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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Gone with the Wind, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Civil War and Reconstruction
Looking Forward vs. Looking Back
Classism and Racism
Practicality, Tenacity, and Selfishness
Women and Power
Summary
Analysis
That afternoon is the longest of Scarlett’s life. Melanie and Scarlett are drenched in sweat, and Scarlett waves flies from Melanie while Prissy crouches in the corner. Prissy smells bad, but Scarlett doesn’t want to dismiss her for fear she would run away. Melanie tries to be brave, but, as the day wears on, she starts to scream. Scarlett knows Melanie won’t survive two days of this, and she can’t stop thinking of the approaching Yankees. What if Ashley is alive and hears that Scarlett let Melanie die? As Scarlett tends to Melanie over the next several hours, she wonders if Sherman has reached Atlanta yet. Scarlett sends Prissy to get Mrs. Meade. Prissy returns alone: Phil is dead and Mrs. Meade is trying to bury him before the Yankees arrive. Melanie tells Scarlett to take Wade and go, since she’s going to die. Scarlett refuses to leave.
As the day progresses, Scarlett seems to develop a real sense of responsibility for Melanie. Although she mostly thinks of what Ashley would think if she let Melanie die, Scarlett is also disinclined to leave on her own. She realizes how alone she is. In this isolation, she starts to cling to Melanie without realizing it. Even when Melanie tries to release her, Scarlett won’t leave; she either relies on Melanie herself, or feels genuine loyalty to Melanie. Melanie, meanwhile, tries to show Scarlett her loyalty by giving her permission to go.
Themes
Hours later, Scarlett stumbles outside and slumps on the front stoop. She unbuttons her bodice and hoists up her skirt to feel the air on her hot skin. It’s over: Melanie is alive and her little boy is getting his first bath. Why isn’t Melanie dead after such a hard birth and no doctor? Exhausted, Scarlett starts to cry and soon falls asleep. Prissy wakes Scarlett later and says they both did a good job delivering the baby. Scarlett is angry: Prissy did nothing to help, and now she’s boasting. Scarlett thinks the Yankees can have all the enslaved persons. Scarlett leans back and asks some passing soldiers if they’re evacuating. They tell her they’re running from the Yankees. Scarlett is suddenly terrified. She’d forgotten about the Yankees.
Scarlett is physically exhausted, which is unusual for a well-off woman in this society—but Scarlett also doesn’t see the point in pretending things are fine and continuing to cover her hot skin. Scarlett has never had to lift a finger before, and now she has used all her energy. She also works harder than Prissy, reversing the roles of enslaver and enslaved person. Usually, the enslaved persons do all the heavy lifting, but Scarlett has had to realize that she can’t rely on anyone but herself. The hierarchical structure of society has been upended by the war.
Themes
Suddenly, Scarlett thinks of Rhett Butler. He insulted her, but he’s in Atlanta and he has a carriage. Scarlett tells Prissy to look for him, but Prissy is scared to go downtown when the Yankees might be there. She doesn’t want to look for Rhett in a barroom or whorehouse. Scarlett threatens to sell her if she doesn’t go. Prissy runs to find him.
Rhett Butler is the only person who can rescue Scarlett in this situation. He is only able to rescue her because he hasn’t joined the war. Women have been abandoned by the men who joined the war, but men like Rhett are still their protectors.
Themes
