Will Benteen Character Analysis in Gone with the Wind

Will Benteen is an uneducated Confederate soldier with a peg leg who recuperates at Tara after the war. After he recovers, he stays at Tara to help out and repay Scarlett for her hospitality. Will listens to everyone’s problems and seems to know everyone’s secrets even though he isn’t one of the family. Scarlett is immensely grateful to him, as Will turns Tara from an overgrown wilderness into a humble working farm. Although he cares for Carreen, she is too brokenhearted over Brent Tarleton to entertain marrying Will. Will marries Suellen instead, having grown attached to Tara and wanting to become its new master.

Will Benteen Character Timeline in Gone with the Wind

The timeline below shows where the character Will Benteen appears in Gone with the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Practicality, Tenacity, and Selfishness Theme Icon

A soldier named Will Benteen arrives with pneumonia and has to be put to bed. He has a wooden... (full context)

Looking Forward vs. Looking Back Theme Icon

One day, Will, Scarlett, and Melanie sit on the veranda. Melanie has been happier since she heard from... (full context)

Looking up, Will sees a soldier coming. Scarlett grouses that hopefully this one isn’t hungry, but Melanie rises... (full context)

The Civil War and Reconstruction Theme Icon

...again why she and Melanie can’t join her in Atlanta. It’s bitterly cold. Scarlett hears Will return from Jonesboro and calls him in. Inside, he asks how much money she has.... (full context)

...won and turned Southerners into beggars. She thought her troubles would end with the war. Will says their troubles are just getting started. Scarlett is shocked to hear the taxes on... (full context)

...voting has to do with taxes and cries that they must borrow money from someone. Will, though, says nobody has money to lend. After a pause, he asks what they’re going... (full context)

Mammy sends Ashley and Will out so that the women can fit Scarlett in the dress. Will and Ashley look... (full context)

...She misses Tara and decides to visit in June. Then she gets a note from Will saying Gerald is dead. (full context)

The day after getting Will’s letter, Scarlett’s train pulls into Jonesboro. The train depot hasn’t been rebuilt since the war.... (full context)

...her, but Scarlett hushes him. Alex leaves, saying he’ll see her tomorrow at Gerald’s funeral. Will arrives in the same rickety wagon Scarlett had fled Atlanta in. She vows to burn... (full context)

Will says that Suellen needs a husband and children like all women do. Scarlett knows there... (full context)

Will asks Scarlett not to yell at Suellen because it won’t bring Gerald back. Scarlett thinks... (full context)

Will tells the story of Gerald’s death: Will was paying the taxes and fixing Tara with... (full context)

Will stops the wagon so he can finish the story before they get home. Suellen’s idea,... (full context)

Yesterday, Will continues, Suellen took Gerald to Jonesboro. She had made a deal with Hilton that she’d... (full context)

Will continues: Alex Fontaine saw Gerald in in a rage, and Gerald took Alex’s horse and... (full context)

...having no master, Tara looks good and the cotton is growing. Scarlett feels thankful for Will. She knows he is responsible for the plantation’s success, not Ashley. Tara is now a... (full context)

...the South. Mr. McRae, Grandma Fontaine, and Mrs. Tarleton—Gerald’s closest friends—are particularly angry at her. Will and Ashley talk in Ellen’s office about what to do about the angry neighbors. Will... (full context)

...Ashley asks if anyone wants to say a few words. Before anyone else could volunteer, Will rises. He says he didn’t know Gerald well, but in a few weeks he would’ve... (full context)

Scarlett finds Will’s common sense comforting. Will says every Southerner is like Gerald: they can be beaten from... (full context)

Grandma Fontaine says Will was really just trying to remove her and Mrs. Tarleton before they said anything disruptive,... (full context)

...looks at the portrait of Grandma Robillard with her breasts half-out. Grandma Fontaine asks if Will is serious about marrying Suellen. Scarlett says he is, and Tara is lucky to have... (full context)

After Suellen and Will marry and Carreen goes to the convent, Ashley, Melanie, and Beau move to Atlanta, bringing... (full context)

...goes, her napkin still in her hand. At the Butlers’ house, she bows to Suellen, Will, Scarlett, and Pittypat before going upstairs. She announces herself gently at Rhett’s door, and he... (full context)