Rhett Butler (Born in 1828) is a fictional character in the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and in the 1939 film adaptation of the same name. It is one of Clark Gable’s most recognizable and significant roles.
Role
Rhett’s personality is that of a cynical, charming, and mocking philanderer. He frequently declares that he has no honor, though he respects those he considers true gentlemen or ladies. He often thinks the worst of Scarlett, even as he admires and loves her. During their first meeting, he says she is no lady, just as he is no gentleman. He often mocks her attempts to be gentle, kind, or ladylike, believing it doesn’t suit her, and encourages her scheming ways, even as he despises them. He presents a fickle and dapper front, saying things he doesn’t mean and causing Scarlett to misunderstand him. His constant, defensive teasing causes her to distrust his true intentions, even when she manages to perceive them. In turn, he does not recognize that Scarlett uses charm and acid to protect herself, rather than out of malicious intent.
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As the novel begins, Rhett is first mentioned at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes. The novel describes Rhett as “a visitor from Charleston”, a black sheep who was expelled from West Point and is not received by any family with a reputation in the whole of Charleston, and perhaps all of South Carolina. He is considerably older than the 16-year-old Scarlett, being about 32-33 at the time, and has made a name for himself as a wealthy scoundrel and professional gambler. Rhett witnesses Scarlett’s young confession to Ashley at the plantation barbecue and is immediately attracted to her boldness in breaking social conventions and her beauty. Rhett mocks Scarlett over her confession, which causes a lasting negative impression.
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After Scarlett is widowed for the first time, Rhett makes significant headway in gaining her favor by showering a depressed and isolated-in-mourning Scarlett with attention, though he tells her he isn’t going to marry her and keeps her flirtatious advances at arm’s length. She requests that he help her return to Tara with her family in order to wait out the war. However, partway on the dangerous journey, his convoluted convictions lead him to give her a kiss and a gun before he abandons her on the road in order to enlist in the doomed American Civil war. Following, Scarlett undergoes one of the most significant and traumatizing times in her life without support, facing starvation, disease, and violence as she becomes the sole support for her family.