Gone with the Wind

In April, General Johnston (who’d been reappointed General) surrenders in North Carolina and the war ends. Tara hears the news two weeks later, after Pork rides to Macon for three weeks and returns with seeds, food, and most of the money he left with—he likely stole most of what he brought back. Everyone at Tara is busy rebuilding sheds, seeding cotton, checking traps, and milking the cow. Soon after Pork gets back, Tony and Alex Fontaine stop at Tara on their way home from the army and share that the South lost.

While Scarlett has this conversation, Suellen, Melanie, and Carreen cry over the lost Cause. Scarlett is relieved the Cause was lost. Now she doesn’t have to lie awake at night thinking she hears the Yankees coming back to burn Tara. The war has always seemed foolish to her; she’s never felt patriotic love for the Cause the way others did. The war has cut her life in two. She will never again be Scarlett O’Hara, the rich belle of the County. The war has made her a practical woman. As the girls cry, Scarlett plans her cotton crop. But then she realizes that with the war over, Ashley will come home if he’s still alive. Days pass, but Scarlett hears nothing from Ashley.

During this time, Suellen asks to use the horse to visit neighbors, but Scarlett argues that the horse is only for work. Truthfully, Scarlett doesn’t want to visit the neighbors; their hardships depress her. At the Fontaines’, Dr. Fontaine is recovering slowly from a lost arm, and Tony and Alex are trying to work in the fields. Money is tight, and Sally Fontaine looks particularly hopeless. At the Calverts’, Cade is home, but he’s dying. Cade and Cathleen live with Mrs. Calvert and their overseer, Hilton, who’s been acting like an equal ever since his Yankee accent helped save the house from being burned. Mrs. Calvert doesn’t know how to be a Southerner after all this time and wants to go North to be with her people.

After these visits, Scarlett doesn’t want to see the Tarletons. But Suellen insists, so one day, Scarlett, Melanie, Suellen, and Carreen go to the ruins of the Tarleton house. Beatrice Tarleton sits on the fence staring moodily into space. The stables, usually full of horses, are empty. She says she doesn’t know what to do without her darlings, and she means her horses. Jim Tarleton greets them, trying to be cheerful. They stay for supper, eating a little of the Tarletons’ scant food. Everyone tries to be merry, but the house feels empty without the Tarleton boys.

After the meal, Carreen whispers something to Mrs. Tarleton. Mrs. Tarleton puts her arm around Carreen and they walk outside together. Scarlett follows. They walk over to two tombstones, one engraved for Brent and the other for Stuart. Scarlett’s sympathy for the Tarletons disappears—they must have spent a fortune on the tombstones. Scarlett thinks this was a foolish investment, but Carreen says the tombstones are lovely.

On the way back, Scarlett thinks of all the sad neighbors’ homes she’s seen. Weeds are taking over the cotton fields. How can everyone plant enough cotton to live? The South has lost all its enslaved persons, but worse yet, they’ve lost their young men. Scarlett realizes that if she wants to marry, there isn’t anyone to marry. She says out loud that Southern girls will all die with no husbands or children. Suellen starts to cry; she hasn’t heard from Frank since Christmas. Scarlett shushes Suellen and Melanie says they must raise their boys to be like the men they lost. Thinking of Brent, Carreen says the men can’t be replaced.

One night, Cathleen Calvert rides up to Tara. She looks unhappy, very different from the Cathleen Scarlett used to gossip with at parties. Cathleen says she’s getting married but no one at Tara is invited. She is marrying Hilton, the Calverts’ Yankee overseer. Cade is dying and Mrs. Calvert is moving north. As Cathleen rides away, Scarlett thinks that she can’t be in love with that “white trash.” Melanie says Cathleen doesn’t have to marry; there’s nothing wrong with being a “spinster.” She suggests they invite Cathleen to live at Tara. Scarlett is tired enough with Melanie as a burden and doesn’t want to take on Cathleen too.