大学英语专业毕业论文：对《飘》中斯佳丽的人物性格分析

河北民族师范学院外语系2012届专科毕业论文题目：对《飘》中斯佳丽的人物性格分析作者：***指导教师：***研究方向：英国文学年级班级：2009级英语教育2班完成时间： 2012年5月Analysis of Scarlett’s Character in Gone with the WindLiuA Graduation Thesis Submitted toForeign language Department of Hebei Normal University for Nationalities In Partial Fulfillment of the RequirementsFor the Diploma of Education in EnglishTutor: Zhang YongliSpecialty: EnglishDirection: English LiteratureChengde, Hebei ProvinceMay 2012摘要《飘》是美国现代女作家玛格丽特.米歇尔于1936年发表的一部长篇通俗小说。

小说的女主人公斯佳丽被他们描绘成一个极度自私、爱慕虚荣、冷酷无情、为达目的不择手段的女性。

引言简要介绍作者的生平、以及当时的女性主义。

作者玛格丽特.米歇尔是一个具有女性主义意识的女作家。

她在小说中含蓄的批判了美国内战时期的南方妇道观，通过委婉的语言更深刻彻底的揭示出南方妇道观的虚伪、愚昧和对妇女的压抑。

战前、中、后的斯佳丽具体的阐述了主人公是怎样从战前一个自私、任性但又坚强、勇敢的南方贵族千金小姐转变为战时的懂得照顾别人、果敢但又有些残酷的生活上的勇士既而转变为战后的勤劳、有心计、有思想、有远见的南方新女性。

对比部分主要是斯佳丽与媚兰与斯佳丽对比。

斯佳丽与媚兰是小说中性格截然不同的两个女主人公，而不同的性格是她们的人生也大相径庭。

思嘉果断、坚决的性格决定了她奋进的一生，媚兰的宽容、坚韧同样注定了她终生的勤苦。

结论通过全篇总结得出，跟她的三个主要人生经历密不可分，通过对社会背景、人生经历和对比的分析，总结出斯佳丽一如既往的性格和由生活所迫改变了的性格并日益成熟，逐渐的成为有思想、有远见的南方新女性。

关键词：《飘》；战争；女性主义；对比AbstractGone with the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell has been one of the bestsellers and popular with the reader ever since its publication in 1936. Scarlett O’Hara the protagonist in the novel is an extremely selfish, vain, and merciless woman who will not hesitate to resort to any means in order to reach her ends.Chapter One gives a brief introduction of Margaret Mitchell’s life, the traditional Southern Womanhood and the feminist. Margaret Mitchell is a woman writer. She has strong feminism. We can get it from the novel, especially from Scarlett. Chapter Two to Chapter Four described the life of Scarlett before war, in the war and after war. These three chapters analyze how Scarlett completes her transformation from 16 years old girl deeply influenced by traditional Southern Womanhood to a serious-minded and far-sighted woman. and compared Scarlett with Melanie，they are quite different girls, and those differences make their life very different, any way, attitude is everything. The novel named Gone with the Wind. And Melanie is the wind; she is traditional, graceful and tolerant. The old South has gone with the wind, and so Melanie. Scarlett was not, she is new, and she is decisive and firm. She is quite an opponent of the old South. New American comes, and so Scarlett.The conclusion summarizes the whole thesis and reiterates the main viewpoint: her transformations connected closely with her three stages of life. She is increasingly maturing and in the end becomes a new Southern woman with strong feminism leanings. When we faced with difficulties we will call the memories of Scarlett and her words to the world “Tomorrow is another day”!Key words: Gone with the Wind；War；Feminist leaning；ContrastContentsIntroduction (1)Chapter One The Period before the War (2)2.1 About the Title (2)2.2 The Plot Summary (2)2.3 Scarlett in the Period before War (4)2.3.1 Education of the Women in the South before War (4)2.3.2 Scarlett the Rebellious Girl (6)2.4 The Summary (8)Chapter Two The Period in the War (9)3.1The Plot Summary (9)3.2 Scarlett’s Capability of Changing with Times (11)3.3 Scarlett’s Persistent Pursuit of Better Life (13)3.4 The Summary (14)Chapter Three The Period after the War (15)4.1 The Plot Summary (15)4.2 Scarlett’s Persistent Pursuit of True Love (16)4.3 The Contrast of Scarlett and Melanie (18)Conclusion (19)Notes (21)Bibliography (22)IntroductionGone with the Wind has been hailed as a triumph of American literature and film. In1937, Margaret. Mitchell won Pulitzer Prize, for her sweeping portrayal of the crumbling of the Old South. Since then, the novel has sold millions of copies. The film, a production by David O.Selznick, exceeded all expectations, receiving critical and public acclaim that included an unprecedented ten Academy Awards.[1]Even today, Gone with the Wind, despite its many historical inaccuracies, forms the basis of American popular memory of the Old South in the years since the Civil War, but Margaret Mitchell’s tale is the one that is most deeply embedded in American culture.The novel mainly describes the life of Scarlett who is the daughter of Tara’s master around the American Civil War. Meanwhile with the hint of a triangular love between Scarlett, Ashley and Rhett, the novel depicts a wide and prosperous picture of the social life of the South in America. An important element of the story’s popularity is Scarlett O’Hara, the outstanding heroine who is full of conflicting and complicated features. This article analyzes the character of Scarlett from three aspects: the first one is her attitude towards life around the civil war; the second one is the exterior and internal reasons for the shaping of her character; the last one is Scarlett’s attitude towards love and marriage. The analysis aims at showing the eternal charms of the image, Scarlett in the novel.Chapter One the Period before the WarMitchell’s work relates the story of a rebellious Georgia Southern belle named Scarlett O’Hara and her experiences with frien ds, family, lovers, and enemies in the South during the antebellum period, the War of Northern Aggression, and the Reconstruction era.2.1 About the TitleThe title of Gone with the Wind is taken from the first line of the third stanza of the poem Non sum uails eram bonae sub regno Cynarae by Ernest Dowson: “I have forgotten much, Cynara! Gone with the wind.”[6] The title phrase also appears in the novel: When Scarlett of French-Irish ancestry escapes the bombardment of Atlanta by Northern forces; she flees back to her family’s plantation, Tara. At one point, she wondered, “Was Tara still standing? Or was Tara also gone with the wind which had swept through Georgia?”[7]The title is beautiful, gone with the wind, everything, like the old traditional South, l ike Melanie, like the slave system and Scarlett’s love to Ashley…2.2 The Plot SummaryThe novel opens at Tara, the O’Haras’ plantation in Georgia, with scarlet O’Hara flirting idly with Brent and Stuart Tarleton, twin brothers who live on a nearby plantation. Amidst the chatter, the pair tells Scarlett that Ashley Wilkes, the man Scarlett secretly loves, and his cousin Melanie Hamilton, a plain and gentle lady from Atlanta, are to be married. Shocked, Scarlett sits in silence until the two leave, without inviting them to dinner. Ignoring her mammy’s cautions against the cold, Scarlett goes to meet her father to confirm the news. After discovering the truth of theengagement, Scarlett is miserable, but realizes that Ashley has no idea that she’s in love wit h him. She plans to make Ashley jealous by surrounding herself with boys in love with her at the barbecue the next day at the Wilkes plantation of Twelve Oaks, and then afterwards admit to him that she prefers him above all others. She never thought of the war, even it would break out soon, even everyone in the South was talking about it included her father, what she cares is only Ashley, the man she loved. But things did not go according to plan, when she finds Ashley later, he tells her that though he lives her, he will still marry Melanie. The innocent poor girl was really hurt. She slapped Ashley in his face. Moreover the unexpected man Rhett Butler, hidden behind a couch during the emotional scene, sees Scarlett throw a vase across the room in anger after Ashley leaves, and is impressed by her fire. But Scarlett still holds the idea that she herself is the true love of Ashley. To revenge Ashley, she decided to marry Charles Hamilton who she didn’t love at all, but Charles sister Melanie really appreciated that. So both couples married within two weeks, just at the beginning of her marriage, Scarlett regretted her decision and also the war broke out…Before the war, Scarlett lived an elegant and leisure life. It’s just such kind of life made her selfish and vanity. For love she is stubborn and wayward. She had romantic emotion to love. But, at that time, ladies and gentlemen’s demeanor formed the atmosphere of the traditional society. She was born in a sumptuous manor Tara in Georgia South America. Her parents want to make her a lady, and gave her very traditional education. Scarlett didn’t like doing that, she pretend to be a lady in front of her parents, but she went her own way at other times. In her inner world, she wanted an unrestricted and free life. So, a very proud own, extremely conceited but very beautiful charming Scarlett jumped out in front of us. Scarlett was very proud that so many handsome young men surrounded her, and she was always the very center of them. But Ashley was the only young man that she admired, indulged and deeply loved. She was a proud girl, so proud that she believed deeply Ashley loved her even she got the news he will marry Melanie.2.3 Scarlett in the Period before War2.3.1 Education of the Women in the South before WarScarlett O’Hara, a Southern girl before the Civil War, is no exception. As an ordinary girl growing up in Southern culture, Scarlett is undoubtedly deeply influenced by the prevailing ideas of what a Southern woman should do in a male-dominated world. Gradually she becomes a woman, a representative of Southern women. To the Southern woman, marriage is the destiny traditionally offered to her and she is constantly taught the art of catching a decent and wealthy husband as soon as possible. The unmarried woman suffers from the poor situation and tries every means to catch a husband. Simone Beauvoir say in The Second Sex, “ In France, as in America, mothers, older friends, and women’s magazines cynically teach young women the art of catching husbands, as a flypaper catches flies. It is a kind of fishing or hunting that requires great skill.”[8] Slowly Scarlett is brought up, not apparently different from other girls. Like other girls, she is extremely interested in love and marriage. Scarlett’s mother Ellen, by soft-voiced admonition, their common Mammy, constant carping and labor to inculcate in her the qualities that will make her truly desirable as a wife. She does not disappoint them in this aspect because, by the age of sixteen, she has learned to use the attributes of womanhood to advance predatory designs: the manipulation and seduction of men. Extremely selfish in love and marriage, “she was constitutionably unable to endure any man being in love with any woman not herself” (p.16). Bored by the Tarleton twins’ talk of war, she moodily changes the subject to something far more interesting to her: the next day’s barbecue and hall at the Twelve Oaks. Deeply rooted in Western culture is the assumption that a woman’s energies are properly devoted to the chores of her family. In the South, little attention is paid to women’s education and educational opportunities for girls are more limited than those for boys. In the opening chapter of the novel, we got the information that Scarlett is not offered enougheducation and she has not opened a book since she left the Fayetteville Female Academy at the age of fifteen. However, the door of education is much wider for the boys. Stuart and Brent, the Tarleton twins, have been expelled from the University of Georgia, the fourth university that has thrown them out in two years, when they sit with Scarlett in the cool shade of the porch of Tara, the plantation of Scarlett’s father Gerald O’Hara. Unexpectedly, they are soon offered another chance to go on with their college edu cation. All of a girl’s education, if there is any, is reduced to the arts and graces of being attractive to men. It is universally acknowledged that scarlet eventually becomes a belle in the neighboring counties after years of the conbined efforts of her mother and Mammy. She does not feel sorry for her lack of education. In fact to all men in the South, lack of education carries no shame at all, though they are given more chances to receive education. The things that matter to men include such things as rainsing good cotton, riding well, shooting straight, dancing lightly, and squiring ladies with elegance and carrying liquor like a gentleman. Brought up in such an environment, Scarlett is actually a representative of Southern women who are deeply influenced by Southern culture.Scarlett shares dissemblance, an essential trait of Southern Womanhood, with the other girls. Thanks to her mother’s and Mammy’s continuous admonition and harping, she becomes a fairly beautiful, sweet and demure girl. Men have a common interest in appreciating the beauty, sweetness and demureness of a girl. Scarlett’s beauty is partially inborn and partially acquired, but her sweetness and demureness are chiefly achieved by means of dissemblance. Scarlett understands of how to dissemble her own true feelings is even better than that of other girls. Scarlett’s “manners had been imposed upon her by her mother’s gentle admonitions and the sterner discipline of her Mammy, her eyes were her own” (p.5). Her mother Ellen does not realize th at it is only a veneer, for Scarlett always shows her best face to her mother, concealing her escapades, curbing her temper and appearing as sweet as she can. She is utterly willing to pretend to be sweet and demure in order to succeed in catching her beloved Ashley as her husband.2.3.2 Scarlett the Rebellious GirlThe woman chained to her household tasks has known as a girl that it is the first duty of a girl to get married. However from the outset, Scarlett challenges the conventions of her society. A tomboy who can ride horses, throw stones and climb trees as well as any make companion, by 1861 she has evolved into a typical young lady only under the insistent instruction of her mother Ellen and her Mammy. Scarlett seems femininity remains merely a superficial shell, embodying outward signs, but arising from no genuine inner grace. Most of her natural impulses are unladylike. She pretends to look sweet, charming and giddy, but she is in reality rebellious, self-willed and vain.Scarlett is fond of love and marriage just like other girls and she can pretend to suppress her true feelings successfully. Actually Scarlett never ceases to seek to air her feelings openly, whatever the consequences or the chaos she may create. In the old South, arranged marriages are widespread.A girl is expected to find a marriageable man and she has to accept the husband chosen by her parents. Gerald O’Hara (father) insists that “the best marriages are when the parents choose for the girl” (p.39) and that she should marry one of the Tarleton twins. The clever and rebellious girl goes so far as to demand freedom in love and she is not satisfied with the future husband chosen by her father. When she comes back, she quickly makes full preparation for her great purpose of catching Ashley right on the following afternoon. A minute description of her feelings is provided to strengthen her longing for Ashley’s love. Unlike the common girls, she is determined to act on her own wishes. Thus, while her rivals retire according to the convention of the submissive female, she slips downstairs retire according to the convention of the submissive female, she slips downstairs to confront Ashley in the belief that he will not be able to resist her assault. Though her love is declined by Ashley, her efforts to obtain her true love do not wither away even in adversity. As we can see in the later chapters, if she has no love for Ashley, she will have been discouraged in adversity and will not have lived through so many difficulties to obtain financial independence.The very obvious is her disregard for religion, and indispensable element in Southerners’ life. At prayer time in the evening before the ball, while all the other family members and the blacks are praying piously and asking Holy Mary to forgive their sins. Scarlett is so absent-minded that she neglects to make any responses, causing her mother to look at her reprovingly. Ever since childhood, prayer time is a moment for adoration of her mother Ellen, rather than Holy Mary. To the pious people, it is sacrilegious to show any indication of irreligion. Her heart goes up to God in sincere thankfulness only when a pathway for her has been opened to the arms of Ashley. In other circumstances, God is not important or sacred to her at all. As a matter of fact, her irreligion is more and more apparent in the following years of her life. In Chapter XXX, everything is unfavorable to her, because her mother is dead, her father in a state of dementia, and her two sisters ill. She is annoyed to see her sister Carreen always on her knees by her bed praying for a better life. Scarlett’s God is a bargaining God.Compare with God, Scarlett trust more herself, in her eyes the God is an absentee God. “The Lord stopped thinking about us years ago, and don’t go telling me Mother is turning in her grave to hear me say it either” (p.542). As we can find in the later chapters, every time she does odious or unethical deeds in order to protect her own life, Tara, or the lives of those for whom she is responsible, Scarlett repeats to herself an important motto: “I’ll think about it tomorrow.” This motto becomes her survival mechanism and justifies every future decision she makes. Owing to her irreligion, it is not unusual for her not to bother about things that do not matter, such as the expectations and civilities of the Old South. But though she is so perseverance and so brave, at some time she also afraid of God. When her conscience torments her over the cold, bald way in which she has used Frank Kennedy, her second husband, who is later killed in an attack to revenge her, she sighs to herself, “Oh, if only God did not seem so furious and vengeful! If only the minutes did not go by so slowly and the house were not so still. If only she were not so alone” (p.804) When she con fides her fear and remorse to Rhett Butler, “I’m afraid I’ll die and go to hell” (p.808)2.4 The SummaryIn the period before war, Scarlett was a little girl only worried about her love fairs, she had no ideas about the war,“You know there isn’t going to be any war,” said Scarlett, bored. “It’s all just talk. Why, Ashley Wilkes and his father told Pa just last week that our commissioners in Washington would come to—to—an—amicable agreement with Mr. Lincoln about the Confederacy. And anyway, the Yankees are too scared of us to fight. There won’t be any war, and I’m tired of hearing about it.”(Margaret, 1973: 36 p.25)As we can see, Scarlett didn’t believe there will going to be any war, she was really boring about it, what she reply to the twins who were excitedly talking about the war is only making a mouth of bored impatience. Being a charming young lady of the old South, Scarlett cares more about the coming barbecues party, how she looks, her new green flowered-muslin dress, and of course her deeply loved prince Ashley.Of course the elegant and leisure life make her selfish and vanity. For love Scarlett is stubborn and wayward. She had a romantic emotion to love. But, at that time, ladies and gentlemen’s demeanor formed the atmosphere of the traditional society. Her parents want to make her a lady, a traditional one, but to Scarlett, it is really a disaster, in front of her parents, she could bear to pretend, but she went her own way at other times, that’s her, a real Scarlett, an very proud own, extre mely conceited but very charming Scarlett. So no surprising that all the young men loves her, include Rhett Butler. In his eyes, Scarlett is not very beautiful, not very graceful, and even a little veining, but it’s just this woman attacked his heart, this strong will and cat like woman.Chapter Two the Period in the War3.1 The Plot SummaryThe Civil War broke out, and also, the difficult life begins. Scarlett’s husband died soon after he has to join the war for suffering of fever, at the same time the south army was continually retreating in defeat. But these had not made Scarlet feel sad, the very thing that brought her great sadness was Ashley also decided to join the war, what’s worse, at that time, both Scarlett and Melanie were pregnant. With out their husbands, the two young ladies have draped into a really difficult and dangerous situation. Scarlett is much more strong and healthy than Melanie. Scarlett gave birth to the baby smoothly, but Melanie was in a very dangerous situation, at this ver y moment of crisis Scarlett didn’t give up to help Melanie, for she had agreed to take care of Melanie when Ashley was out to war. Luckily Melanie out of danger soon, and also the two girls were became good friends. They decided facing with the difficulties together. They came back to Scarlett’s home, the big Tara. Rhett helped them all the way, but he decided to join the war as soon as they will arrive at Tara. Scarlett can not accept this,Scarlett: Oh, yes, yes! I know we can get through, Rhett. I’m sure we can. Rhett: Not we, my dear, you, I’m leaving you here.Scarlett: You are what? Rhett, where are you going?Rhett: I’m very serious, Scarlett. I’m going to join up with our brave lads in grey.Scarlett: But they are running away?Rhett: Oh, no. They'll turn and make a last stand if know anything about them. And when they do, I'll be with them. I'm a little latebut "better late than...Scarlett: Rhett, you must be joking!Rhett: Selfish to the end, aren't you? Thinking only of your own precious hide with never a thought for the noble cause.Scarlett: Rhett! How could you do this to me? And why should you go now that, after it's all over, and I need you! Why? Why? Rhett: Why? Maybe it's because I've always had a weakness for lost causes... Once they're really lost... Or, maybe, maybe I'mashamed of myself. Who knows?Scarlett: You should die of shame to leave me here alone and helpless! Rhett: You, helpless? Heaven help the Yankees if they capture you... Now climb down here, I want to say goodbye.Scarlett: No.Rhett: Climb down!Scarlett: Oh, Rhett, please, don't go! You can't leave me! Please! I'll never forgive you!Rhett: I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'll never understand or forgive myself. And if a bullet gets me, so help me, I'll laugh at myselffor being an idiot. But there is one thing I do know. And that isthat I love you, Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the wholesilly world going to pieces around us... I love you. Because we'realike. Bad lots both of us... selfish and shrewed, but able to lookthings in the eyes and call them by their right names.Scarlett: Don't hold me like that!Rhett: Scarlett, look at me. I love you more than I've ever loved any woman. And I've waited longer for you than I've ever waited forany woman.Scarlett: Let me alone.Rhett: Here's a soldier of the South who loves you, Scarlett, wants to feel your arms around him, wants to carry the memory of your kissesinto battle with him. Never mind about loving me. You are awoman sending a soldier to his death, with a beautiful memory...Scarlett, kiss me... Kiss me once.Scarlett: You low-down, cowardly, nasty thing, you! They were right...Everybody was right... You, you are not a gentleman!Rhett: A minor point, at such a moment... Here. If anyone lays a hand on this nag, shoot him, but don't make a mistake and shoot the nag.Scarlett: Oh, go on. I want you to go! I hope a cannon ball lands slap on you! I hope you're blown into a million pieces! I...Rhett: Never mind the rest. I follow your general idea. And when I'm dead on the altar of my country, I hope your conscience hurts you.Goodbye, Scarlett… (Victor Fleming, 1941, movie)Rhett disappeared at the end of the road, without his help, Scarlett feel lonely and scared, but she didn’t give up, what she agrees was, “ I will make is, mother will help me…”Arriving home at Tara, Scarlett finds the house ruined, the food gone, the crops burned, most of the slaves run off, her mother dead, her father with dementia, and her two sisters sick with typhoid. Desperate for food, she walks to Twelve Oaks only to find it burned to the ground. Hunting around, she finds some vegetables in the gardens of the slave quarters, but becomes ill when she tries to eat them. After she recovers, she swears that once the war is over, she will never be hungry again, and takes strength from this vow. She grasps the reins of authority and tries to turn the place around. She finds that some of her neighbors were out of the path of the Yankees and they share with her all that t hey can spare…after a few days, their life became a little better, but still hard. Scarlett forces her family and the slaves to tend fields and pick cotton, every member in the family afraid of her, but Melanie gave her totally understanding, and helped her a lot.During the war, Ashley joined the war and soon lost all his information. Rhett abandons Scarlett and Melanie on the road back to Tara to fight for the South. Without their help scarlet shouldered all the responsibilities by her own and lived indom itably…3.2 Scarlett’s Capability of Changing with TimesIt is obviously that the North is much more stronger than the South, the North has more stronger weapon, more people, more skillful technology, earlier or later, they will win, but many southerners do not accept the fact, and they fail to realize that their ideal is out of date and must be remolded to correspond to the new conditions of the socialenvironment. However, Scarlett is wiser and more flexible in the new environment. Unlike her sisters, sh e didn’t stay in the sadness of war, but work hard to live better, she knew that she was no longer the princess of Tara. When every Southerner give up include Ashley, she didn’t, she knew deeply that her old way of life in Tara can not survive in the new world. No longer an idle and pampered girl as she has been in Tara, she has to spend much time in nursing the wounded and rolling the bandages for the South. Before the War, she lives at Tara, trying to adhere to old Southern values. In Atlanta, she begins to defy the rules that society has impressed upon her since her birth. She makes a bold move and dances in public as a widow, which marks her first step in defiance of Atlanta’s social expectations. In the war time, Scarlett lived no more like the life she lived before the war, she shouldered the responsibility to take care of Melanie, and also shouldered all the responsibility to take care of all her family when she returned to Tara, her thoughts and actions change greatly, hardships in reality and changes in society make her realize overnight that she is no longer a spoiled woman dependent on other people and, instead, the other people are dependent on her.To Scarlett it seemed that at every turn she met outstretched hands, pleading eyes.After her return to Tara from Atlanta, she violates all the rules of conduct laid on Southern young ladies. On the night of the fall of Atlanta, though exhausted from the delivery of Melanie’s child, Scarlett has to drive a carriage towards Tara. She maneuvers safely past soldiers of both camps, who may rob her of her horse. The long ride is harrowing and Scarlett emerges at Tara exhausted, but she has changed and will continue to change. She finds nothing is in favor of her. Her mother is dead the day before, her father in a state of dementia, her two sisters sick with typhoid. Without her mother to turn to for support or comfort after her hellish trip, she drinks some whisky and sinks into despair, but that didn’t last long, she suddenly remembers her courageous ancestors who have overcome hardships and won fortunes. She is eager to give up this new found responsibility and collapse into the arms of her mother, but her mother has been dead. Scarlett can not put down this burden that she has never even。