Bonnie Blue Butler Character Analysis

Bonnie Blue Butler is Rhett and Scarlett’s daughter. She was originally named Eugene Victoria, but Rhett christens her Bonnie when Melanie says her eyes are as blue as the Bonnie Blue Flag. She is charming and vivacious, except at night in the dark when she wakes from terrible nightmares and only Rhett can comfort her. She idolizes Rhett, and she rides around with him on his horse. Rhett dedicates himself to securing Bonnie’s future, which he does by switching political parties. As Bonnie grows, she comes to love riding, so Rhett gets her a pony and teaches her how to jump. At the end of the novel when Bonnie is four years old, she tries to jump too high and falls, breaking her neck and painfully reiterating Gerald’s death. Rhett later tells Scarlett that he loved Bonnie because she reminded him of what Scarlett might be like if Scarlett were to love him back.