Gerald O’Hara Character Analysis in Gone with the Wind

Gerald O’Hara is Scarlett’s father and the master of Tara. He is a short, stocky man with a loud voice and a raucous lifestyle. Although he had a rough exterior—he’s always gambling, drinking, shouting, and jumping horses—he has a soft heart. He immigrated from Ireland after his family lost their fortune there, hoping to make his own wealth in America. He won Tara—a wide expanse of wilderness in rural northern Georgia—in a poker game. He slowly transformed Tara into a sprawling plantation, and married Ellen O’Hara of Charleston. Throughout the story, Scarlett confides in her father more than in her mother because she and Gerald understand each other; they are both “passionate and earthy.” Gerald is deeply devoted to Ellen, but he goes behind her back, getting drunk and dangerously jumping his horse whenever he has the chance. After Ellen dies, Gerald loses his mind and is unable to cope without her. However, he maintains a fierce streak of patriotism until the end, refusing to comply with Suellen who wants him to sign an oath of Yankee cooperation. He dies when he rides home drunk, falls off his horse, and breaks his neck.

Gerald O’Hara Quotes in Gone with the Wind

The Gone with the Wind quotes below are all either spoken by Gerald O’Hara or refer to Gerald O’Hara . 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:

The Civil War and Reconstruction Theme Icon

“Only when like marries like can there be happiness.”

Related Characters: Gerald O’Hara (speaker), Scarlett O’Hara , Melanie Wilkes (Hamilton) , Ashley Wilkes , Rhett Butler

Page Number and Citation: 53

Explanation and Analysis:

“Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for ‘tis the only thing in the world that lasts.”

Related Characters: Gerald O’Hara (speaker), Ashley Wilkes , Scarlett O’Hara

Related Symbols: Atlanta, Tara

Page Number and Citation: 55

Explanation and Analysis:

It was a man’s world, and she accepted it as such. The man owned the property, and the woman managed it. The man took the credit for the management, and the woman praised his cleverness.

Related Characters: Ellen O’Hara , Gerald O’Hara , Scarlett O’Hara , Frank Kennedy

Related Symbols: Tara

Page Number and Citation: 75

Explanation and Analysis:

Gerald O’Hara Character Timeline in Gone with the Wind

The timeline below shows where the character Gerald O’Hara appears in Gone with the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...twins agree to bring him to Able’s as long as he behaves. While cutting through Mr. O’Hara ’s plantation, the twins wonder again why Scarlett didn’t invite them to supper. (full context)

Practicality, Tenacity, and Selfishness Theme Icon

...Mammy gets Scarlett’s shawl, Scarlett decides to go down the drive to meet her father, Gerald O’Hara, on his way home. He’s been at the Wilkeses’ on business, and she wonders... (full context)

Suddenly, Gerald comes up the drive at a gallop. Scarlett admires his riding as Gerald jumps his... (full context)

Scarlett and Gerald have a special bond because they keep secrets for each other from Mammy and Ellen.... (full context)

Gerald explains that he bought Dilcey, the wife of their enslaved man Pork, from the Wilkeses... (full context)

Looking Forward vs. Looking Back Theme Icon

Suspicious, Gerald asks Scarlett why she’s asking after Ashley; has he proposed to her? Scarlett answers no.... (full context)

Gerald goes on to say that the Wilkeses are “queer folk.” Scarlett starts to protest but... (full context)

Gerald says that women shouldn’t be allowed to choose their own husbands. All that matters is... (full context)

...that they shouldn’t be giving so much help to “po’ w’ite trash” like the Slatterys. Gerald grumbles something similar. He heads into the house, having completely forgotten Scarlett’s heartbreak. As she... (full context)

...Ellen transformed into only a “gentle shell” of her former self, and then she married Gerald O’Hara. (full context)

Gerald immigrated from Ireland to America when he was 21. He arrived with nothing after leaving... (full context)

Gerald had very little education and only knew how to read and write. He went to... (full context)

Although he admired the Southern lifestyle, Gerald could never be as elegant as it required. He was too coarse and rugged. However,... (full context)

Gerald gets along with all his neighbors except the MacIntoshes and the Slatterys. The MacIntoshes are... (full context)

When Gerald turned 43, he wanted a wife. He recognized how disorganized his plantation was, in part... (full context)

The next year, their first daughter, Scarlett, was born. Gerald was disappointed that she wasn’t a boy. No one could tell if Ellen regretted marrying... (full context)

...won’t even consider telling her mother what’s wrong, but her mother’s presence would be comforting. Gerald talks about the war even though no one is interested. (full context)

...to introduce his wife Dilcey, who’s just arrived. Dilcey enters with her daughter Prissy, whom Gerald had also purchased. Dilcey thanks Gerald for his kindness in purchasing both her and her... (full context)

Gerald resumes ranting about the war while the Scarlett, Carreen, and Suellen daydream. Scarlett can’t understand... (full context)

...soon as Ellen sits, Scarlett, Suellen, and Carreen ask her questions about a ball, and Gerald starts to talk about the war. (full context)

After patiently answering the questions about the ball, Ellen asks Gerald more about the war. Scarlett knows Ellen isn’t interested in the war—it is man’s business—but... (full context)

...a dress she wants her mother to mend for tomorrow when she hears Ellen ask Gerald to dismiss Jonas Wilkerson. Scarlett deduces that it was Jonas who got Emmie Slattery pregnant.... (full context)

The carriage departs for the Wilkeses’ house, Twelve Oaks, carrying Scarlett, Suellen, Carreen, and Gerald. Scarlett is glad neither Mammy nor Ellen are with them; she’ll have the freedom to... (full context)

The Tareltons greet the O’Haras as if they hadn’t seen them in years. Gerald says to Beatrice that her daughters, fine as they are, have nothing on their mother.... (full context)

Gerald asks Beatrice why she isn’t riding Nellie. After several playful remarks, Beatrice says Nellie foaled... (full context)

...like the Wilkeses needs new blood. They’ve become weak from inbreeding and overbreeding, she says. Gerald becomes uncomfortable, knowing that Ellen would disapprove of this subject. He politely interrupts and everyone... (full context)

Before parting, Gerald asks Beatrice if she’ll donate horses to the Troop. She can’t pay so little attention... (full context)

After everyone is done eating, they idle in the shade. Suddenly, Gerald’s voice shouts over the crowd that compromise with the Yankees is impossible, since they insulted... (full context)

...“no!” Realizing that Scarlett wants her own wedding, Charles asks when he should speak to Gerald. When Scarlett asks him to do so quickly, Charles runs to find Gerald. (full context)

...she knows it, Scarlett is wearing a wedding dress and walking down the steps on Gerald’s arm into a crowd of guests. She remembers Ellen’s bewildered face and Ashley standing with... (full context)

...Ellen’s other sister, subtly looks down on Scarlett because she doesn’t approve of Ellen and Gerald’s marriage. Scarlett hates their accents and the constant talk of war. When Scarlett comes home... (full context)

...May of 1862. Scarlett hopes that Atlanta will be less boring than Charleston or Savannah. Gerald has always told Scarlett that she and Atlanta are the same age. Atlanta is actually... (full context)

...after her husband’s death with a man of ill-repute like Rhett Butler. Ellen says that Gerald will come to Atlanta the next day, speak to Rhett, and escort Scarlett back to... (full context)

...tells Melanie and Pittypat about her letter. She asks them to stand by her when Gerald arrives the following day. Pittypat says she feels too faint and will spend the whole... (full context)

The next day, Pittypat stays in bed while Scarlett and Melanie greet Gerald. Gerald kisses Scarlett and pinches Melanie’s cheek, too shy to reprimand Scarlett while Melanie is... (full context)

Then Gerald shares that Stuart is courting India at Twelve Oaks again. They’d always adored each other... (full context)

...awake that night, dreading facing Ellen at Tara. Then, she hears the familiar sound of Gerald coming home drunk, singing raucously as he comes up the path. Hearing another voice, Scarlett... (full context)

Scarlett rises early the next morning and finds Gerald awake on the sofa. Scarlett scolds him for his embarrassing behavior the night before. She... (full context)

Scarlett pays brief and disappointing visits to Tara. Ellen and Gerald are so busy running the war commissary that Scarlett has no time to talk to... (full context)

...on selling cotton, and now, with no passage open to England, the richest planters—such as Gerald—become poor. Everyone hates speculators like Rhett Butler. Despite all this, Atlanta’s population increases, and it’s... (full context)

...Tarleton’s mare, Nellie. Scarlett clasps his hand, telling him not to go. John says that Gerald almost came with him today, but his horse was refusing to jump fences as if... (full context)

By the end of July, the Yankees are nearly at Jonesboro. Gerald sends a letter reassuring Scarlett that the Yankees haven’t gotten to Tara. Gerald boasts about... (full context)

...laughs, but Scarlett is ashamed of herself. She screams at him to get out or Gerald will kill him. Rhett is amused rather than ashamed. He bows, smiling. She tries to... (full context)

...to Tara. As she receives news of the battle’s progress, she also receives letters from Gerald informing her that first Carreen, and then Ellen and Suellen, are very ill. Scarlett prays... (full context)

...cry. Scarlett sends her to the hospital with a note written in the margins of Gerald’s last letter. (full context)

...the person is still. Is something wrong? In a whisper, Scarlett calls for her father. Gerald walks toward her as if sleepwalking. He is an old man; his shoulders sag, and... (full context)

...rooms, and Prissy to get Wade a drink of water. With bleeding fingers, Scarlett holds Gerald’s hand and asks if Carreen, Suellen, and Ellen are well. Gerald says the girls are... (full context)

Scarlett asks Gerald why the Yankees didn’t burn Tara, unwilling to talk about Ellen. He responds the Yankees... (full context)

Gerald had stayed upstairs while they were there, talking only to the nice surgeon. The surgeon... (full context)

After Scarlett puts Gerald to bed, she goes to the sick room. It smells bad because of the bacon... (full context)

...just Scarlett O’Hara Hamilton, a widow with a child. No one can take her burdens: Gerald is old, and Carreen, Suellen, and Melanie are weak. She looks out the window at... (full context)

...family. She’ll search the burned plantations for food and pawn Ellen’s jewelry. She thinks of Gerald and his ancestors. They all suffered misfortune and rose above it. These ancestors seem to... (full context)

The next morning, Scarlett is achy and sunburned. At breakfast, Gerald tells everyone to wait until Mrs. O’Hara comes. Scarlett wonders if he lost his mind.... (full context)

...stockings and 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... (full context)

...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. Gerald had said this... (full context)

...worries about who will look after Tara if she gets gangrene and dies. She’d hoped Gerald would return to normal after a week or so, but he still doesn’t remember that... (full context)

...she can tell the truth without crying. She explains that Ellen died of typhoid, that Gerald has lost his mind, and that Melanie is sick and needs a doctor. Grandma Fontaine... (full context)

...door. Sally Fontaine gallops up on a horse and shouts that the Yankees are coming. Gerald says the Yankees have already been here. Scarlett, though, knows she has to hide their... (full context)

...sees her sisters running to the woods with baskets of food, and Pork running with Gerald and two pigs under his arms. Dilcey complains that the sow bit Prissy and has... (full context)

...thieves. Scarlett is angry that Sherman went to Tennessee, leaving the Yankees to pilfer Georgia. Gerald says Ellen won’t like the way Scarlett is talking. Melanie asks if Frank has heard... (full context)

...Ellen. Scarlett says they shouldn’t talk about it. Frank says he was planning to ask Gerald for Suellen’s hand, but it seems like Scarlett is the head of the house. He... (full context)

Scarlett says Gerald always expected Suellen to marry Frank. Frank says happily that he’ll ask Suellen tonight. Scarlett... (full context)

...catches sight of Ashley, who’s wearing tattered pants and an old and too-small shirt of Gerald’s, she thinks that she hates to see him in dingy clothes doing manual labor. Ashley... (full context)

...Scarlett lies and says that they got a good cotton crop at Tara and that Gerald has everything under control. She says she came to Atlanta because she’s bored and wants... (full context)

...at Tara are bad; she’s hungry. Her dress is made from curtains, Ellen is dead, Gerald has lost his mind, and she can’t let the Carpetbaggers take Tara. (full context)

...Tara and decides to visit in June. Then she gets a note from Will saying Gerald is dead. (full context)

...by now. He should’ve known she’d take the first train from Atlanta when she heard Gerald was dead. She’s wearing an ill-fitting mourning dress she borrowed from Mrs. Meade and has... (full context)

...blacksmith’s and is on the way to pick her up. Alex says he’s sorry about Gerald, and that he died like a soldier. Scarlett says she doesn’t want to talk about... (full context)

...to repay her, but Scarlett hushes him. Alex leaves, saying he’ll see her tomorrow at Gerald’s funeral. Will arrives in the same rickety wagon Scarlett had fled Atlanta in. She vows... (full context)

Will asks Scarlett not to yell at Suellen because it won’t bring Gerald back. Scarlett thinks of Gerald’s dead body in the parlor and begins to cry. She... (full context)

Will tells the story of Gerald’s death: Will was paying the taxes and fixing Tara with the money Scarlett sent. But... (full context)

...she needed about the Iron Clad Oath (the oath of Union sympathy). Then, Suellen berated Gerald for letting his family starve when he could get them $150,000. Scarlett gasps at the... (full context)

Yesterday, Will continues, Suellen took Gerald to Jonesboro. She had made a deal with Hilton that she’d give him some of... (full context)

Will continues: Alex Fontaine saw Gerald in in a rage, and Gerald took Alex’s horse and rode off. At sundown, Ashley... (full context)

Pork has dug Gerald’s grave beside Ellen’s. Four men carry out the coffin, followed by a crowd of neighbors.... (full context)

...people came. Scarlett notices Cathleen Calvert, acting as if her husband hadn’t helped bring about Gerald’s death. Cathleen is greasy and her fingernails are dirty. Scarlett realizes she’d be just like... (full context)

...a few words. Before anyone else could volunteer, Will rises. He says he didn’t know Gerald well, but in a few weeks he would’ve called him Pa. He announces he is... (full context)

Scarlett finds Will’s common sense comforting. Will says every Southerner is like Gerald: they can be beaten from the inside when their mainspring—whatever it is—is broken. Mourning would... (full context)

...said anything disruptive, and to spare Scarlett the sight of the dirt piling up on Gerald’s grave. Grandma Fontaine observes that Scarlett has nothing now that her parents are dead, but... (full context)

...knows nothing about people. Scarlett realizes that Grandma made her mad so she’d forget about Gerald, and thanks her. The old lady smiles. Mrs. Tarleton comes back with the buttermilk and... (full context)

...day she caught him stealing chickens when she’d promised him a watch. She hands him Gerald’s opulent gold watch. Pork says it should belong to Wade. Scarlett says Wade never did... (full context)

...He’d eventually gotten tired of freedom, and he missed being told what to do by Gerald and Ellen. Scarlett says Gerald and Ellen are dead. Sam starts to cry, and Scarlett... (full context)

...was always so kind, and Scarlett has always wanted to be like her. She loved Gerald, but she doesn’t want to be thoughtless like him. She’d been mean to Frank because... (full context)

Bonnie grows up quickly, looking more and more like Gerald every day. Her only problem is that she’s afraid of the dark. Once she turns... (full context)

...uneasy. As Bonnie gallops on her pony, Scarlett sees that her eyes are just like Gerald’s. Then she realizes Bonnie said the same thing Gerald had said just before his death:... (full context)

Gone with the Wind

Gerald O’Hara Character Analysis

Gerald O’Hara Quotes in Gone with the Wind

Chapter 2 Quotes

Chapter 3 Quotes

Gerald O’Hara Character Timeline in Gone with the Wind