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ABOUT RHETT In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the barbeque at the Twelve Oaks Plantation, the home of Ashley Wilkes and India Wilkes . The novel describes Rhett as "a visitor from Charleston ;" a Black Sheep , he was kicked out of West Point and because of his true rebelious nature, he is not accepted by any family with repute in the whole of Charleston, and perhaps all of South Carolina. When Scarlett O'Hara , who was at the Twelve Oaks party where Rhett was introduced, hears of this, she is shocked and intrigued at the same time. Rhett's enthrallment with Scarlett begins when he overhears her declaration of love for Ashley in the library while the rest of the "proper" girls are taking a nap in the late afternoon to prepare for the dance that would take place later that evening. He recognizes that she's willful and spirited, and also that they're alike in many ways, including their disgust with the impending, and later ongoing, war with the Yankees. They meet again when Scarlett has already lost her first husband, Melanie's brother, Charles Hamilton, while she's staying with Melanie and her Aunt Pittypat in Atlanta during the war. Rhett, the dashing blockade runner, shocks the entire charity ball that was being thrown to raise money for the confederate troops, by asking to dance with Scarlett, who is now a widow, something that was unspeakable in the Antebellum south. Once a woman's husband died, she wasn't permitted to do a great many things. Rhett seemingly ruins Scarlett's reputation after this very public display of frivolity and Scarlett's father, Gerald O'Hara comes to speak to Rhett and to take Scarlett back to Tara. However, Rhett, the blackguard he is, gets Gerald intoxicated and he and Rhett come to terms, so to speak. Gerald returns to Tara and Scarlett remains in Atlanta, along with her newborn son. When Scarlett flees Atlanta, Rhett joins the confederate soldiers for their one last stand against Sherman. Scarlett couldn't understand why Rhett chose to ally himself at the moment when the confederate cause had failed. After a great many months, Scarlett returns to Atlanta, this time to solicit money from Rhett to save Tara from being stolen out from under her, only to learn from Aunt Pitty that he was in military jail, imprisoned by the Yankees for stealing the confederate gold. Scarlett comes waltzing in, supposedly horrified that Rhett's life was in danger, all the while maneuvering him to give her money for the plantation. When Rhett sees through her ploy, he laughs in her face, in which case Scarlett flees, only to be confronted by Belle, a prostitue who enjoyed keeping company with Rhett. Disgusted with how low she's sunk, she's on her way back to Aunt Pittypat's when she meets Frank Kennedy, her sister Sue Ellen's beau. Learning that Frank has done very well for himself, she plys him with affection and finally secures a marriage proposal, to which she accepts, thereby securing Tara's future indefinitely. Months later, Scarlett is shocked when she sees Rhett Butler while she's running Frank's store, free from the Yankees and amused that she has rushed into yet another marriage with a man that she doesn't love, much less the fact that she stole him right out from under her sister's nose. After Frank Kennedy is killed during a Ku Klux Klan raid on the shanty town after Scarlett is attacked, Rhett saves Ashley Wilkes' and Dr. Meade's life, who were both active members of the KKK by alibiing him to the Yankee captain, a man whom he's played cards with on several occasions. While Scarlett is torn with guilt of causing the death of her second husband, Rhett appears and offers a marriage proposal, promising to give her everything. Scarlett accepts for the money while Rhett secretly hopes that Scarlett will eventually return the love he's had since the day he saw her at Twelve Oaks. In the course of the novel, Rhett becomes increasingly enamored with the survivalist instincts of Scarlett O'Hara in the chaos surrounding the war. THE LOST CAUSE Like Thomas Sutpen and Charles Bon from ''Absalom, Absalom!'', Rhett decides to join in the Southern cause, but unlike his fellow Confederate , Ashley Wilkes , Rhett is not spiritually paralyzed by the South 's loss. Rhett takes leave of Scarlett after rescuing her and Melanie Wilkes from the burning of Atlanta , expressing his desire to fight alongside the South and its lost cause. Scarlett cannot comprehend Rhett's sudden decision to fight, which underscores her total rejection of the Southern Chivalric ideal. Scarlett takes her burdens on alone, and it hurts Rhett that she won't just lay them at his feet as he would carry them for her. Rhett discovers that though she has married again, Scarlett still harbors her infatuation for the gentlemanly Ashley Wilkes , Melanie's husband. LIFE WITH SCARLETT Later, when Frank Kennedy dies during a Ku Klux Klan controversy and Scarlett is guilt-ridden and intoxicated, Rhett propositions her into marrying him. Scarlett accepts his proposal for his money; Rhett realizes this, but accepts it as he understands her opportunistic nature. But her continuing affection for Ashley Wilkes becomes a problem for the couple. When their daughter Bonnie falls off a pony and dies, the tragedy causes a rift between the two which is impossible to bridge. But Rhett is not the type of man to wait forever and twelve Year s to most people is an Eon . He leaves because he knows that this is what he has to do. He has to get away from Scarlett. Her confession of Love is something that startles him but is also something that he half expects. He knows that Scarlett could never be happy with Ashley and when she discovers that, he does not want to be around when she throws her Obsession onto him. When he finally gets Scarlett's Love , he is not happy and leaves with his famous Parthian Shaft that has since been immortalized: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." The frankly was added in the movie - in the book, the line merely reads, "My dear, I don't give a damn." In a sequel called '' Scarlett '', written by Alexandra Ripley , Scarlett finally succeeds in getting Rhett back. ADAPTATIONS In the 1939 Film Adaptation , Rhett was played by Clark Gable . In the Scarlett TV Mini-series produced in 1994 (based on the above sequel novel), Rhett was played by Timothy Dalton Also, in the musical production by Takarazuka Revue , Rhett had been played by several top stars of the group, including Yuki Amami (currently a film/TV actress), Yu Todoroki (currently one of the directors of the group) and Yoka Wao (current leading male role of the Cosmo Troup that will retire from the group in July, 2006). |
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