MM begins chapter 15 with the abrupt statement that Ashley is coming home for Christmas furlough. And we are treated to a description of how Ashley has changed since Scarlett has seen him last.
"He was bronzed and lean now, where he had once been fair and slender, and the long golden mustache drooping about his mouth, cavalry style, was the last touch needed to make him the perfect picture of a soldier."
Oooooh la-la!
I love that sentence for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it's a run-on. I remember my crushes from my teenage years, and I probably would have described them breathlessly, in a similar style to this, if anybody had given a damn about my love life at the time. For me, this sentence highlights Scarlett's immaturity, particularly since Scarlett seems almost oblivious to the internal changes that have taken place inside of Ashley. Scarlett--via MM's narration--tells us that Ashley now has a "fagged, haunted look," and that he is "as alert as a prowling cat, with the tense alertness of one whose nerves are perpetually drawn as tight as the strings of a violin." However, Scarlett being Scarlett, she does not analyze why Ashley has changed so much since she's seen him last. She has no real interest in his alertness or the horrors of war or anything else that Ashley has experienced since he left Georgia. The entire world is changing around her, but Scarlett is so focused on Ashley and his tanned skin and delicious mustache, she doesn't have time to worry about the state of the Confederate Army or what 1864 will bring.
No, by chapter 15 Scarlett's concerns are much more personal and immediate, and that is why she is such a remarkable character. Although Ashely and Melanie have been married for more than 2 years by the end of 1863, this is the first time Scarlett has actually been forced to see the two of them as man and wife. As the movie demonstrates (and this is another great scene in the motion picture), once all the talking and welcoming-home comes to an end, Ashley and Melanie go upstairs and shut the door and...do whatever it is that married people do when they're alone together and haven't seen each other for a long, long time. Scarlett doesn't like the visual of the two of them sneaking off alone together, and, truth be told, I don't think the reader is supposed to like it either. Credit MM's awesome talent for misdirection for convincing us throughout the first 14 chapters of the novel that Ashley actually does belong to Scarlett. Scarlett is convinced that Melly and Ashley are nothing more than a brother/sister couple and the reader rides right along with this viewpoint. So it's actually pretty disturbing when Melly and Ashley happily tip-toe off to their marital bed, leaving Scarlett in the dark both literally and figuratively.
Then, of course, chapter 15 ends with the confusing kissing scene between Ashley and Scarlett. Scarlett sort of forces him to kiss her goodbye, but--you know what? Every time I read this part of the book I get more and more confused. Scarlett asks Ashley to kiss her goodbye, and you could easily make the argument that she basically jumps him in this scene, but if that's the case then...why on earth does Ashley immediately kiss Scarlett on the mouth? Rhett has only given Scarlett pecks on her cheek thus far, but Ashley kind of just..goes for it here. And he even "pressed her body close to his," which---
You know what? It's easy to think that Scarlett is childish and stupid in her devotion to Ashley. And it's easy to chalk up her assumption of Ashley's love as nothing but a delusion or whatever. But I also think that Ashley likes playing games. Scarlett actually tells him that she only married Charles Hamilton as a ruse and she tells him that she loves him, but Ashley doesn't respond to any of this at all. Scarlett probably wouldn't have listened to his words, but Ashley still could have said something to explain himself. But he doesn't. Instead he just shakes his head a few times, looks sad, and then heads back to the war.
No wonder the poor girl is so confused!
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