Rhett had been alone in the library when Ashley and Scarlett entered, and felt it wiser to not make his presence known while the argument took place. Rhett applauds Scarlett for the unladylike spirit she displayed with Ashley. Infuriated and humiliated, Scarlett tells Rhett, "You aren't fit to wipe Ashley's boots!"[60]

Upon leaving the library and rejoining the other party guests, she finds out that war has been declared and the men are going to enlist. Seeking revenge for being jilted by Ashley, Scarlett 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 with her first child. A widow at merely sixteen, she gives birth to a boy, Wade Hampton Hamilton, named after his father's general.[61] As a widow, she is bound by tradition to wear black and avoid conversation with young men. Scarlett is despondent as a result of the restrictions placed upon her.

Melanie, who is living in Atlanta with Aunt Pittypat, invites Scarlett to live with them. In Atlanta, Scarlett's spirits revive and she is busy with hospital work and sewing circles for the Confederate army. Scarlett encounters Rhett Butler again at a dance for the Confederacy. Although Rhett believes the war is a lost cause, he is blockade running for the profit in it. The men must bid for a dance with a lady and Rhett bids "one hundred fifty dollars-in gold"[37] for a dance with Scarlett. Everyone at the dance is shocked that Rhett would bid for Scarlett, the widow still dressed in black. Melanie smooths things over by coming to Rhett's defense because he is generously supporting the Confederate cause for which her husband, Ashley, is fighting.

At Christmas (1863), Ashley has been granted a furlough from the army and returns to Atlanta to be with Melanie. The war is going badly for the Confederacy. Atlanta is under siege (September 1864), "hemmed in on three sides,"[62] it descends into a desperate state while hundreds of wounded Confederate soldiers lie dying or dead in the city. Melanie goes into labor with only the inexperienced Scarlett to assist, as all the doctors are busy attending the soldiers. Prissy, a young Negro servant girl, cries out in despair and fear, "De Yankees is comin!"[63] In the chaos, Scarlett, left to fend for herself, cries for the comfort and safety of her mother and Tara. The tattered Confederate States Army sets flame to Atlanta as they abandon it to the Union Army.

Melanie gives birth to a boy named Beauregard, and now they must hurry for refuge. Scarlett tells Prissy to go find Rhett, but she is afraid to "go runnin' roun' in de dahk". Scarlett replies to Prissy, "Haven't you any gumption?"[63] Prissy then finds Rhett, and Scarlett begs him to take herself, Wade, Melanie, Beau, and Prissy to Tara. Rhett laughs at the idea, but steals an emaciated horse and a small wagon, and they follow the retreating army out of Atlanta.

Part way to Tara, Rhett has a change of heart and he abandons Scarlett to enlist in the army. Scarlett makes her way to Tara without him where she is welcomed on the steps by her father, Gerald. It is clear things have drastically changed: Gerald has lost his mind, Scarlett's mother is dead, her sisters are sick with typhoid fever, the field slaves left after Emancipation, the Yankees have burned all the cotton and there is no food in the house.

The long tiring struggle for post-war survival begins that has Scarlett working in the fields. There are so many hungry people to feed and so little food. There is the ever present threat of the Yankees who steal and burn, and at one point, Scarlett kills a Yankee marauder with a single shot from Charles's pistol leaving "a bloody pit where the nose had been."[64]

A long succession of Confederate soldiers returning home stop at Tara to find food and rest. Two men stay on, an invalid Cracker, Will Benteen, and Ashley Wilkes, whose spirit is broken. Life at Tara slowly begins to recover when a new threat appears in the form of new taxes on Tara.

Scarlett knows only one man who has enough money to help her pay the taxes, Rhett Butler. She goes to Atlanta to find him only to learn Rhett is in jail. As she is leaving the jailhouse, Scarlett runs into Frank Kennedy, who is betrothed to Scarlett's sister, Suellen, and running a store in Atlanta. Soon realizing Frank also has money, Scarlett hatches a plot and tells Frank that Suellen has changed her mind about marrying him. Thereafter Frank succumbs to Scarlett's feminine charms and he marries her two weeks later knowing he has done "something romantic and exciting for the first time in his life."[65] Always wanting Scarlett to be happy and radiant, Frank gives her the money to pay the taxes on Tara.

While Frank has a cold and is being pampered by Aunt Pittypat, Scarlett goes over the accounts at Frank's store and finds many of his friends owe him money. Scarlett is now terrified about the taxes and decides money, a lot of it, is needed. She takes control of his business while he is away and her business practices leave many Atlantans resentful of her. Then with a loan from Rhett she buys a sawmill and runs the lumber business herself, all very unladylike conduct. Much to Frank's relief, Scarlett learns she is pregnant, which curtails her activities for awhile. She convinces Ashley to come to Atlanta and manage the mill, all the while still in love with him. At Melanie's urging, Ashley takes the job at the mill. Melanie soon becomes the center of Atlanta society, and Scarlett gives birth to a girl named Ella Lorena. "Ella for her grandmother Ellen, and Lorena because it was the most fashionable name of the day for girls."[66]

The state of Georgia is under martial law and life there has taken on a new and more frightening tone. For protection, Scarlett keeps Frank's pistol tucked in the upholstery of the buggy. Her trips alone to and from the mill take her past a shanty town where criminal elements live. On one evening when she is coming home from the mill, Scarlett is accosted by two men who attempt to rob her, but she escapes with the help of Big Sam, the former negro foreman from Tara. Attempting to avenge the assault on his wife, Frank and the Ku Klux Klan raid the shanty town whereupon Frank is shot dead. Scarlett is a widow for a second time.

Rhett puts on a charade to keep the men who participated in the shanty town raid from being arrested. He walks into the Wilkeses' home with Hugh Elsing and Ashley, singing and pretending to be drunk. Yankee officers outside the home question Rhett and he tells them he and the other men had been at Belle Watling's brothel that evening, a story Belle later confirms to the officers. The men are indebted to Rhett for saving them, and his Scallawag reputation among them improves a notch, but the men's wives, with the exception of Melanie, are livid at owing their husbands' lives to Belle Watling.

Frank Kennedy lies cold in a coffin in the quiet stillness of the parlor in Aunt Pittypat's home. Scarlett is in a remorseful state. She is swigging brandy from Aunt Pitty's swoon bottle when Rhett comes to call. She tells Rhett tearfully, "I'm afraid I'll die and go to hell," to which Rhett replies, "Maybe there isn't a hell."[19] Before she can cry any further, Rhett asks Scarlett to marry him saying, "I always intended having you, one way or another."[19] Scarlett declares she doesn't love him and doesn't want to be married again. However, Rhett kisses her passionately, and in the heat of the moment she agrees to marry him. One year later, Scarlett and Rhett announce their engagement.

News of the impending marriage is the talk of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Butler honeymoon in New Orleans, spending lavishly. Upon their return to Atlanta, the couple take up residence in the bridal suite at the National Hotel while their new home on Peachtree Street is being constructed. Scarlett chooses a modern Swiss chalet style home like the one she saw in Harper's Weekly, and red wallpaper, thick red carpet and black walnut furniture for the interior. Rhett describes the house as an "architectural horror".[67] Shortly after the Butlers move into their new home, the sardonic jabs between them turn into full-blown quarrels. Scarlett wonders why Rhett married her. Then "with real hate in her eyes"[67] she tells Rhett she is going to have a baby, a baby she does not want.

Wade is seven years old in 1869 when his sister, Eugenie Victoria, named after two queens, arrives in the world. She has blue eyes like Gerald O'Hara and Melanie gives her the nickname, "Bonnie Blue," in reference to the Bonnie Blue Flag of the Confederacy.

When Scarlett is feeling well again, she makes a trip to the mill and talks to Ashley, who is alone in the office. In the conversation with him, she comes away believing Ashley still loves her and is jealous of her intimate relations with Rhett, which excites her. Scarlett returns home and tells Rhett she does not want more children. From then on, Scarlett and Rhett sleep in separate bedrooms, and when Bonnie is two years old, she sleeps in a little bed beside Rhett's bed (with the light on all night long because she is afraid of the dark). Rhett turns his attention towards Bonnie, dotes on her, spoils her, and worries about her reputation when she is older.

Melanie is giving a surprise birthday party for Ashley. Scarlett goes to the mill to keep Ashley there until party time, a rare opportunity for Scarlett to see Ashley alone. When she sees him, she feels "sixteen again, a little breathless and excited."[68] Ashley tells her how pretty she looks, and they reminisce about the days when they were young and talk about their lives now. Suddenly Scarlett's eyes fill with tears and Ashley holds her head against his chest. Then in the doorway of the office Ashley sees standing his sister, India Wilkes. Before the party has even begun rumors of an adulterous relationship between Ashley and Scarlett have started, and Rhett and Melanie have heard the gossip. Melanie refuses to accept any criticism of her sister in-law and India Wilkes is banished from the Wilkeses' home for it, causing a rift in the family.

Rhett, more drunk than Scarlett has ever seen him, returns home the evening of the party long after Scarlett. His eyes are bloodshot and his mood is dark and violent. He enjoins Scarlett to drink with him. Not wanting Rhett to know she is fearful of him, Scarlett throws back a drink and gets up from her chair to go back to her bedroom. But Rhett stops her and pins her shoulders to the wall. Scarlett tells Rhett he is jealous of Ashley and Rhett accuses Scarlett of "crying for the moon"[53] over Ashley. He tells Scarlett they could have been happy together saying, "for I loved you and I know you."[53] Rhett then takes Scarlett in his arms and carries her up the stairs to her bedroom where passion envelops them.

The following morning Rhett leaves town with Bonnie and Prissy and stays away for three months. Scarlett finds herself missing him, but she is still unsure if Rhett loves her, having told her so when he was drunk. She learns she is pregnant with her fourth child.

On the day Rhett arrives home, Scarlett waits for him at the top of the stairs. She wonders if Rhett will kiss her, but to Scarlett's irritation, he does not. He tells her she looks pale. Scarlett tells him she is pale because she is pregnant. Rhett sarcastically asks her if the father is Ashley. She calls Rhett a cad and tells him no woman would want a baby of his. To which Rhett responds, "cheer up, maybe you'll have a miscarriage."[69] At that comment, Scarlett lunges at Rhett, but he side steps and she tumbles backwards down the stairs. She is seriously ill for the first time in her life, having lost her child and broken her ribs. Rhett is remorseful, believing he has killed her. Sobbing and drunk, Rhett buries his head in Melanie's lap and confesses he had been a jealous cad.

Scarlett, who is thin and pale, goes to Tara taking Wade and Ella with her, to regain her strength and vitality from "the green cotton fields of home."[70] When she returns a healthy woman to Atlanta, she sells the mills to Ashley. She finds Rhett's attitude has noticeably changed. He is sober, kinder, polite and seemingly disinterested. Though she misses the old Rhett at times, Scarlett is content to leave well enough alone.

Now Bonnie is four years old in 1873. A spirited and willful child, she has her father wrapped around her finger and giving into her every demand. Even Scarlett is jealous of the attention she gets from him. Rhett rides his horse around town with Bonnie in front of him, but the household mammy, "Mammy," insists it is not fitting for a girl to ride a horse with her dress flying up. Rhett heeds Mammy's words and buys Bonnie a Shetland pony, whom she names "Mr. Butler," and teaches her to ride sidesaddle. Then Rhett pays a boy named Wash twenty-five cents to teach Mr. Butler to jump over wood bars. When Mr. Butler is able to get his fat legs over a one foot high bar, Rhett puts Bonnie on the pony, and soon Mr. Butler is leaping bars and Aunt Melly's rose bushes.

Wearing her blue velvet riding habit with a red feather in her black hat, Bonnie pleads with her father to raise the bar to one and a half feet. He gives in and raises the bar, warning her not to come crying to him if she falls. Bonnie yells to her Mother, "Watch me take this one!"[71] The pony gallops towards the wood bar, but trips over it splintering the wood. Mr. Butler tumbles to the ground then scrambles to his feet and trots off with an empty saddle. Little Miss "Bonnie Blue" Butler is dead.

In the dark days and months following Bonnie's death, Rhett is often drunk and disheveled, while Scarlett, though deeply grieved also, seems to hold up under the strain. With the untimely death of Melanie Wilkes a short time later, Rhett decides he only wants the calm dignity of the genial South he once knew in his youth and he leaves Atlanta to find it. Meanwhile, Scarlett dreams of love that has eluded her for so long. However, she still has Tara and is determined to win Rhett back, and "tomorrow is another day.

此书名取自恩斯特·道森的诗《sum qualís eram bonae sub regno Cynarae》第三段第一句 : "我忘却的太多了，Cynara!随风而去."(原文:I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind).书名的也同样在小说中出现:当思嘉丽为躲避北方军对亚特兰大的轰击,逃回她家族的农场,塔拉.有一个瞬间,她想到:"塔拉还在吗?抑或是它已经随着席卷佐治亚州的风暴而去了呢?"(Was Tara still standing? Or was Tara also gone with the wind which had swept through Georgia?"

1861年4月，美国南北两方的关系已经非常紧张。佐治亚州的男人们都在议论这场无法避免的战争。

但是，16岁的思嘉·奥哈拉（Scarlett·O'Hara）对此毫无兴趣。她心里想的除舞会、郊游之外，还有那群围着她转的崇拜者。当她听说第二天的野外宴会上，艾希礼·威尔克斯将宣布与媚兰订婚时，她心里不觉一震。她一直喜欢艾希礼的绅士风度与他英俊的外表，而且认为自己无论哪方面都比媚兰要强得多，以自己的魅力，肯定能说服艾希礼和她一起私奔。 　　但在第二天的宴会上，思嘉始终没有找到和艾希礼单独交谈的机会，因为艾希礼一直同媚兰在一起。思嘉是野宴上的焦点，但艾希礼根本没有注意她，这让思嘉很尴尬。出于一种报复心理，思嘉轻而易举地把媚兰的弟弟查尔斯吸引到了她的身边，几句话就使这个在情场上毫无经验的、腼腆的小伙子神魂颠倒了，宴会结束后，男客们就当前的局势在激烈地争论。杰拉尔德和一位名叫瑞德·巴特勒(Rhett Butler)的陌生人争论得尤为激烈。瑞德认为，南方没有工业资源，打起仗来肯定会失利；而杰拉尔德和他的朋友们却认为北方佬不经打，只要一两个战役就能使他们缴枪投降。下午，思嘉终于抓住一个机会和艾希礼谈了她的主意，但被艾希礼婉言拒绝。思嘉觉得自己被艾希礼“抛弃”了。她气急败坏地打了艾希礼一记耳光，还在艾希礼离开后摔了一只花瓶。谁知，那位瑞德巴特勒却一直在听壁脚，当思嘉指责他不是个绅士时，他反唇讥讽思嘉不是个淑女。战争的消息传来，当天晚上的舞会也随之取消。思嘉突然决定和查尔斯结婚，因为这样可以挽回自己的面子，也可以刺激一下艾希礼和自己的追求者。就这样，任性的思嘉在两周之后就作了查尔斯的妻子。两个月后，查尔斯病死在前方，思嘉突然变成了寡妇。因为不爱查尔斯，所以对于查尔斯的死她并不感到忧伤，甚至庆幸。但寡妇的生活使生性活泼的思嘉难以忍受。这时，艾希礼也上了前线，其妻媚兰从亚特兰大来信，邀请她来查尔斯的姑姑家暂住一时，思嘉便离开了塔拉庄园，来到亚特兰大。 　　环境的改变使思嘉的心境稍稍有好转。随着战事越来越吃紧，亚特兰大的妇女们都被动员起来，到当地医院护理从前方运回来的伤病员，还要为南方邦联的军队缝制军需品。

但是，由于思嘉新寡，所以不能参加为出征军人举办的舞会和晚会。一次，医院举行募捐舞会。由于人手不够，思嘉被叫去帮忙。在舞会上，嘉丽又一次见到曾在十二橡树庄园与她父亲辩论过的瑞德。现在，瑞德已成了亚特兰大顶顶有名的偷越北方封锁线为南方军队提供物资的商人。每次从北方回来，他还给亚特兰大的上层妇女带来她们所喜欢的时装和布料。因此，瑞德很受贵妇们的欢迎。舞会开始的时候，瑞德出了很多钱邀请思嘉作他的舞伴。思嘉终于忍不住这种诱惑，穿着丧服就步入了舞池。

　　随着战局不断恶化，生活中的清规戒律在人们的心目中逐渐淡化。思嘉又恢复了她原来的面目，频繁参加各种娱乐活动，和军官们调情说笑。但是，她仍无法忘怀艾希礼。 　　有一段时间，瑞德成了亚特兰大许多人家的座上客。但是，由于他总是嘲笑和挖苦南方邦联，很快就成为大家所厌恶的人。只有媚兰同意瑞德对战争的分析，因为，她丈夫艾希礼在来信中也认为南方邦联根本无法打赢这场战争。

　63年7月，南方邦联的罗伯特·李将军指挥的部队在北方的宾夕法尼亚州失利。许多和思嘉一起长大的男孩都在那场恶战中阵亡。圣诞节前夕，艾希礼从前线回来，在家休息数日。在他们独处的时候，思嘉把自己和查尔斯结婚的真正原因告诉了艾希礼，并承认她依然爱着他，艾希礼将媚兰托付给了思嘉。第二年年初，媚兰得到前线来的通知书，说艾希礼失踪了。后来通过瑞德的北方关系，才弄清楚：艾希礼并没有死。他受伤被俘后关在北方的岩岛集中营。 　　

64年夏天，北军直逼亚特兰大——南方邦联的首府。城市被围，查尔斯的姑姑和城里许多人家都逃离了亚特兰大，思嘉接到父亲的信，得知母亲和两个妹妹都生了重病，她一心只想回家。但因媚兰即将临盆，思嘉顾及到艾希礼的托付，只好留下来守在她的身边。其间，瑞德曾登门拜访，并要思嘉做他的情妇，遭到了思嘉的拒绝。

八月底，攻城的炮声突然沉寂下来。传说邦联军己决定放弃这座城市。正在这个时候，媚兰的儿子小博降生了。此时，亚特兰大城一片混乱，根本找不到医生。在无可奈何的情况下，思嘉自己接生，保住了媚兰母子的生命。当天夜里，最后一批邦联军撤出了亚特兰大，北方军很快就要进城了，绝望中，思嘉只好求助于瑞特。瑞德用偷来的一辆破马车，设法把她和媚兰母子与奴隶送出了城，趁夜赶往塔拉庄园。

沿途的情景使思嘉恐慌万分。许多熟悉的庄园都被烧成了废墟，只有一些断垣残壁矗立在那里。经过一天的颠簸劳累，她们终于来到了塔拉庄园。出乎意料，塔拉的白色楼房却依然完好无损。但出来迎接她们的却只有老父杰拉尔德和一个黑奴管家——波克；思嘉的两个妹妹——苏伦和卡琳重病在床，而她的母亲爱伦己在昨天离开了人世。年老的杰拉尔德几乎连自己的女儿都认不出来了。 　

　 整个家庭的重担一下子落到了思嘉这个只有19岁的寡妇肩上。全家除了自己和孩子外，还有老父、两个妹妹、媚兰和她的新生儿——小博，以及庄园上仅有的三个黑奴，总共需要维持10口人的生计。这时她想起了那些孩提时期从父亲那里听到的故事，那些全凭自己的一双手开创家业的爱尔兰父辈们。

　摆在眼前的首要问题就是要找到吃的东西。于是思嘉天天提着篮子到地里去挖，到废墟里去捡。她的两个妹妹都是五谷不分的娇小姐，苏伦娇生惯养不愿做活，而卡琳虽很懂事却体弱多病，是指望不上的，连三个黑奴也强调说他们从来只干家务而不会干田里的活。苦难的生活磨炼着思嘉，但也使她变得冷酷无情，家里的人都有些怕她。从这时候起，思嘉就产生了一种强烈的愿望，决心恢复塔拉庄园昔日的风采：餐桌上摆满银质餐具、透亮的酒杯和丰盛的食品，马厩里拴着一匹匹骏马，车房里放着豪华的四轮马车，成群的黑奴在塔拉的田间采摘棉花…… 　

　一天，一个北军士兵骑马闯进了庄园，思嘉用手枪干掉了他，得到了一匹马和从这个士兵口袋里搜出来的一笔钱。这给她解了燃眉之急。圣诞节前夕，妹妹苏伦的未婚夫弗兰克·肯尼迪带着一个南方邦联的征粮小组来到庄园。思嘉当然不愿把她们好不容易得来的粮食白送给他们。

65年4月，南方邦联军投降，战争终于结束了。许多南方人都在为他们的失败而痛哭流涕。而在思嘉的脑海里，更重要的问题是如何保住塔拉庄园。

战争结束后，每天都有一些士兵路过塔拉庄园返回他们的故乡。有一天，思嘉她们发现门口躺着一个昏迷不醒的年轻人，便把他救起。在大家的照料下，这个名叫威尔的年轻人逐渐恢复了健康。威尔无家可归，便在塔拉住下来，并慢慢地担负起了庄园的许多管理事务。 　　艾希礼终于活着回来了。他衣衫褴褛，形容憔悴，原有的那种高贵气质己消失殆尽。第二年春天，新政府命令塔拉庄园限期交纳新附加税，否则就要拍卖庄园来抵税。原来，几年前因过失而被塔拉庄园赶走的管家乔纳斯当上了新成立的解放黑奴委员会的头头。现在，他企图侵吞塔拉庄园，故而想出了迫缴附加税的主意。思嘉和威尔一筹莫展，思嘉希望艾希礼能帮他们想点办法，但艾希礼的懦弱无能使他们失望。 　

　绝望中，思嘉突然想起了瑞德。如果瑞德肯拿出钱来保住塔拉庄园，思嘉情愿嫁给他，或作他的情妇。思嘉与家人用母亲爱伦的苔绿色天鹅绒窗帘做了一条新裙子，第二天，思嘉穿着新裙子在嬷嬷的陪同下就来到了亚特兰大寻找瑞德，这时才知道，瑞德因涉嫌侵吞南方邦联的大笔资金已锒铛入狱。情绪沮丧的思嘉无意中遇见了妹妹苏伦的未婚夫弗兰克·肯尼迪。他现在已是一家商店的老板，手头有一笔钱。思嘉明白苏伦渴慕以前的富贵生活而且自私，如果苏伦与弗兰克结婚，她是绝不会用钱拯救塔拉庄园。于是思嘉谎称苏伦将与托·方丹结婚，然后轻而易举地使弗兰克投入了自己的怀抱。两周后，他俩便结了婚。塔拉庄园得救了！但不久发现，弗兰克并没有什么商业头脑，而且对别人的劝告充耳不闻，因此生意经营得很不好。这时，瑞德通过各种私人关系，得以获释。他借给思嘉一笔钱，思嘉便背着弗兰克买下了一个倒闭了的木材加工厂，自己独自经营起来。一个女人经商，而且也像男人一样赚钱，这在亚特兰大是前所未有的。这件事引起了很大的轰动。她不法经营，令弗兰克颜面丧尽。

思嘉怀孕了。她想在生产前多赚一些钱，以备急需，于是买下了第二个木材厂。在这段时间里，思嘉每天自己驾车往返于木材厂之间，除瑞德外没有任何朋友。一天，瑞德劝她路上要小心一些，暗示如果遭到黑人袭击，三K党将会为她进行报复。而当时亚特兰大执行“重建法案”的军管政府则正在盘算着如何把三K党和所有涉嫌的南方人一网打尽。 　　六月，思嘉赶回塔拉庄园参加她父亲的葬礼。葬礼之后，思嘉全家，包括艾希礼、媚兰、威尔等搬到了亚特兰大，买了一幢破旧的房子住了下来。善良正直的媚兰很快在妇女界赢得了信任，成了一位极受尊重的人物。而艾希礼虽然受思嘉之托，管理一个木材厂，但经营得很糟糕。 　　她开始奔波于两个木材厂之间。此时亚特兰大的治安状况不断恶化。1867年3月的一个晚上，思嘉在驾车回家的路上受到了一个白人和一个黑人的袭击。由于黑奴萨姆的保护，她并没有受到什么伤害。当天夜里，三K党出击了，但他们却陷入了军队设下的圈套。在交火中，弗兰克被打死，艾希礼受了伤。由于瑞德的出谋划策，才救了其他一批参加三K党行动的白人。 　

　几个月之后，不顾亲友的劝阻和反对，思嘉和瑞德结了婚。他们的蜜月是在新奥尔良度过的，而由思嘉自己设计的新居很快也告落成，这是亚特兰大最豪华的住宅。对于思嘉来说，此时她似乎实现了她在塔拉庄园时的理想。她在物质上的任何要求，瑞德都给予极大的满足，她真是应有尽有了。不久，他们的女儿邦妮出生了。自此之后，瑞德似乎变了。他和过去军管政府中的“老朋友”彻底断了交，而且加入了民主党，准备和亚特兰大的一批南北战争时期的老战士一起把联邦政府任命的州长赶下台。1871年圣诞节，州政府的大权终于又回到了南方人的手里。邦妮非常漂亮，在邦妮身上瑞德几乎倾注了全部心血。瑞德之所以努力改变自己在亚特兰大居民眼中的形象，完全是为了树立邦妮今后在亚特兰大的地位。 　　黑人嬷嬷建议给四岁的邦妮买一匹小马，这样，她就不需要再和瑞特同骑一匹马了。没想到好动的邦妮在骑马跨越篱笆墙时遇到不测。邦妮死后，瑞德悲痛欲绝，整日酗酒，对待思嘉如同路人。 　

　思嘉对艾希礼仍然旧情不忘。艾希礼生日那天的下午，在木材厂，思嘉和艾希礼谈得很投机。他们一起回忆了10年前的那个野外宴会。艾希礼承认他自己和瑞德其实很相象，只不过是在人生的道路上选择了不同的方向而已。回忆过去使思嘉突然产生了一种恐惧感，哭泣的她不由自主地倒在了艾希礼的怀里，他们温情的拥抱着，不料被艾希礼的妹妹英迪亚，埃尔辛太太与阿尔奇看到。这件事很快被瑞德和媚兰知道了。几天以后，瑞德带上媚兰出远门去了。他走后，思嘉马上去找媚兰，想向她坦露自己的过错。但媚兰止住了她，她再三强调只有思嘉才是她最亲的亲人。媚兰迫使大家都相信思嘉，并坚定不移地保护思嘉。 　　不久，思嘉发现自己又怀孕了。这时她开始想念瑞德，盼望他早点回来。瑞德到家的那一天，思嘉特意在楼梯口迎接。本想把怀孕的消息告诉他，但一看到他那副冷嘲热讽的神气，思嘉就气不过来。结果失足，跌下楼梯，折断了肋骨。瑞德悔恨不已，在媚兰面前，像孩子一样痛哭流涕，忏悔自己的过失。 　

　身体素来羸弱的媚兰不听医生的劝告又一次怀孕。怀孕后她的身体迅速恶化。临终前，她把照看艾希礼的重担交给了思嘉。这时，思嘉突然意识到，一向瘦弱的媚兰实际上是保护她的宝剑和盾牌，而她也第一次认识到，她爱媚兰。 　

　媚兰去世了，艾希礼就好像失去了主心骨，像个小孩子一样，他比思嘉更感到害怕。也只有这时，思嘉才明白，她并不爱艾希礼，她对艾希礼特殊的感情只因为他没像其它男人一样迷上自己。从此她生活中的两大精神支柱消失了。 　

　在浓雾中，思嘉拼命往家里跑，雾中的她好像又重温着多年前一直困扰着她的一个噩梦。终于，她看见自己住宅的灯光，霎那间她觉得自己看到了希望，因为世界上还有瑞德，而她真心爱的就是瑞德！ 　

　但是，这一切都已经太晚了。瑞德已经对思嘉失望，决定弃家出走，离开思嘉。此时此刻，对于思嘉来说，生活中的一切光亮都消失了。她只有回到塔拉庄园去这一条出路。她感到太疲劳了，脑子再也承受不了这些压力。她自言自语地说：“还是留给明天去想吧……不管怎么说，明天又是新的一天……”

gone with the wind 飘 中英文双语介绍