Analysis of the Character of Scarlett in <i>Gone with the Wind</i>

Gone with the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell has been one of the bestsellers and popular with the reader ever since its publication in 1936. It is her first and only long novel. Since 1936, the novel has been widely spread and well received. Most of their researches concentrate on the historical background of the American Civil War, the abolitionist thought and the cultural discrepancy between the North and the South, narrative mode and ideological value. In the light of feminist theory, this essay attempts to analyze the female characters in Gone with the Wind. Scarlett, who’s clever, coquettish, stubborn and diligent, is different from other aristocratic women. She is different, and also damned. But she is judged as a new woman in the old time, she is a Steel Rose opening in the war and her story will give some inspiration for modern women. Through the influence of internal and external environment on Scarlett, the characteristics of her rebellious, awakening, strong character and persistent pursuit of freedom and happiness are analyzed. It reveals the cause of Scarlett’s multi-character in the patriarchal society.