Abstract

Gone with the Wind，the only novel written by Margaret Mitchell, is one of the greatest bestselling novels in history. It not only depicts the twisty love story of the heroine Scarlet, but also presents an epic reflecting how southern values towards whether marriage or life change after the American Civil War. 

In Gone with the Wind, the old South was gradually tumbling down though the old South belief was still rooted in Southerners’ hearts. Meanwhile, new values were penetrating people’s life spontaneously, liberating old South’s stubborn minds. Would the southern traditions change or not and how were they changing? After analyzing the novel, we can tell the southern values reconstructed under the banner of new capitalist values, which made the South take on a new look. Meanwhile, it was mingled by the southern traditions that had a place in the reconstruction.

To our understanding from the novel, the southern traditions embodied pride, loyalty, responsibility, male-dominance, hierarchy, which were challenged by money-orientation, feminine consciousness, equality and so on in the Reconstruction era. This thesis will analyze how southern values reconstruct after the Civil War in Gone with the Wind, so that readers will have a better understanding of the New South in America.

Keyword: Gone with the Wind; southern values；reconstruction; change

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Margaret Mitchell and Gone with the Wind-1

1.2 Literature Review-1

2. Mainstream Values of the South-2

3. The Penetrating of New Values-3

3.1 The Fading of the Concept of Status-3

3.2 The Rise of the Worship of Money-3

3.3 Feminine Consciousness-4

3.4 The Structure of the Novel-6

4. The Seeking of Southern Traditions-7

4.1 The Seeking of Scarlet-7

4.2 The Seeking of Rhett-8

5. Conclusion-8

References-9