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Table of Contents | Downloadable/Printable Version QUOTATIONS "Before marriage, young girls must be, above all other things, sweet, gentle, beautiful and ornamental, but, after marriage, they were expected to manage households that numbered a hundred people or more, white and black, and they were trained with that in view." - The Narrator. pg.57, Explaining the old southern attitudes toward females, which she says were actually fostered by the men themselves "Scarlett wanted very much to be like her mother. The only difficulty was that by being just and truthful and tender and unselfish, one missed most of the joys of life and certainly many beaux." - The Narrator. pg. 60, Scarlett's opinion of her mother indicates that she never had a real relationship with her. "IÂ’m tired of everlastingly being unnatural and never doing anything I want to do. IÂ’m tired of acting like I donÂ’t eat more than a bird, and walking when I want to run and saying I feel faint after a waltz when I could dance for two days and never get tired. IÂ’m tired of saying, 'How wonderful you are!' to fool men who havenÂ’t got one-half the sense IÂ’ve got and IÂ’m tired of pretending I donÂ’t know anything so men can tell me things and feel important while theyÂ’re doing it..." Scarlet. pg. 79, Scarlet realizes the artificial behavior girls are supposed to exhibit and scorns it. "Ladies have seldom held any charms for me. I know what they are thinking, but they never have the courage or lack of breeding to say what they think. And that, in time, becomes a bore. But you, my dear Miss OÂ’Hara, are a girl of rare spirit, very admirable spirit, and I take off my hat to you." Rhett Butler. pg. 120, Rhett Butler, like Scarlett, has little use for the mannerisms of his day. "The Confederacy may need the lifeblood of its men, but not yet does it demand the heartÂ’s blood of its women. Accept, dear madam, this token of my reverence for your courage and do not think that your sacrifice has been in vain, for this ring has been redeemed at ten times its value." - Rhett. pg. 198, Rhett explaining his return of Melanie's wedding ring. "Other people might call his utterances treachery but, to Scarlett, they
always rang with common sense and truth. And she knew that this was utterly
wrong, knew she should be shocked and infuriated. Actually she was neither,
but she could pretend to be. It made her feel more respectable and ladylike."
- Narrator. pg. 240, The Narrator giving
some analysis of Scarlett's awareness
of the difference between the way
she is supposed to feel and
the way she actually feels. "That’s why I like you! You are the only frank woman I know, the only woman who looks on the practical side of matters without beclouding the issue with mouthings about sin and morality. Any other woman would have swooned first and then shown me the door." - Rhett, pg. 341, Rhett praising and mocking Scarlett at the same time. "No, she could not, would not, turn to Gerald’s or Ellen’s families. The O’Haras did not take charity. The O’Haras looked after their own. Her burdens were her own and burdens were for shoulders strong enough to bear them. She thought without surprise, looking down from her height, that her shoulders were strong enough to bear anything now, having borne the worst that could ever happen to her. She could not desert Tara; she belonged to the red acres far more than they could ever belong to her. Her roots went deep into the blood-colored soil and sucked up life, as did the cotton." - Narrator. pg. 420, The Narrator showing Scarlett's growing realization of the importance to Tara. "I won’t think of it now. I can’t stand it now. I’ll think of it later." - Scarlett. pg. 426, Scarlett falling back on her favorite method of dealing with problems she can't handle at the time. "Hunger gnawed at her empty stomach again and she said aloud: ‘As god is my witness, as God is my witness, the Yankees aren’t going to lick me. I’m going to live through this, and when it’s over, I’m never going to be hungry again. No, nor any of my folks. If I have to steal or kill-as God is my witness, I’m never going to be hungry again." - Scarlett. pg. 428, Scarlett expressing her controlling motivation for the remainder of the story. Table of Contents | Downloadable/Printable Version |