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Melanie Wilkes (Hamilton)
Ashley Wilkes is the object of Scarlett O’Hara’s love throughout the story. He has blonde hair and a dreamy, remote expression in his eyes. He is the son of John Wilkes of Twelve Oaks and marries his cousin Melanie Hamilton early on in the story; they have one son, Beau. Before the war, Ashley likes to ready poetry and discuss lofty ideas. But the war makes life unbearably real to Ashley, and he struggles to cope after serving in the Confederate army. He can’t find the courage to survive in the post-war world, and, although he despises himself for it, relies on Scarlett and others’ charity to survive—for instance, Scarlett appoints Ashley to work in one of her mills, which she frames as a favor he’s doing for her but which is actually charity. Scarlett believes that Ashley loves her and that he is only married to Melanie out of honor, but in the end she realizes that while Ashley was attracted to her, he genuinely loved Melanie. Upon her death, Melanie asks Scarlett to continue caring for Ashley, something that highlights Ashley’s inability to care for himself and means that Scarlett will never fully be able to let Ashley go.
Ashley Wilkes Quotes in Gone with the Wind
The Gone with the Wind quotes below are all either spoken by Ashley Wilkes or refer to Ashley Wilkes . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2 Quotes
“Only when like marries like can there be happiness.”
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“Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for ‘tis the only thing in the world that lasts.”
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Chapter 25 Quotes
Something that was youth and beauty and potential tenderness had gone out of her face forever. What was past was past. Those who were dead were dead. The lazy luxury of the old days was gone, never to return. […] There was no going back and she was going forward.
Throughout the South for fifty years there would be bitter-eyed women who looked backward, to dead times, to dead men, evoking memories that hurt and were futile, bearing poverty with bitter pride because they had those memories. But Scarlett was never to look back.
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Chapter 31 Quotes
“[before the war] there was a real beauty to living. […] And now it is gone and I am out of place in this new life, and I am afraid. Now, I know that in the old days, it was a shadow show I watched. I avoided everything which was not shadowy, people and situations which were too real, too vital. […] I tried to avoid you too, Scarlett. You were too full of living and too real and I was cowardly enough to prefer shadows and dreams.”
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Chapter 53 Quotes
Where did she want to get? That was a silly question. Money and security, of course. And yet—Her mind fumbled. She had money and as much security as one could hope for in an insecure world. But […] now that she thought about it, they hadn’t made her particularly happy, though they had made her less harried, less fearful of the morrow.
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Chapter 61 Quotes
[Scarlett] could see so clearly now that he was only a childish fancy, no more important really than her spoiled desire for the aquamarine earbobs she had coaxed out of Gerald. For, once she owned the earbobs, they had lost their value, as everything except money lost its value once it was hers. And so he, too, would have become cheap if, in those first far-away days, she had ever had the satisfaction of refusing to marry him.
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Chapter 63 Quotes
“I want the outer semblance of the things I used to know, the utter boredom of respectability […] the calm dignity life can have when it’s lived by gentle folks, the genial grace of days that are gone. When I lived those days I didn’t realize the slow charm of them…”
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She had never understood either of the men she had loved and so she had lost them both. Now she had a fumbling knowledge that, had she ever understood Ashley, she would never have loved him; had she ever understood Rhett, she would never have lost him.
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“I’ll think of it all tomorrow, at Tara. I can stand it then. […] After all, tomorrow is another day.”
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Get the entire Gone with the Wind LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ashley Wilkes Character Timeline in Gone with the Wind
The timeline below shows where the character Ashley Wilkes appears in Gone with the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...dance with them there, they’ll tell her a secret. Then Stuart spills the secret that Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton are announcing their engagement at the barbecue. Scarlett’s lips turn white....
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...what upset her. Jeems points out that she got quiet after they told her of Ashley and Melanie’s engagement. This still puzzles them, since Scarlett and Ashley have always been close...
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The “Troop” was organized three months before when Georgia seceded from the Union. Ashley Wilkes was elected captain and Able Wynder lieutenant. Able is kind and honorable, although the...
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Chapter 2
...the first time in her life, she isn’t getting her way. She can’t believe that Ashley Wilkes is going to marry the ugly, boring Melanie Hamilton when she knows that he...
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...engagement. She sneaks down the drive, sits on a stump, and waits. She thinks of Ashley, feeling anxious and upset. Growing up, she’d never thought of Ashley as anything more than...
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Ashley is courteous, but remote. He is good at riding and shooting like other men, but...
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...that Melanie Hamilton, that “sweet little thing,” is visiting from Atlanta. Crestfallen, Scarlett asks about Ashley.
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Suspicious, Gerald asks Scarlett why she’s asking after Ashley; has he proposed to her? Scarlett answers no. Then, Gerald confirms that Ashley and Melanie...
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...but Gerald insists that even a cheater or a drunk would make Scarlett happier than Ashley because he’s impossible to understand. She wouldn’t be able to change him, and he’d always...
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...completely forgotten Scarlett’s heartbreak. As she follows, Scarlett wonders how a match between her and Ashley could be stranger than the match between her parents, who aren’t at all alike.
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Chapter 3
...of courting in order to be more like Ellen. Perhaps she will when she marries Ashley.
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Chapter 4
Scarlett sits in Ellen’s place at the dinner table, preoccupied by thoughts about Ashley. She needs her mother and is upset that she is with the Slatterys. She won’t...
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Ellen always tells Scarlett to examine her conscience during prayer, but Scarlett is thinking about Ashley. How could he marry Melanie when he and Scarlett love each other? Suddenly, it occurs...
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Once in bed, Scarlett decides how to tell Ashley she loves him. At the ball tomorrow, she’ll flirt with everyone to make him jealous....
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Chapter 5
...is lying on the bed, but if all goes to plan and she elopes with Ashley, she won’t even wear it. First, though, she has to decide what to wear to...
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...once she’s married, but eating in public now won’t appeal to suitors. Scarlett retorts that Ashley Wilkes once said he liked her appetite, but Mammy reminds her that what men say...
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...silly to get husbands. It’s actually hard work to act this way. Scarlett wonders if Ashley is turned off by her outspokenness. If he feels that way about women, she doesn’t...
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...of Scarlett’s dress, says she doesn’t know why Scarlett is so happy; doesn’t she know Ashley Wilkes is engaged? Scarlett brushes this off. Gerald hears the Tarletons’ carriage coming and his...
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...red-haired like Hetty. Beatrice explains that her girls are giddy because of the news of Ashley and Melanie’s engagement. It’s painful for Scarlett to hear it brought up so casually. But...
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Chapter 6
...her. Scarlett wonders if Mrs. Tarleton is right that inbreeding weakened the family. John and Ashley Wilkes are handsome, but Honey and India Wilkes are pale and rabbit-like. John helps Scarlett...
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Although she’s surrounded by boys, Scarlett is miserable. Her plan is failing, as Ashley hasn’t joined her circle. He greeted her initially, but Melanie had been with him. Melanie...
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...aloud. She feels he can see right through her. She’s angry at both Rhett and Ashley. Then she decides that between the barbecue and the ball, when the ladies are napping,...
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...them a real war. Scarlett is bored by this talk; it interrupts her plans with Ashley. There won’t be a war—the men just want to hear themselves talk.
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...every night. Missing her sarcasm, Charles confesses that he loves her. Scarlett, looking over at Ashley and Melanie, doesn’t answer. Then Charles asks Scarlet if she will marry him.
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Scarlett is annoyed that this “calf-like creature” is intruding on her thoughts of Ashley. Used to marriage proposals, Scarlett gives the practiced response that it all seems a little...
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Someone asks Ashley to give his opinion on the war. Ashley rises and says he hopes there’ll be...
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...sees India placating Stuart and feels guilty for breaking them up. Finally, the barbecue ends. Ashley strolls over to Scarlett and Charles and proclaims Rhett an “arrogant devil,” comparing him to...
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...Hetty were all lying down before she slipped out. The men are outside drinking, but Ashley is in the drive bidding farewell to guests. Scarlett starts down the stairs, her heart...
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Suddenly, Ashley says Scarlett’s name. He stands in the hall, peering through the crack of the door....
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Scarlett stammers, asking if she has Ashley’s heart. He puts his hand to her lips and tells her not to say these...
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Ashley says he shouldn’t have said he cares for Scarlett. Scarlett calls him a “cad” for...
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...Scarlett is as good as engaged to Stuart, but Honey says Scarlett only cares for Ashley. Scarlett is humiliated. The girls continue to gossip about all the men Scarlett stole today.
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...makes Charles feel masculine—but too shy to speak. Scarlett realizes that if she marries Charles, Ashley will think she didn’t care about him. Charles has money, and she’ll have everything she...
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...if she will marry him, and suggests they have a double wedding with Melanie and Ashley. Scarlett exclaims “no!” Realizing that Scarlett wants her own wedding, Charles asks when he should...
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...house will never be Scarlett’s now. An “adult emotion” is developing in her: she loves Ashley and had never loved him more than she does now, as she’s losing him.
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Chapter 7
...two months after that. The weeks before her marriage are a blur. When she hears Ashley’s wedding will be in May, she schedules her own for the day before his. Ellen...
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...steps on Gerald’s arm into a crowd of guests. She remembers Ellen’s bewildered face and Ashley standing with Melanie on his arm. It feels like a nightmare. She remembers Charles’s stammering...
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Ashley’s wedding is more nightmarish than Scarlett’s own. Ashley had said he loved Scarlett, so why...
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...she’s actually just bored. She doesn’t want to be a mother, she still longs for Ashley, and the County is no fun with all the young men gone to war. Because...
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...with her and Charles’s aunt, Miss Pittypat Hamilton. Scarlett hates the thought of staying with Ashley’s wife, but the County and the memories it holds are now unbearable.
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Chapter 8
...enslaved staff even take Wade Hamilton off her hands. She’s only sad when Melanie mentions Ashley’s name or reads his letters aloud. All she wants is Ashley—or some beaus.
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...because she’s a widow. No one knows that her heart isn’t dead; it’s just with Ashley in Virginia.
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Chapter 9
...her life and youth are disappearing. Melanie is less miserable than Scarlett, and she has Ashley while Scarlett had no one. Scarlett stays in bed all day. After dinner, Mrs. Merriwether...
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...that her and Scarlett’s husbands weren’t afraid to go. Scarlett wonders what would happen if Ashley died.
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...says only two months. Scarlett can’t even pretend she’s mourning because Rhett knew she loved Ashley, not Charles. Scarlett starts to say that this first social appearance of hers seems odd,...
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Chapter 10
...a letter for Melanie. Melanie opens it and lets out a cry, and Pittypat screams “Ashley’s dead!” Scarlett, who had not been paying attention, feels her blood go cold. Melanie revives...
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Chapter 11
...in the corner. Scarlett goes right to Melanie’s letterbox and takes out the letters from Ashley. She’s been doing this for a while now. She knows it would upset Ellen, but...
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Scarlett opens a letter, addressed “My dear wife.” She’s relieved that Ashley doesn’t use a more passionate term of endearment. She panics when she reads that Ashley...
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Scarlett stops reading, bored by the war talk. She has no interest in Ashley’s ideas; she just wants to know if he loves Melanie. Judging from the brotherly affectionate...
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Scarlett wonders what Ashley fears, if he’s not afraid of death. He’s afraid of things that disturb him, like...
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Scarlett replaces the letters, still trying to understand what she’s missing about Ashley. Then she thinks how strange it is that Ashley mentioned Rhett Butler and his ridiculous...
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Chapter 12
...marriage. She flirts and parties, though she continues to wear her mourning dress. Even though Ashley is married, he’s so far away that he belongs to her as well as to...
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...outspokenness. Shaking, Melanie says that what Rhett said was rude, but it’s how her husband, Ashley, feels about the war. Ashley is no coward, but he thinks there’s nothing glorious about...
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...grateful that Melanie stood up to Mrs. Merriwether. But should she have said that about Ashley? Melanie cries and says it’s true. Scarlett is shocked that Ashley has anything in common...
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Chapter 14
At Miss Pitty’s house, Pitty, Scarlett, and Melanie are afraid for Ashley. Rumors fly about Lee possibly dying in Pennsylvania, and crowds gather at train stations to...
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...their carriage in front of the newspaper office, where they hope to find out if Ashley is dead. All the women are gathered, even the pregnant Maybelle Merriwether, whose husband Rene...
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...She can’t read on. Rhett looks sympathetic and says there’ll be a longer list tomorrow. Ashley still isn’t safe. Scarlett wishes the South had sold the “darkies,” or just given them...
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...coming out tomorrow because she doesn’t want to let on how anxious she is about Ashley. Dr. Meade comes home, hanging his head, and goes upstairs. Shortly after, Phil comes down...
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...Phil. She confesses that she’s jealous of Scarlett because she has Wade. She could bear Ashley’s death only if she had his baby to comfort her. Scarlett tells her to go...
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Chapter 15
At Christmas, Ashley comes back on furlough. Scarlett thought her feelings for him couldn’t get stronger, but seeing...
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Scarlett is so happy to be in the same room with Ashley again. She thinks he is more attractive than ever. He sits between Melanie and India,...
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Melanie worries about Ashley’s ragged appearance, but Ashley says he’s lucky. His boots had been wearing out, but he...
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Scarlett doesn’t see Ashley alone that day because he is visiting with everyone. At supper, he chats on and...
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A week later, Ashley prepares to return to Virginia. Scarlett sits holding her goodbye present for him, waiting for...
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At last, Scarlett hears Ashley’s steps on the stairs. She is happy he’s alone and decides that Melanie must be...
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Ashley asks Scarlett to take care of Melanie. Scarlett is angry that Ashley asks her this...
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Scarlett promises to take care of Melanie, willing to do anything for Ashley. He kisses her forehead, saying she is strong and good in body, mind, and soul....
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Chapter 16
Scarlett doesn’t care about these hardships because she only cares about Ashley, and he isn’t here. She’s happy because she knows he loves her. She decides that...
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...announces shyly that she is pregnant. The news pains Scarlett. She pictures those nights when Ashley shut the bedroom door behind him and Melanie. She felt as though Ashley has been...
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Scarlett decides she can’t live in a house where another woman is having Ashley’s baby. The next morning, she decides to go back to Tara. But, at breakfast, a...
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The next day, Ashley’s name appears in the casualty list as “Missing—believed killed” and then “Missing—believed captured.” Melanie hangs...
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Rhett finds out that Ashley is a prisoner at Rock Island, in Illinois. Melanie and Scarlett are relieved, but then...
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Chapter 17
...right—if the Yankees invade Georgia, Phil will join the fight. Scarlett and Melanie think of Ashley while Rhett Butler holds Wade Hamilton and plays with him. That morning, Miss Pittypat decided...
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...hasn’t made further advances because he’s been waiting for Scarlett to grow up and forget Ashley. Scarlett’s eyes fill with tears because she knows she’ll never forget Ashley. She hates Rhett...
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Chapter 18
As they pass, Scarlett recognizes Mose, Ashley’s old bodyguard. She fights through the crowd asks what he’s doing there. Mose explains that...
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...Melanie so much. She thinks Melanie is stupid not to pick up on Scarlett and Ashley’s secret. But Scarlett doesn’t want to break her promise to Ashley, so she says Melanie...
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Chapter 19
...eyes, imagining Tara and the Tarleton boys and all her old beaus. She cries out Ashley’s name, knowing she’ll never get used to him being gone.
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...Melanie is silly and stupid. He says he knows Scarlett stayed only because she promised Ashley. Angry, Scarlett says she only let him on the porch because she was feeling sad....
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Chapter 20
...are black circles around her eyes and her face is swollen. Scarlett wishes meanly that Ashley could see how ugly Melanie looked. Melanie’s cheers up when she sees Scarlett, who sits...
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Chapter 22
...two days of this, and she can’t stop thinking of the approaching Yankees. What if Ashley is alive and hears that Scarlett let Melanie die? As Scarlett tends to Melanie over...
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Chapter 23
...her husband, but she can’t even remember him. She looks at Melanie’s baby. This is Ashley’s baby, and she wishes it was hers too.
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Chapter 24
...she even come here? It would’ve been better to die in Atlanta. But she promised Ashley she’s take care of Melanie. Where is Ashley now? Is he dead?
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Chapter 25
...a fallen pillar. She once hoped to be the mistress of this house. She watched Ashley marry Melanie here, and Charles proposed here. Scarlett hopes Ashley is dead so he’ll never...
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...now, she’s too weak to move. Nobody knows or cares. She thinks of Gerald, Ellen, Ashley, and the old houses. The past is gone, and a harsh future lies ahead. Scarlett...
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...not money. Land is the only thing worth fighting for. Now that Ellen is dead, Ashley is gone, and Gerald has lost his mind, Tara is all that matters to her....
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Chapter 27
...her baby as she rides away, but Scarlett promises to not let anything happen to Ashley’s baby.
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Chapter 28
...Ellen won’t like the way Scarlett is talking. Melanie asks if Frank has heard of Ashley. Frank hasn’t, so Melanie starts to say she knows Ashley is dead. Scarlett stops Melanie...
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Chapter 29
...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.
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Chapter 30
...destroying the velvet rug with their boots. The girls ask the soldiers for news of Ashley, but there is none. The soldiers try to comfort Melanie by saying it’s a long...
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...him. Peter then remembers his real reason for coming: he has a letter for Melanie. Ashley is alive and walking home.
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It could be months before Ashley reaches Tara, but everyone hangs around in the house because they don’t want to miss...
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...generous with the soldiers gives her hope that someone is being a kind hostess to Ashley on his journey home. Scarlett is ashamed and puts more food on the table after...
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...throws off her hands and runs down the drive. Scarlett’s heart stops as she sees Ashley with his blonde beard. She takes a step forward, but Will restrains her. Will reminds...
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Chapter 31
...the North) and the Freedmen’s Bureau; she knows that freedmen are becoming “insolent.” She’s heard Ashley say that the South is being treated like a conquered province, but she hasn’t paid...
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...to lend. After a pause, he asks what they’re going to do. She asks where Ashley is. He’s in the orchard splitting logs. Will notes that Ashley doesn’t have money either,...
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When he sees Scarlett, Ashley makes a joke about Abe Lincoln starting out splitting rails. Scarlett frowns at his making...
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Ashley takes Scarlett’s hands and kisses her calloused palms, saying they are the most beautiful hands...
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Scarlett disagrees, reminding him of his bravery in the war. Ashley says that fighting isn’t about courage; even cowards are soldiers. Scarlett asks what he’s afraid...
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Scarlett tells Ashley to not to be afraid they’ll starve. He looks at her admiringly, then his eyes...
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Ashley says he envies that Scarlett can face reality without wanting to escape it. Scarlett cries...
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Scarlett says she’s tired of her family, but Ashley offers to help her bear the load. She says there’s nothing to keep them here,...
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Ashley says he wants to have sex with Scarlett. But he then shakes her so violently...
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Scarlett becomes aware that it’s winter. Ashley’s expression is distant. She’ll never get close to him again. Scarlett says she has nothing...
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Chapter 32
...okay. She loves Tara and can’t believe she’d been ready to throw it away—not even Ashley can replace Tara. As she enters the hall, she hears hooves. Jonas Wilkerson, well-dressed, steps...
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Scarlett tries to think of a way to stop Jonas from taking Tara. Ashley had said Rhett Butler was the only person with money. She could borrow money from...
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Mammy sends Ashley and Will out so that the women can fit Scarlett in the dress. Will and...
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Chapter 36
...sends Mammy to Tara to deliver the money and bring Wade back. Scarlett wonders what Ashley thinks of her. She’s homesick when she realizes she estranged herself from Tara in order...
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Rhett says that Scarlett must promise not to buy anything for Ashley Wilkes with his loan. Furious, Scarlett says Ashley never took any money from her. Rhett...
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Scarlett says Ashley’s been working as a field hand. Rhett says the Wilkeses aren’t cut out to be...
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...never had to pick cotton. Rhett laughs that Scarlett’s mind used to be consumed with Ashley, but Scarlett cuts him off and tells him to stop talking about Ashley. He says...
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Rhett insists it’s obvious Scarlett still loves Ashley. Does Ashley still love her, or has he learned to love Melanie? Scarlett doesn’t want...
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Scarlett remembers how Ashley kissed her in the orchard and blushes. Her love for Ashley doesn’t seem so beautiful...
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Scarlett thinks it is unfair of Rhett to expect Ashley to be a mind reader. But then she wonders if Rhett is right. If Ashley...
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Chapter 37
...Tony shares that the Yankees are after him and says he’s only alive thanks to Ashley. When Scarlett asks what happened, Tony says he cut Jonas Wilkerson “to ribbons.” Frank nods...
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...hunt down Jonas. Since Tony forgot his pistol, he killed Jonas with his knife. Then Ashley told him to go. Tony plans to settle in Texas and hopes the Yankees won’t...
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...sawmill and store. She’s mad at Tony for putting her in danger. And why did Ashley send Tony to them? She swears not to help anyone again, unless it’s Ashley. Finally,...
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Chapter 38
...anything from her, she wonders if these meetings are on purpose. He doesn’t bring up Ashley or the humiliating scene in the jail, and they talk happily for hours without running...
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...says that Melanie has no sense. If she did, says Rhett, she’d realize Scarlett loved Ashley and wouldn’t approve of her anymore. She curses him. Rhett says no one of this...
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...deeply in love with her but is too “honorable” to pursue her; but just like Ashley, his honor fails sometimes. Scarlett tells him to shut up. Rhett says seriously that he...
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...by gargling cologne. When she lies awake at night afraid of the Yankees and missing Ashley, she feels she’ll die without whiskey. She misses Tara and decides to visit in June....
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Chapter 39
...Tara. He’s put work into it and now he loves it. Once he marries Suellen, Ashley plans to leave with Melanie and find work in a New York bank. Will says...
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...Gerald in in a rage, and Gerald took Alex’s horse and rode off. At sundown, Ashley and Will heard Gerald galloping home and singing. As he approached the fence, he said,...
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Chapter 40
...Scarlett feels thankful for Will. She knows he is responsible for the plantation’s success, not Ashley. Tara is now a small farm, not a “planter-aristocrat” estate, but it’s saved thanks to...
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...Mr. McRae, Grandma Fontaine, and Mrs. Tarleton—Gerald’s closest friends—are particularly angry at her. Will and Ashley talk in Ellen’s office about what to do about the angry neighbors. Will is afraid...
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...like Cathleen if it wasn’t for luck and her “gumption.” Scarlett lifts her chin proudly. Ashley steps to the front with Carreen’s bible. Scarlett thinks he is better than any priest...
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When he finishes, Ashley asks if anyone wants to say a few words. Before anyone else could volunteer, Will...
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...do too. Grandma disagrees, saying India and Honey haven’t tried to catch rich husbands, and Ashley can’t even raise a plow. She says Ashley is built for reading books. Alex Fontaine...
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Scarlett is angry that Grandma Fontaine is insulting Ashley. Grandma says Ashley is so different from Scarlett, who went to Atlanta to scrounge money...
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Chapter 41
...says Scarlett is nicer to “niggers” than to white folks. She asks him to send Ashley to her.
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When Ashley enters the office, Scarlett offers him a job at the mill. Ashley says nothing. Scarlett...
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Scarlett asks what happened to Ashley, and why he’s become so bitter. Ashley says he realized he was acting like a...
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...sofa and cries. Melanie bursts in, worried that Scarlett is having her baby. Scarlett says Ashley is mean and hateful. Melanie throws herself on the sofa and embraces Scarlett, scolding Ashley...
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After Suellen and Will marry and Carreen goes to the convent, Ashley, Melanie, and Beau move to Atlanta, bringing Dilcey with them. They move into a house...
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Melanie and Ashley furnish their house with the cheapest goods from Frank’s store. They buy it on credit...
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...her stomach is too big. At the parties, she sits in the shadows and watches Ashley. Everyone discusses hard times, politics, and the war, and it bores her. People lie and...
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Scarlett sees Ashley often but never alone. If she wasn’t pregnant, she’d drive out to the mill with...
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To Scarlett’s surprise, Ashley is as incompetent as Hugh. He’s smart and well-read, but he can’t make quick estimates...
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Chapter 42
...arrest every white man in town if the KKK strikes again. Scarlett is thankful that Ashley and Frank aren’t in the KKK.
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...busy with the books at the store and with helping Democrats plan to win elections. Ashley also attends these meetings, so everyone at Pitty’s usually spent nights at Melanie’s.
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...big lumber order that needs to be processed. Scarlett tells Archie to take her to Ashley’s mill, saying that she’s going to hire Johnnie Gallegher and lease convicts. Archie refuses to...
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...the Democratic legislature refused to ratify the amendment that would allow Black people to vote. Ashley says the Yankees will force it on them, and they might have a “dark legislature,”...
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Ashley wonders whether it would be best to fight or swallow their pride and submit to...
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...the mill because it’s inappropriate for a lady to be around a convict gang. Meanwhile, Ashley is doing worse than ever managing the other mill. He’s ashamed to manage convicts. Scarlett...
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Chapter 43
...she doesn’t want to see him. She has a feeling he wants to talk about Ashley. She greets him as he comes up the walk and he pretends to be surprised...
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...ran into Melanie. She told him they’d moved to Atlanta because Scarlett had graciously given Ashley a partnership in her mill. Rhett says that when he lent Scarlett the money, it...
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Rhett says people like Ashley wish they were dead so they don’t have to face real life problems; Ashley is...
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Scarlett remembers something Ashley said in the orchard about the “dusk of the gods” when the strong come through...
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Chapter 45
...brings Scarlett, the children, and Miss Pitty to Melanie’s and goes to a meeting with Ashley. Scarlett is angry and hurt that Frank is leaving her. Sam told Frank the men...
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...shakes Melanie, demanding to know what’s happening. India says it means Scarlett has probably killed Ashley and Frank. Archie tells them to keep sewing because the Yankees might be spying on...
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...asks what Rhett was talking about. Archie says that because of Scarlett’s incident that afternoon, Ashley and Frank and the KKK set out to kill her attackers. If what Rhett said...
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They hear horses, and Scarlett panics that she’s killed Ashley. The women all pretend to sew, keeping their faces blank. The visitor is Captain Tom...
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...and singing voices. It’s Rhett, singing a song about Sherman’s march. He is joined by Ashley and Hugh Elsing, both laughing drunkenly. Scarlett knows that Ashley never gets drunk, and that...
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Ashley collapses into a chair, and Melanie scolds Rhett for bringing her husband home drunk. Melanie...
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India lowers the shades. Scarlett notices a bloody spot on the chair Ashley sat on. He’s hurt! Scarlett and India cry that Ashley is dead, but Rhett says...
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Scarlett watches Melanie sop blood from Ashley’s shoulder with a towel. Scarlett wants to run to him. Noticing her distress, Rhett tells...
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...at Belle’s, but it was the best possible story. Rhett explains that when he found Ashley wounded at the meeting place, he snuck him in the back door of Belle’s. Melanie...
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India returns with Dr. Dean, who gets to work on Ashley. Rhett takes Scarlett into the parlor. With unusual gentleness, he says she’s had a horrible...
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Chapter 46
...that Rhett said not to leave. They trust him only because he saved Hugh and Ashley. Belle Watling tells Tom Jaffrey that a riotous group had been to her house the...
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...talk like a “bad woman;” in fact, she seems very nice. Belle apologizes for saying Ashley was in a brothel; Ashley isn’t a regular. Melanie says she only feels gratitude towards...
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Chapter 47
Scarlett wishes Melanie were with her. She wants Ashley too, but if he knew the truth about her relationship with Frank, he won’t love...
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...what her real reason for refusing is. Really, Scarlett feels like she still belongs to Ashley, and she starts to cry again. But Rhett puts his arms around Scarlett and kisses...
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Chapter 48
...her what it’s like to play and have fun, but he’s frustratingly superior; he and Ashley are the two men she can’t treat like silly children. Sometimes Rhett looks at Scarlett...
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It’s fun to live with Rhett—except when Scarlett thinks of Ashley. At night when she lies in Rhett’s arms, she wishes he were Ashley. One night,...
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...as he pretends to be. Rhett says he just doesn’t want his money to support Ashley. He plans to check her expenses to make sure she’s saving nothing aside for Ashley.
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Chapter 49
...of how Scarlett trapped Stuart and Charles, and how it seemed she wanted to trap Ashley too. Melanie says Scarlett is closer to her than a blood sister ever could be....
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Scarlett invites her friends, old and new, to her house-warming reception. Only Ashley, Melanie, Pitty, Uncle Henry, and the Meades of the Old Guard came. A few others...
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...and the Republicans and hate her. Over time, she stops caring. Melanie still comes with Ashley, and Scarlett makes new friends. These new friends are rich Carpetbaggers, gamblers, and members of...
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Chapter 51
...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.
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At the mill, Ashley steps out, looking happy to see Scarlett. But she is very disappointed in his accounts,...
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Ashley cries that Scarlett used to be so sweet before Rhett “brutalized” her. Scarlett is glad...
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...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...
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Chapter 53
Around this time, Melanie plans a surprise party for Ashley’s birthday. She makes everyone swear to keep it a surprise. Archie offers to hang colorful...
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...her. Scarlett gets up to go to the mill, and Melanie asks her to hold Ashley there past five and then India will pick him up. Scarlett is delighted to be...
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...stops to chat with Carpetbag ladies on her way to the mill. At the mill, Ashley comes to the door, his hair bright in the sunshine. He asks cheerily why she’s...
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Ashley asks Scarlett into the office, and they sit down at the desk. She tells him...
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For the first time, Scarlett can tell what Ashley is thinking. When she’d been tormented by love for him, his mind had been invisible...
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Ashley asks Scarlett what her life goal is. Scarlett thinks. She once wanted money and security,...
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Scarlett says she understands why Ashley can’t be happy. She realizes he’s old; his hair is grey. She knows that Ashley...
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Scarlett races home, ashamed and afraid. Everyone will talk tonight at Ashley’s party, Melanie would find out, and Scarlett’s reputation will be ruined! No one will ever...
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Chapter 54
After the party, Scarlett undresses and thinks of how awful it was to stand between Ashley and Melanie and greet the guests. She shakes from the stress of the evening. Rhett...
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...in explanations; he knows that while she’s been denying Rhett sex, she’s been lusting after Ashley.
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Rhett asks if Scarlett would happily bear Ashley’s children and pass them off as Rhett’s. At this, Scarlett jumps up. Rhett lunges at...
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...whiskey on his breath. He says he knows she’s been physically faithful to him, because Ashley is what she calls a “gentleman.” But Scarlett has wanted Ashley this whole time. Ashley...
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Chapter 55
...Melanie covers Scarlett’s mouth and says she doesn’t want an apology. She says that she, Ashley, and Scarlett have been like three soldiers fighting the world together, and she knows Scarlett...
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Scarlett starts to cry, feeling like she ruined Ashley’s life and forced him to cut ties with his sister. He’ll always look into India’s...
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...is now pregnant despite not sharing a bedroom with her husband suggests she is carrying Ashley’s baby. The gossip tears families apart and causes rifts everywhere. Everyone resents Scarlett for causing...
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...her to choose India’s side. Scarlett stops sending her money, and India refuses the money Ashley tries to send. Melanie treats Pitty coldly. In the end, a few people believe Scarlett...
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Chapter 56
...heart isn’t in it; she has nasty fights with Johnnie Gallegher and never goes to Ashley’s mill. She sees Ashley often at Melanie’s, but they never speak; his sadness and helplessness...
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...says it’s his fault she’s pale: she’s pregnant. Rhett asks if the happy father is Ashley. Scarlett screams that she wishes it was anyone’s baby but Rhett’s. She’s happy to see...
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...so powerful and yet so weak. She wonders if Rhett heard the cruel lie about Ashley and Scarlett and got jealous. She decides he’s just drunk; the crazy things he’s saying...
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Chapter 57
Rhett explains that Scarlett won’t sell the mills voluntarily, but he wants to suggest that Ashley buy Scarlett out of her share. Melanie says that would be nice, but she and...
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Melanie is reluctant to deceive Ashley, but she finally agrees. She wonders why everyone says bad things about Rhett; he’s always...
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Then Rhett says that Ashley had asked if he could buy Scarlett’s share of the mill. Scarlett asks where Ashley...
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Scarlett sells the mills to Ashley that night. She tries to give him a low price, but he matches the highest...
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Ashley says he refuses to make money from the enforced labor and misery of others. Scarlett...
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Ashley says money that comes from unethical practices only brings unhappiness. Scarlett disagrees, reminding him of...
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Chapter 58
...if Rhett had anything to do with breaking up the Klan. Rhett says he and Ashley were jointly responsible; although they didn’t like each other they had similar political views. Soon,...
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Chapter 60
...crumble under her feet. She knows she can stand anything; she still has money and Ashley, but she feels she is living in her nightmare in which she is a lost...
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Chapter 61
Ashley, India, and Aunt Pitty are gathered inside. Ashley looks like a sleepwalker. Scarlett is afraid...
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Melanie gathers strength and starts to say something about Ashley and Scarlett. Scarlett is terrified; she thinks Melanie knew about her and Ashley all along,...
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...Scarlett promises, kisses Melanie’s hand, and leaves the room. India and Miss Pitty go in. Ashley is nowhere to be seen. Scarlett leans against the wall, her vision blurry. She never...
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Scarlett wonders where Ashley is. She’s losing Melanie, but she still has Ashley. She finds him in his room,...
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Ashley winces. His drooping shoulders show he’s already criticizing himself. Scarlett thinks of how she promised...
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Scarlett sits on the bed, more tired than she’s ever been. She thinks about how Ashley doesn’t love her and how she doesn’t care. She should be heartbroken, but she isn’t...
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Chapter 62
...lost its power. She knows that her too-late realizations—that she loved Melanie and doesn’t love Ashley—will plague her the rest of her life.
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...returned to Tara and found the world gone suddenly disappears. The haven she seeks isn’t Ashley; it’s Rhett, who sees “truth for truth” and has strong arms to hold her. Why...
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Scarlett loves Rhett because he has none of Ashley’s foolish honor, which always let her down. Rhett never let her down, even the night...
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Chapter 63
...asks if she said anything else. Scarlett relays her promise to look after Beau and Ashley. Rhett says Scarlett finally has permission to divorce him and marry Ashley. Scarlett cries that...
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...but she cries that she loves him. He believes her but asks what happened to Ashley. Scarlett explains that Ashley was a habit she clung to, but he’s a weak person....
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...she’s brutal to people who love her. When he married her, he knew she loved Ashley, but he hoped he could make her love him. He wanted to take care of...
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...his head. He couldn’t bear that she’d lie in his arms and wish they were Ashley’s. That drove him to Belle, who comforted him. Then, the night he carried Scarlett up...
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...least she still has time to figure out what she wants, now that money and Ashley aren’t enough after all. But Scarlett thinks Rhett is her soul and she’s losing him.
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...says he’ll go to Charleston to see family. His eyes have the same wistful look Ashley’s had that day in the orchard.
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Rhett’s nostalgic words sound just like something Ashley said in the orchard at Tara. Rhett says he doubts Scarlett will ever know why...
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...meant what he said; he’s strong and won’t change his mind, since he’s so unlike Ashley. She’d never understood anyone all her life. If she’d understood Ashley, she wouldn’t have loved...
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