If I were going to divide this all important chapter of GWTW into three parts, I would have to say that the third and final plot twist begins when Rhett orders Scarlett out of the buggy. Nothing he has done or said over the course of the last several hours has been remotely romantic. Of course there's that whole "coming-to-Scarlett's-rescue-and-helping-her-and-her-dependents-ride-through-a-war" bit and that's pretty difficult to ignore when all is said and done, but Rhett is so casual about helping them leave Atlanta that it seems as though sex/romance/love is the furthest thing from his mind. It's a very big deal, but Rhett plays it like it's something he would have done anytime and for almost anybody, and it's not too difficult to imagine him sort of randomly coming to the aid of any of the Atlanta maids and matrons in their circle. As much as the Meades and Merriweathers hate Rhett and his scandalous ways, I can imagine him helping them to safety almost as easily and logically as I accept the idea of him materializing with a horse and guiding Scarlett and the gang out of danger.
But he definitely wouldn't have ordered any of the Meades or Merriweathers out of the cart, and he definitely wouldn't have picked them up (shout out to my favorite motif!) and pulled them away for a kiss. The first time reader of GWTW has absolutely no idea what to expect from Rhett Butler, but we know for sure that he has some sort of weird attraction to Scarlett. He likes her a lot, but does he love her? And if so, what the hell does he think love means?
We know what love means for Scarlett. At this point in the novel (and for 99% of the story) Scarlett's definition of true love can be found in her adoration of Ashley Wilkes. She thinks about Ashley constantly and hates his wife just because she's married to him and wants to run away with him--although she doesn't really know what she would do with him if she ever got him. (*wink wink, nudge, nudge*)
But as the words speed by here MM makes it clear to us that Rhett's attraction for Scarlett is something of a mirror opposite of Scarlett's love for Ashley. While Scarlett loves Ashley in a way that only a teenaged girl can love her crush and hasn't even actually imagined what being married to him would actually entail (beyond a few chaste kisses, of course), Rhett's physical desire for Scarlett is the engine behind whatever feelings of love he has for her in this section.
Over the course of the first part of the novel, Rhett does voice his appreciation for Scarlett's figure and good looks, but he does it in a sarcastic way that leaves doubt about his true feelings. But it's a fact that he has noticed Scarlett's attributes, and since he's an adult male he knows exactly what he wants to do with her.
Mmmmmm hmmmm.
Well, enough of my explanations and speculation. Let's go to the good book (in this case GWTW and not the KJB) to flush out the scene that I consider to be a turning point for the entire story. I think it's a good idea to take Rhett's statements and actions bit by bit in order to get a better idea of what exactly is happening here.
1.) "I'm not asking you to understand or forgive...for I shall never understand or forgive myself for this idiocy." Can we pause for a moment and just sit back and enjoy the balance of that gem of a sentence? Southern writers are the best, aren't they? They can get away with rhetorical flourishes that sound phony coming out of my own typewriter....er, I meant my own MacBook. I buy this lengthy soliloquy from Rhett, but it would have sounded totally ridiculous coming out of Jay Gatsby's mouth, right? But anyway, it's interesting to note that Rhett is almost addressing himself in the third person here, like he's having an out-of-body experience. It's one thing for him to expect that Scarlett won't understand or forgive him for leaving her, but if he thinks he's going to have serious doubts about joining the CSA then...don't do it, bro!
2.) "I am annoyed at myself to find that so much quixoticism still lingers in me." It's important to note here that Rhett say's he's "annoyed" to find quixoticism in his psyche, but he does not say that he's surprised. It's there. It annoys him that it's there, but for all his cynicism and all his practicality, there's evidently still some part of his personality--the part that hopes and dreams--that he can't repress. Fascinating, particularly given the way the last third of the novel shapes up.
3.) "I could not love thee, Dear, so much loved I not Honour more...for I do love you, Scarlett, in spite of what I said that night on the porch last month." Wait....so, okay. On the night when he asked Scarlett to be his mistress, he only asked her that because he's in love with her. Now later on when they're married I buy his explanation for pretending to be blase because he's known Scarlett for almost a decade by that point and he's seen her in action up close. By the time the 1870's roll around Rhett knows Scarlett is brutal and selfish and all of that, but in 1864 there was no way he could have known the way she was going to turn out. You know what, Rhett? I call BS. I love you man, but if you really love Scarlett you've got a funny way of showing it in the beginning portions of GWTW. I'd be confused by your motivations, actions, and reactions by this point, too. I don't blame our girl for rejection you. You're out of hand.
4.) "His voice went on in the darkness and she heard words, but they made no sense to her. Her mind was tiredly trying to take in the harsh truth that he was leaving her here to face the Yankees alone. Her mind said: "He's leaving me. He's leaving me."But no emotion stirred." Yes, Scarlett darlin'. That's called shock. Yes, he's really leaving you. Because he's suddenly nostalgic or suddenly crazy or suddenly addicted to adrenaline and cannon fire, or suddenly so in love with you that he can't bare the thought of helping you travel the last few miles to Tara. It ain't right and it ain't funny and it's all messed up, but he's leaving you. For real. I wish I could say that this is your bottom and that things are only going to get better from here, but that would be a terrible lie. Sorry girl.
5.) "You don't want to change your mind about what I said last month? There's nothing like danger and death to give an added fillip...you would be sending a soldier to his death with beautiful memories." Well, well, well, well....
Well, well, well, well, well!
I enjoy GWTW the movie almost as much as I love GWTW the book, but not quite. And in my opinion this is one of those places where the motion picture failed miserably. While it's true that kissing Rhett is the last thing on Scarlett's mind in this part of the story, he does kiss her.
Call it foreshadowing or whatever, since his advances are clearly unwanted, but Rhett kisses Scarlett in this scene and she likes it.
She really, really likes it.
In fact, she likes it so much she doesn't even realize she likes it. She's reduced to merely recounting the scene without really letting us know if she's enjoying playing tonsil hockey with RKB. There's a "warm tide of feeling," she's frightened, and she goes limp. And soon afterward she realizes that none of the other boys she's known have ever kissed her like this. Oooo la la! In the movie it's pretty clear that Scarlett doesn't want to kiss him almost as much as he wants to kiss her, but that's an incorrect depiction of what was actually occurring in this section of the book. VL plays it like kissing CG is totally gross (which it might have been, given the dentures and everything), but Scarlett definitely doesn't think it's gross, does she?
6.) "'Sweet,'" he whispered. "'Sweet.'" Again with the repetitive statements, right? Maybe I'll have to explore the idea in the future that one of Rhett's tells is that he repeats himself whenever he gets nervous or turned on? I don't know. Either way, isn't it wonderful how MM contrasts Scarlett's experience of the kiss (fire, terror, warm tides of feeling, going limp) with Rhett's? She thinks this is the sultriest make-out session of all time, but Rhett thinks it's "sweet?" If this is sweet for him, then who in the hell is he kissing regularly--and how is he kissing them? Scarlett views this whole experience to be as spicy and unhealthy and wild as a Chipotle burrito, but for Rhett it's sugary and wholesome like a lollipop? That's a nice bit of characterization, and much more effective and believable than a lengthy discussion of their lives, isn't it?
7.) "Rage and hate flowed into her and stiffened her spine and with one wrench she tore herself lose from his arms." In later parts of the book Scarlett's "rage and hate" often seems misdirected. After they marry she's pissed at Rhett because she doesn't understand him and/or because he's not Ashley, but right here her anger is right on point. What the hell is he thinking leaving them all there in the middle of the woods like that? They almost play all of this for laughs in the movie, but what's so funny about leaving Scarlett and poor Melly and the baby and Prissy and Wade all alone in the middle of a war? I would have slapped him into next week.
8.) "They were right! Everybody was right! You aren't a gentleman!" "My dear girl....how inadequate." GWTW has remarkable dialogue, and the conversations between Scarlett and Rhett have a wonderful rhythm. Usually. Even when they're pissed at each other there's a lot of give and take whenever they discuss the world. But not now. Scarlett's exclamations are on point, but Rhett....inadequate? Inadequate for what, exactly? Note that he doesn't say "inappropriate" or "bitchy" or "worthless," but instead he automatically says that her words are inadequate.
Inadequate (according to m-w.com):
Adjective
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And so again I ask: Inadequate for....what? What was he expecting? What purpose did he have in mind? What does he want from her, and why is what she gave him (i.e. derision) so insufficient?
9.) "Prissy...try not to be a bigger fool than you are." This is my all-time-favorite Rhett Butlerism. It tops everything that came before it in the story and everything that comes after it, perfect and useful in all times and occasions. Don't be a bigger fool than you are. I have used that in many different situations and on many different people, including--and especially--myself. It's of course extra funny because it's his goodbye to the hapless Prissy, but it applies universally, doesn't it? We are all fools, but we don't have to be a bigger fool than we are, do we?
10.) "Now she remembered all the bad names she had wanted to call him but it was too late. She leaned her head against the bowed neck of the horse and cried." What an ending. Or is it a beginning? Rhett Butler's departure marks the end of the first part of GWTW, and Scarlett's loneliness at the end of this scene sets up the middle. The next third of GWTW is a total change from everything that has come before. Even on this last morning before Sherman conquered Atlanta, Scarlett woke up safe and well-fed in a mansion, for all that she had to help Melly deliver Beau, etc. But now her entire world has turned upside down and everything has been altered and there's no going back.
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