Gone With The Wind: Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Summary: Remaining safely in Atlanta, we discover that Scarlett secretly reads Ashley's letters to his wife. The parts that Melanie keeps to herself were too much torment to Scarlett and she is intent upon learning if Ashley is in love with his wife. So far, her secret readings have not met Scarlett's definition of love and devotion. She is content that Ashley thinks of his wife as nothing more than a sister even though he unburdens his very soul to her. Ashley writes about his distaste for the war and how, even if they win, they'll still lose. Scarlett knows there is something she's missing in his letters and it's this quality that prevented her from landing him as a husband, but she has not yet figured out what that something is.

KatieBug's Response: This entire chapter is omitted from the movie.  I think this is an important part of Scarlett's character, we start to see her "put things off until tomorrow," as well as go to any length to buouy up her own theories.  It's also an excellent opportunity for the author to throw in some commentary about the Civil War.  She puts these words into Ashley's mouth, or rather letters, and has him lament the loss of their bucolic life.  He knows that winning the war will change civilization as they knew it just as much as losing will and life can never be the same.  Scarlett doesn't even finish reading the letter because she finds it boring and yet she is unable to understand why Ashley didn't choose her as a wife.  He wasn't lying when he told her that they were too different.  Here is the evidence for everyone, including Scarlett, to see and yet she is still blinded by her own fantasy.