Gone with the Wind: Chapter 51 Summary & Analysis

When she can go out again, Scarlett has Lou lace her corset as tightly as possible. She is disappointed that she can only get her waist down to 20 inches. She thinks that babies ruin everything as she makes her dress bigger and decides she won’t have any more. When she’s dressed, she drives out to the lumber yard, excited to talk to Ashley about the account books and hoping to find him alone.

At the mill, Ashley steps out, looking happy to see Scarlett. But she is very disappointed in his accounts, and he can tell. He tells her he would work better with free Blacks instead of convicts; he’s no “convict driver.” Scarlett says that free Blacks cost more than convicts, and Johnnie Gallegher does an excellent job driving them. She says Ashley should try whipping them, like Johnnie does.

Ashley cries that Scarlett used to be so sweet before Rhett “brutalized” her. Scarlett is glad Ashley cares, even though she knows her conduct isn’t Rhett’s fault. Ashley says he can’t bear to think of Rhett touching Scarlett. Scarlett thinks Ashley is going to kiss her, but he apologizes and says he shouldn’t be talking like this. On her way home, Scarlett feels certain Ashley loves her. Since Ashley can’t be intimate with Melanie because Melanie can’t have another baby, Scarlett decides it would be wonderful if she stopped having sex with Rhett. Then she and Ashley would basically be faithful to each other, even though they are married to other people. She will arrange to stop sleeping with Rhett and tell Ashley that she is making a great sacrifice for him.

Scarlett finds Rhett in the nursery playing with the children. She leads him into the bedroom and announces that she doesn’t want more children. Rhett says he can divorce her if she refuses sex. Scarlett asks Rhett to take Ashley as an example: Ashley kindly stays away from Melanie so she doesn’t become pregnant. Rhett sneers and asks if Scarlett visited the mill today. He says that if he wanted to be with her, no lock could keep him out. Since she doesn’t want to be with him, luckily there are other women and he doesn’t value fidelity. He leaves. Scarlett feels suddenly unhappy and starts to cry. She got what she wanted, but she’ll miss Rhett.