Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Today we present to you a brief summary of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell along with a copy of the book in PDF format that you can download immediately.

Gone with the Wind is a fictional book framed in a historical event of great relevance to American society.

Although the plot and characters are fictional, Margaret Mitchell manages to capture a fairly realistic portrait of the events of the Civil War in the 19th century.

This novel has as its central story, the love-hate relationship between the protagonist Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. Its first edition was published in 1936 and its film adaptation was released in 1939, definitively catapulting the fame of the book and the author.

Gone with the Wind in PDF format

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Summary of Gone with the Wind

The novel begins on Scarlett O’Hara’s father’s plantation in the city of Savannah, Georgia, called “Tara”.

She is the most beautiful and desired young woman in the area, so she is very sure that she will soon marry the one she longs for.

Scarlett has been in love with the aristocrat Ashley Wilkes for some time now but is disappointed to learn that her great love would marry Melanie Hamilton, Ashley’s cousin.

The engagement is announced at a banquet to which she is invited with her family a few days later. And although Scarlett declares her love for him, Ashley very gently rejects her.

That same day, the beautiful young woman meets Rhett Butler, a man who, although also an aristocrat, is the opposite of Ashley.

Rhett is no-holds-barred, sarcastic, and brash, both personally and in business. Ashley, on the other hand, is a rather discreet and formal gentleman.

Scarlett hates Rhett from the start, who overhears her conversation with Ashley and makes fun of her unhappiness.

Also that same day of the month of April of the year 1861 the news arrives that the war between the states of the south and those of the north would begin.

The south was conservative and opposed the freeing of slaves, and the north was liberal and fought for the abolition of slavery.

Jealous of Ashley’s marriage to Melanie, whom Scarlett finds ungraceful, submissive, and complacent, she decides to accept the marriage proposal of Charles Hamilton, Melanie’s brother.

Both Melanie and Scarlett watch their husbands leave. But, soon Charles dies in the war, leaving Scarlet widowed and pregnant.

Later, she goes to Atlanta for a while to accompany her late husband’s aunt, but Scarlett’s real interest was that Melanie lived there and that would bring her closer to a reunion with Ashley.

However, the one she would cross paths with most would be Rhett, whom she meets at a charity event and on many other occasions, furthering the development of a friendship with a certain sexual attraction between them.

At the same time, although Ashley does not return from the war, Scarlett becomes a volunteer nurse (not for pleasure) and becomes closer friends with Melanie, whom she finally ends up loving like a sister for the rest of the novel.

However, her hope that Ashley would leave Melanie for her never quite died. Something always happened that fueled her motivation to keep waiting for her lifelong love.

But, the war is worsening everything around her. Little by little, her world is taken away. Nothing she knew remained. The south was losing the war and with it the devastation was incalculable.

From then on, Scarlett becomes a fierce and sometimes ruthless fighter willing to do whatever it takes to hold on to what little she has left. She thus demonstrated it upon her returning to Tara where she became head of the family.

The hard events of the war and the losses were not only on the outside but on the inside of Scarlett too. Now the blows made her mature and she would have to make difficult decisions, which on many occasions would cost her total rejection by the society of the time.

Subsequently, Scarlett’s heart would be torn between an idealized love for Ashley and a powerful attraction to Rhett.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gone with the Wind

What is Gone with the Wind about?

Gone with the Wind is about Scarlett O’Hara’s life, framed in the Civil War of the United States. Scarlett falls in love with two men with whom she will relate in very different ways. One is her ideal love, the other is real and passionate love.

Where does Gone with the Wind take place?

The plot takes place in Georgia, one of the southern states of the US that participated in the Civil War. Specifically, in the cities of Savannah and Atlanta.

Who was the protagonist of Gone with the Wind?

The protagonist of Gone with the Wind is Scarlett O’Hara, daughter of a landowner from the southern United States and played by actress Vivien Leigh, in the only film adaptation, which premiered in 1939.

Who wrote the screenplay for the movie Gone with the Wind?

The screenplay for the film, based on the book Gone with the Wind, was adapted by Sidney Howard, who received the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay posthumously, as he died before the awards ceremony.