A Brief Analysis of Scarlett’s Rebellious Spirit《飘》思佳丽反叛精神浅析.docx

1、 A Brief Analysis of Scarletts Rebellious SpiritAbstract Gone with the wind is one of the most popular American novels. It was written by American female writer Margaret Mitchell. This novel mainly describes the life of Scarlett who is Tara farmers daughter around the American Civil War. Scarlet is

2、one of the impressive images in world literature. Her charm lies in the sprit of rebellion. This article aims at commenting on Scarletts burning rebellion against traditional civilization, life style, and the ideas of marriage. Also, it analyses the causes of her rebellion and the significance of he

3、r rebellious spirit.Key words: Gone with the Wind, Scarlett, rebellion, and civilization飘思佳丽反叛精神浅析摘要：飘这部经久不衰的作品是美国女作家玛格丽特米切尔创作的一部长篇小说。小说以贯穿整个美国南北战争时期为背景，2着重描述了思佳丽塔拉农场主的女儿在战争前后的生活。思佳丽是世界文学中最具她的魅力在于她的反叛精神。本文旨在评述思佳丽在文明更替中对旧文明、生存方式、婚姻观念的火辣反叛及其成因和意义。关键词：飘，思佳丽，反叛，文明 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 42.Sc

4、arletts rebellion to traditional civilization.42.1 Breaking traditional moral concept42.2 Changing life style.72.3 Breaking traditional marriage concept93. The causes of Scarletts rebellious spirit113.1 The external causes of Scarletts rebellious spirit113.2 The internal causes of Scarletts rebellio

5、us spirit134.Conclusion145. 3References15. I Introduction Margaret Mitchell (November 8, 1900 August 16, 1949) was the American author, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for her immensely successful novel. Gone with the Wind, which was published in 1936. The novel is one of the most popular books o

6、f all time, selling more copies than any other hardcover books, apart from the Bible. The novel mainly describes the life of Scarlett who is the daughter of Taras master around the American Civil War. Meanwhile with the hint of a triangular love between Scarlett, Ashley and Rhett, the novel depicts

7、a wide and prosperous picture of the social life of the South in America. An important element of the storys popularity is 4Scarlett OHara, the outstanding heroine who is full of rebellious spirit. This article analyses Scarletts burning rebellion against traditional civilization, life style and the

8、 concept of marriage. And it also analyses the causes of her rebellion and the significance of her rebellious spirit. II Scarletts rebellion to traditional civilization In gone with the wind, what Scarlett said, behaved and thought didnt accord with the traditional civilization standards, so she was

9、 not popular in her times. Especially what made them annoyed was that she rebelled against Southern holy and inviolate civilization.1. Breaking traditional morality concept.Scarlett was the lady of Tara. She was demanded to comply with all the morality norms. The constraint of morality infuriated he

10、r and made her resist it. It also resulted in her pursuit of personality and freedom. At the beginning, she rebelled against traditional morality, and with time going on her rebellion become more and more fiercer and stronger.Before the civil war of America, Scarlett mainly resisted the education of

11、 family fair lady. Her mother told her that he should be gentle and soft. Mother also warned her that young lady should be soft-spoken and submissive. In the etiquette women should cater mens opinions. If “ young misses whut frowns an pushes out dey chins an says ah will an ah woan mos generly doan

12、ketch husband,” as Mammy said. (Margaret Mitchell, 2001) Besides a womans words, deeds and clothes should also accord with gentlewomens standards. But scarlet never learned this from her heart because she didnt find the reason to learn this in her heart. So when Stuart and Brent talked about wars, s

13、he made a mouth of bored impatience and declared, “ If you say war just once more, Ill go in the house and shut the door.” (Margaret Mitchell, 2001) she not only didnt cater to men but 5also involved in their words and deeds. She expressed her boredom and impatience. In choosing playmates at childho

14、od, she didnt play with her two sisters or the daughters of well-bred Wilkes but played with the boys of the neighborhood and little black boys on the farm. And she could ride horses and climb trees almost as well as them. What so called gentle and soft was swept clean away. Besides she developed an

15、 enduring war towards the gentlewomens education that had long depressed womens personality. Before she took the party in the Twelve Oaks, she quarreled with Mammy about which clothes she should wear in the morning. And she said to Mammy that she had tired of everlasting being unnatural and never do

16、ing anything she wanted to do. She had tired of acing like she didnt eat more than a bird, and walking when she wanted to run and saying she felt faint after a waltz she had tired of pretending she didnt know anything, so men can tell her things and felt important while they were doing it. (Margaret

17、 Mitchell, 2001) Some day shes going to do and say everything she wanted to do and say. She didnt care if people like it or not. (Margaret Mitchell, 2001) All these shocking words and deeds obviously break up the gentlewomens education that she received.When scarlet was no longer a girl, she soon re

18、belled womens virtues of the south and feudal code of ethics. She became a dissolute woman in others eyes. During the war, the politics, economy and culture were destroying. Scarlet rebelled against traditional morality in a larger scale. It also led that she got more reproaches from others. At the

19、beginning of civil war, her husband Charles died. From a young married woman she became a widow. According to the southern women virtues, all the happiness of unmarried girls had nothing to do with her. Even though she was only seventh and got married only for two weeks and lived with her husband fo

20、r one week. What she could only do was to follow the rules of widows quietly. She had to be grave and aloof. When other girls were dancing, she could only watch them; when other girls flirted with men, she had to speak to men in a depressed low voice and with eyes looking down; when other girls wore

21、 beautiful clothes, she dressed like a cowAll these etiquette that she was forced to stand fast in the south irritated her. 6She raised her voice against unfairness and struggled with these female virtues to pursuit human pleasures without the control of feudal code of ethics. Even though she was a

22、widow, she accepted Rhetts invitations and danced with him in public without considering others gossip. She even gladly accepted Rhetts valuable and beautiful green hat. This no doubt was a double strike to the traditional morality-breaking the rules that widow could only wear mourning clothes, and

23、gentlewomens education that women couldnt accept any expensive present from men. In the rebuilding after war, Scarletts words and deeds that against female virtues was so frightful that even she thought she was lucky that her mother was dead. Her mother no longer could see her these behaviors. Her m

24、other told her to take good care of black slaves and she should be responsible for their health and morality. She should be the model for them. But when Pork stole food for the family, she didnt blame or punish him. Otherwise she told him to be careful and even gave him her fathers watch as a reward

25、. She also promised “you remember I said I was going to give you a watch for being so faithful”(Margaret Mitchell, 2001) While her model was to get what she wanted at any cost and using all kinds of methods. In order to raise tax for Tara, she even proposed to be Rhetts mistress and lured Frank -her

26、 sisters lover into marring with her so that she could get money she badly needed. People will cast these deeds even in modern society aside, and they were also the taboo of civilization in her society. But she didnt feel uneasy. As Frank thought, women should pay their attention to their families a

27、nd family members. But Scarlett put all her energy and time on running her own timber mill. When without company went to the mill with her, she drove the cart by herself. She hired criminals to work in her mill. She raised a mortgage on her little money and made money by trading with black men. She

28、got money from orphans, widows and illiterate men. When she caused Frank to death, she should have felt guilty and lived in widowhood all her life. But she soon married with Rhett in a short time. As she said that “I know Im not as scrupulous as I should be these days. Not as kind and as pleasant as

29、 I was brought up to beI have felt that I was trying to keep afloat that I couldnt be bothered about things that didnt matter”(Margaret Mitchell, 2001) These 7things also included pride, honor, truth, virtues and kindness that the southerners would hold fast to their death. They wouldnt give up. But

30、 in Scarletts opinion, these things were the most useless and must be abandoned. So she got rid of the tie of female virtues and broke constrain of feudal code of ethics. From then on, he just did things as her willingness.In Scarletts eyes, it was unworthy to do anything harmful to her pleasures. W

31、hen the war brought from “doctrine” disturbed her life, she disdained great cause. In the eye of others, “doctrine” was great and holy and was undefeated. They could defy all difficulties and danger even sacrifice their lives. But Scarlett became the strongest rebel to the great cause. The only poin

32、t that she didnt hate was that she could reappear at the party and flirt with soldiers. When she should look after soldiers for the “doctrine”, she escaped from the hospital. The shortage of material in the war made her realize the wrong of war. If you have her to get up for the “doctrine”, she woul

33、d curse it mercilessly. She thought it was foolish to devote to the “doctrine” and the “doctrine was completely damned.2.2 Changing life styleThe coming of war brought away all that Scarlett had. In the hard living environment, she realized that recalling of the past couldnt bring any benefit for he

34、r. Just like a blasting fuse, the living circumstances, which were extremely short of material, lighted her brace and rebellious energy in her body. In order to support the family without depending on relief, she rebelled against her former life style. She believed there was nothing she could not do

35、.Scarlett was born to enjoy life. She was waited on hand and foot. She knew nothing except joining parties and pursuing sweet lovers. But the unexpected war destroyed her living style. When she woke up, she found that her dearest mother was dead. Her father was disorder in mind. Her two sisters and

36、Melanie lay on the bed. A newborn 8baby was waiting for feeding. Her ignorant child and some lost black slaves needed to be care of. Thats all she owned. So she rose up after the war and broke her former living style. She didnt like Poke and Mammy who were unwilling to go to work in the filed just b

37、ecause they were servant of doing housework. She didnt like Suellen who was sullen and tearful and pretended to faint and at last she refused to work. When her family cried because of hunger, when others were immersed in the memory of the past and couldnt face the reality, Scarlett realized that onl

38、y non-stop work could change this hard life. So she took a new life style that she never experienced. From a young lady who only knew how to enjoy life depending on slaves labor, she became a laborer who supported her family depending on herself. She walked to the Twelve Oaks to look for foods. With

39、 her slender fingers she dug vegetables, earthed cutting, chopped firewood, milked the cow, picked up the cotton, plowed the filed and so on. Thats all slaves ever did. On the hunting filed, she never took the activities of killing animals and she couldnt bear the shrieking of trapped rabbits in the

40、 past. But when a Yankee solider was trying to rob her of food and property, she killed him with no hesitation. “She was vitally alive again, vitally glad with a cool tigers joy. She could have grown her heel into the gaping wound, which had been his nose and taken sweet pleasure in the feel of his

41、warm blood on her bare feet. She had struck a blow of revenge for Tara-and for Ellen”(Margaret Mitchell, 2001) Maybe we should blame her thirsty for blood but at that special moment she had no choice or she will be killed. Hands were the symbol of ladys dignity. But she didnt care that industrious l

42、abor left callus on her slender hands. A sharp pebble cut into her little feet, which were made only to dance. The diabolic sun burned her fair skin. All these were unimaginable. But she was determined to become a industrious laborer from a spoiled lady. From a pleasure-seeking person she became a l

43、aborer. This was her initial adjustment to the living style. In the rebuilding after war, she made greater adjustment to it. She became a timer owner from a manor owner. Scarlett was the master of Tara. Her father was a manor owner. Though she didnt do farm work, she knew it and she 9lived on it. Af

44、ter the war, though she tried her best to manage the manor, they still couldnt get rid of poverty. On the contrary, due to the tax of manor, they were in a difficult position. Hence she played tricks in running shops and timber mill. She took a new way of life. Giving p farmland and doing business t

45、horoughly betrayed her forefathers living style. It was a betrayal of root. She held on the horn of life and forded it to compromise her strong determination. She got pleasure from it. She didnt like Ashely passively accepted the sudden change.2.3 Breaking traditional marriage conceptIf Scarletts be

46、trayal of former living style was out of pressure of life while her betrayal of marriage concept was not from pressure but an unconscious betrayal.Scarlett objected to her parents appointed marriage and seeked the freedom of marriage. The parents representative Gerald thought, “The best marriage are

47、 when the parents choose for a girl.”(Margaret Mitchell, 2001) Marrying for love didnt belong to southerners. He didnt care whom Scarlett would marry to. But this man should be a southerner and could enlarger his manor. While Scarlett thought if she couldnt stay with her beloved one, land was worthl

48、ess at all. She strongly opposed her fathers marriage arrangement. She cried “I wouldnt have Cade on a solver tray”(Margaret Mitchell, 2001) She held the marriage right tightly in her hands and began elaborately to design how to win Ashelys heart. As a result she did something that lost her fathers

49、and familys face. She chased after a man who wouldnt marry to her and expressed her love bravely. Later she married to notorious Rhett regardless of her family and societys scold. Scarlett broke the pressure from family and public opinion and insisted in choosing her own marriage. These showed she was a disobedient daughter and a pagan when she didnt