INFOKARA RESEARCH ISSN NO: 1021-9056

The Saga of Unrequited Love and Loveless Marriages of O’Hara Dr.P.Karthika Devi* Abstract: This paper, entitled, “The Saga of Unrequited Love and Loveless Marriages of Scarlett O’ Hara” throws light on ’s perspectives of love and marriage. The sad yet heroic tale of Scarlett O’ Hara opens up several points of contentions. The most important argument it raises is regarding the co-existence of love and marriage. It is obvious in the case of Scarlett that love did not lead to marriage and all her marriages were bereft of love. Love had a deep effect on Scarlett’s life and most of the time the aftermaths were damaging and left her devastated. This paper analyses the effects of love and marriage on the strong integrity of a woman and Scarlett emerges as a heady winner. Despite the oddities she revealed her grit to overcome the obstacles and at every unexpected dangerous turn of her life, she steers a new path for herself. This paper attempts to give a glimpse of the daring and persevering attitude of the bold and beautiful green-eyed Scarlett O’Hara to help every woman understand that she has fight her own battles and victory or failure in it is not altogether determined by love and marriage. They are far-fetched when it comes to the question of survival. Keywords: Scarlett O’ Hara, , , , Yankees, . Emily Bronte, the eminent English novelist, engraved in the minds of readers her opinion of divine love. In Wuthering Heights (1847), she reveals her notion of spiritual love through the words of Catherine. Cathy is inextricably in love with Heathcliff and while referring to her feelings for him, says, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same”. These lines elevate the emotion of love to a state of platonic relationship. While, this kind of an emotion is rare to find and most of the time it is clearly misunderstood or misinterpreted. Somehow, this most elusive and ever ethereal feeling of love is deemed as the most essential nucleus of marriages. Its presence can neither be proved nor is nullified. The strange quality of this abstract concept, ‘Love’ is time and again the central subject of literature and films. Several authors have dealt it from varied perspectives. Many have eulogized it and few have denounced it in their literary works. Most of the time, it is true that, the conclusions of the writers stem from their personal experiences. Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind (1936) was her debut and swansong. In 1936 she was awarded the National Book Award for the ‘Most Distinguished Novel’ and the following year received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Posthumously, it was declared that the chief character in Gone with the Wind, Scarlett was her alter ego. The names of the characters were named after her real life connections. Scarlett was named after Margaret and Rhett Butler was a derivative of Red, Mitchell’s husband. The flirtatious nature of Scarlett originates from Mitchell’s lifestyle of enjoying the company of many men but not seriously committing to anyone. Scarlett’s repeated failure in marriages is based on Mitchell’s failed marriages. Gone with the Wind is inspired by Mitchell’s personal love life and marriages and the novel has given a strong pungent to the character of Ellen Robillard O’Hara. Ellen as an individual is synonymous with grace and élan. In the words of Scarlett, Mother had always been just as she was, a pillar of strength, a fount of wisdom, the one person who knew the answers to everything. (38) As a French woman of aristocratic descent married to an Irish nobody, was fated to lose her former lover, Philippe Gerald to death and marry Gerald O’Hara. Several years after her marriage and raising her three daughters; Scarlett O’Hara, Susan Elinor O’ Hara, Caroline Irene O’Hara (and the three sons whom she immediately lost after giving birth) Ellen led a fruitful marriage and fought for the marriage knowing very well that the marriage was not a happy choice. The proposition laid by her to her father regarding her marriage to Gerald goes on thus, “I will do it. He is a kind man. I will do it or go into the convent at Charleston." This threat given by a daughter to an aged father, made the father grant his consent to the marriage plan rather going against it. Irony of Ellen’s marriage being that, after two decades of happy and fruitful married life, she succumbs to typhoid and she dies uttering the name of her cousin and former lover, Philippe Gerald. In the presence of her entire she unconsciously utters his name and breathes her last. This sends across shock waves to the already struggling life. It makes the readers feel that all along she had been living an unhappy life, pretending for the sake of the happiness of her family. Although Ellen’s life had been a peaceful and blessed life, the memory of her cousin had been etched on to her memory. She had to survive after his premature death and Gerald enabled her to carry on with her life. The sad story of Ellen was a handiwork of death that time and again ripped her away from her former lover and the three sons she had to return to Earth, right after they were born. *Assistant Professor of English, The Standard Fireworks Rajaratnam College, Sivakasi.

Volume 8 Issue 11 2019 2344 http://infokara.com/ INFOKARA RESEARCH ISSN NO: 1021-9056

Scarlett, the Southern Belle’s love life began too early in her life. Ashley Wilkes, their long-time family associate dwelling at drew her into a fantasy world. Even as a teenager she dreamt of a happy married life with Ashley at Twelve Oaks. The news of his engagement did not deter her from building castles in the air. A night prior to the announcement of Ashley’s marriage, she connives: Why, by this time tomorrow night, she might be Mrs. Ashley Wilkes! She sat up in bed, hugging her knees, and for a long happy moment she WAS Mrs. Ashley Wilkes--Ashley's bride! Then a slight chill entered her heart. Suppose it didn't work out this way? Suppose (67) The heightened expression of optimism seems so invalid when encountered by reality. The complete feeling of being in love is disrupted by the fear that she will lose Ashley to Melanie. This dream was interrupted by the certainty that Ashley will marry Melanie. The pain of an unreciprocated love is further mutilated by Scarlett’s forced stay with Melanie after Ashley entrusts her with the responsibility of taking care of a pregnant Melanie. Scarlett discharges her duty with devout and continues to adore him despite her widowhood. The vision of a gentle Ashley never fades from her mind. It is recounted at every opportune moment as: "Ashley is a very fine man," began Scarlett hotly. "I never said he wasn't but he's as helpless as a turtle on his back. If the Wilkes family pulls through these hard times, it'll be Melly who pulls them through. Not Ashley." (667) Clearly, Scarlett fell for the wrong person and ironically continued to crave for him. This unfulfilled yearning for him mislead to her three failed marriages. Each marriage gave her a child but no solace. Scarlett’s soft emotions were scalded by the way she was discarded by Ashley. This caused bewilderment to her in the choice of marriage. She married Charles Hamilton to provoke jealousy in Ashley. It was a momentarily decision and she never had an iota of admiration for him. Marrying Frank Kennedy for the second time was monetarily decision. The sudden demise of both these men caused her grief. The reason for the grief was that she was forced into mourning period. She grumbles the deprivation and is eager to escape not the tragedy but the compulsion to feel tragic. The death of both her husbands never pushed her towards sullenness. All that she had to worry about was to raise both her children; Wade Hampton Hamilton and Ella Lorena Kennedy. She was more concerned about shielding them against the ill-effects of the American civil war. She guarded and provided for them against all odds. As a mother, she cared for her children: Wade and the baby had been at Melanie's since Frank's body was brought home and she missed the sound of the boy's feet and Ella's gurgling.(766) Motherhood completed her sense of womanhood, whereas wifehood only reminded her of all that she lacked in life. It was a painful reminder. Rhett Butler left an indelible mark on Scarlett’s life not just as a husband but also the father of Bonnie Blue Butler. It sounded very strange to outsiders that as a couple they occupied two different rooms within the same house. Rhett readily fulfilled her whims and fancies and never restricted her thrifty ways. The tragic death of Bonnie tore them apart as couples. Rhett resorted to his odd behavior to escape the grief. The feeling of distraught was so severe in him and it steered him away from Scarlett. Rhett’s love for Scarlett was unparalleled to his love for Bonnie Butler. It was evident in so many ways and the entire town talked about it. He looked healthier and laughed more and was again like the dashing young blockader who had excited Atlanta early in the war. People who had never liked him came to smile as he went by with the small figure perched before him on his saddle. Women who had heretofore believed that no woman was safe with him, began to stop and talk with him on the streets, to admire Bonnie. (855) Bonnie transformed him into a sociable Atlanta gentleman. The distraught brought down on him was almost equal to the disgrace that descended on him after the demise of Melanie Wilkes. Rhett felt the acute pain of Melanie’s death and he was shrewd enough to realise that one part of his wife was still longing to be united with Ashley. The deep inner voice of Scarlett makes it succinct: She belonged to Ashley, forever and ever. She had never belonged to Charles or Frank, could never really belong to Rhett. Every part of her, almost everything she had ever done, striven after, attained, belonged to Ashley, were done because she loved him. Ashley and , she belonged to them. (780) After Rhett chose to walk away from her, with the parting line, that resounds loudly in the annals of literature , “My dear, I don't give a damn”, for the first time Scarlett begins to miss her husband. The idea of losing her partner drives her crazy. Still it does not toss her back to him. She shields herself with the

Volume 8 Issue 11 2019 2345 http://infokara.com/ INFOKARA RESEARCH ISSN NO: 1021-9056

consolation that Tara awaits her. Psychologists may interpret this choice as a form of defense mechanism. Yet, it is makes it evident that Scarlett never sought love in the form of warmth from a man. Ashley was a vision. A vision that was too flowery and syrupy to let go. Rhett was a reality that was by far difficult to ingest. She was stuck in between the boundaries of fantasy and reality. Love for Ashley left her crippled forever. This stunted her emotional growth and forced her to look for fulfillment of desires rather than fulfillment of love. Scarlett is celebrated as a fictional female character amidst women readers. She is adored for the gumption with which she struggled to find herself a firm footing. She never found love in her marriages but what sets her apart from other characters is that she was always grounded. All the tragedies put together, could not intimidate her spirits. Hindrances could never bog down her endeavors. She was determined to excel as a plantation owner, a timber trader and a custodian of the weak Melanie. The emotional strength displayed by her was beyond her slender frame and the delicate darling that she was known to be. The Southern Tara plantation is bound to echo Scarlett O’Hara’s fame for a reason and the reason being that Scarlett O’ Hara decidedly, concluded, “I’ll go home to Tara tomorrow” References [1] Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind. New Delhi : Fingerprint Classics, 2016. Print. [2] Walker, Marianne. Margaret Mitchell &John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone with the Wind. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 2011.Print.

Volume 8 Issue 11 2019 2346 http://infokara.com/