I recently finished reading a 1 million-word masterpiece, "GONE WITH THE WIND" by American female writer Margaret Mitchell. It tells a story that took place during the American Civil War. The heroine Scarlett O'Hara is the owner of a manor in a small county in Georgia. Her family owns endless cotton fields spread across the beloved red soil belt. Every day, hundreds of black slaves sweat profusely in the fields, and dozens of servants cook food and soup. This was also a common social scene during the slavery period in the South. Like the O'Hara family's Tara Manor, wealthy families in the county hold parties such as dances and barbecue banquets from time to time to enhance interactions between neighbors. The pace of life at that time was very slow. High-status girls would dress up as dazzlingly as charming dolls at home every day. In order to attract the attention of more men, they would not hesitate to spend large sums of money in exchange for grace and nobility. Silk brocade, dignified and elegant velvet shawls, and mink velvet shoes that middle-class girls can't even imagine, so that they can fly their skirts and streamers at the ball and show off their coquettishness.
She combines the noble and soft temperament from her mother's side with the passionate and unrestrained roughness from her father's side. A pair of eyes that are as charming and gorgeous as crystal emeralds, her skin is as white as any other, her waist is unmatched by anyone in the three counties, and her nature is to conquer others. She is willful and strong. Her personality, coupled with the charm that exudes from her body, has given her the ability to live in troubled times. All the men were attracted by her appearance. Even the gorgeous women who wore heavy makeup day and night couldn't help but feel jealous when they saw her. She was such a legendary woman. In her life, she had three marriages. The first husband died in the war, and the second husband was indirectly killed by her as a result of the political activities of the Ku Klux Klan. After all the misfortunes, she was lucky enough to marry Rhett Butler, who had always loved her deeply. Leiter dispelled all the haze of pain for her, allowing her to immerse herself in spendthrift days and enjoy the material happiness she had longed for. However, he could share her troubles, remove all obstacles to her livelihood, and make her smile happily, but he could not drive away the Ashley who had been buried in her heart for a long time. It was not until the end, when all the misunderstandings, misses, and sorrows were added together, and when he finally gave up on her, that he sank forever from her heart. Everything is irreversible, leaving the beauty alone to stay in the empty house. She finally thought stubbornly, "I won't think about it now. I'm going back to Tara tomorrow. Tomorrow, oh, anyway, tomorrow is another day."
She is a A tough woman. Just like what Grandma Fontaine said, the buckwheat stores water in the platycodon, and after the storm passes, it knocks down the empty and superficial wheat in its stomach, and stubbornly straightens its back after being bent down by the wind. In order to make herself happy or make a living, she did not hesitate to violate ethics and morals again and again. When she was a widow, she played waltz with Leiter, drove a carriage alone to do business while she was pregnant, and even killed a Yankee intruder in the living room of her home. who. Before marrying Leiter, she had been fighting alone with a sword. She stepped on the red soil of Tara and swore to God, "I will never starve again, nor will my family starve. Next year, the cotton harvested by Tara will be piled up." It has to be as high as a hill, with lots of money stored at home and endless money to spend. For this, I would not hesitate to steal or rob." She finally understood what her father said back then, only the land will be the same tomorrow. The truth of being. It turns out that she has always been so firmly in love with Tara who nurtured her. It is precisely because of the half-Irish blood flowing in her bones and the spirit of daring to fight in dangerous situations that she achieved a career that neither man was capable of with a little material foundation during the war. .
The story has always developed in a slow and extremely realistic plot, but it never lacks romance. This romance is taken to an extreme when Scarlet begins her marriage to Rhett. It is not difficult for us to see Leiter's love for her from between the lines - a helpless and heavy love. He went out of his way to amuse himself with interesting news and held her tightly in his arms when she had nightmares. He was originally a prodigal son who made a living by gambling on the ship. He was indulgent, indifferent and even a bit nasty, but now he was madly in love with a woman. It can be seen that under his cold appearance, there is a fragile heart that seems to be hard but needs care.
He said he couldn't stand her love for Ashley and couldn't accept the fact that there were three people lying in a bed that was supposed to be two people sleeping. He lacked confidence in front of Scarlet, so he had to often show indifference in front of her, which over time became an insurmountable wall of misunderstanding between them.
Ashley is like a Pandora's box to Scarlett, with gold and silver rims on the outside, making her dazzlingly beautiful. She never knew what was hidden inside, what kind of heart was hidden under such a noble and pure appearance. She imagined the contents inside all the time, but she didn't know that it might be empty or vulgar and boring. Ashley was full of temptations for her, but was just a box. Leiter, on the other hand, was more like a pair of shoes, not necessarily 100% suitable but indispensable. She could not walk without him. The most important thing is that he paid a heavy love for her, and there was a kind of romance that she couldn't understand.
Leiter said that if a person reaches the age of 45, he will eagerly want something that almost everyone has but never gets, and live like a noble rather than a gangster among others. Among his admiration and respect, there is a kind of symmetrical beauty of ancient Greek art. Coincidentally, this is the life Ashley pursued and had in his early years, and what Ashley lacks is Leiter's indomitable and adaptable spirit despite the baptism of war and smoke. If one day they both want to change the status quo and experience each other's feelings, I believe Ashley will have no chance.
The beautiful Tara has always been the sustenance of Scarlet's heart. After she suffered various blows, she was always the first to think of that place. It was always so peaceful and beautiful. Mother Ellen's voice and smile always left the epitome of holiness there. In Tara, she seemed to be more than ten years younger all of a sudden. She was still the same stunning, charming and arrogant girl. She didn’t have to lose weight to make a living, her beauty didn’t have to be greatly reduced to have children, and she didn’t have to worry about all the troubles and helpless things. She could be carefree. Live carefree and only for yourself. A tired heart needs a haven, and Tara is the harbor that blocks all the mistakes she has made. It is a peach blossom garden hanging on the horizon.
All Scarlet's happiness and misfortune stem from her willfulness and youth. She is a strong girl, and seeing other women getting close to men they love or even she doesn't love will arouse her aggressive nerves. If a woman is destined to live in troubled times, no matter how you restrain her, you cannot restrain her heart. Just like the soft temperament from Ellen that was born on her own face could not cover her charming green elf-like eyes. After all, she still wanted the whole world to focus on her.
Her love for Ashley is nothing more than the sun's love for the beautiful moon, and the child's love for beautiful candies. Just like the sentence at the end of the book says, if she had known Ashley, she would not have been addicted to him for so long and lost so much; if she had known Leiter, then he would not have left her. Because of her immaturity, the happiness surrounding her was broken one after another by her. After Melanie died, she belatedly realized that her pillar had collapsed for a second time, just as it had when Ellen died. When she realized that she should cherish it, everything left her again. The 45-year-old Leiter and the 28-year-old her have gone through a long period of suffering, but in the end they are like two straight lines with only one intersection, running towards different worlds after a brief encounter. However, as long as people still have courage, the world will not be destroyed. Tomorrow is always another day. She has created so many obstacles in her life, and she has overcome them all with courage. Therefore, in the beautiful tomorrow, no matter which day it is in the future, Leiter will definitely return to her side and wait for her.
I have been reluctant to open the sequel to this book. If this work is originally a tragedy, then what is the point of imposing a happy ending on it? Usually people who write sequels, such as Gao E's "The Red Mansion" and "The Immortal Sword", have distorted the author's original intention, making the original intention of a work distorted, and what's the point? Mitchell's work is a masterpiece that took ten years to complete. It does not need any sequel. It's a pity that she was such a beautiful girl. "GONE WITH THE WIND" is her only literary work. If she were still alive, , naturally I won’t be writing a sequel. Even if a good literary work does not have a happy ending, it will still be popular and remain popular for a long time. Usually people pursue sequels just to seek psychological comfort.
In terms of language translation, Mr. Fu Donghua's translation has many loopholes and omissions. For example, direct transliteration of names of people and places is usually better. Instead of imposing a Chinese surname and a common name for a Chinese place name, the Chinese is not Chinese and the Western is not. West, it is not necessary. His arbitrary deletions of certain paragraphs and his disregard and neglect of many adjectives and adverbs have greatly diluted the emotional color of the original work. Therefore, I suggest that when reading, you try to read the full translation or the original English version, and try to eliminate the language barrier. I think this will give you a deeper understanding of the essence of the work.
I think this work cannot be said to be a tragedy in the complete sense. Just like Scarlett said that tomorrow will be a beautiful day, Scarlett will never give up what she wants to do, and neither will Rhett Butler. It must be a complete departure. . .
Being willful and young made Si lose a lot...
Her love for Ashley is nothing more than the sun's love for the beautiful moon, and the ignorance of a child's love for beautiful candies.