Looking for an evaluation of Ashley’s character in Gone with the Wind~~~

Ashley - a typical idealist

Ashley is the object of Scarlett's pursuit and the object of Melanie's support and support. Because he has a very close relationship with these two outstanding women in the book, he is an extremely important character in the book. Among the four main characters, Ashley is a typical fantasy. This character trait of this character can be analyzed in depth from the following aspects.

Ashley’s background.

Like Scarlett, Ashley was born into a manor family and also lived a pampered life. However, what is different from other southerners (including Scarlett) is: "His interest in reading, writing poetry and music are unique." From this point of view, Ashley is a person with profound cultural connotations. He is a complete gentleman, and it is precisely because of this that he is loved by Melanie, who is equally well-educated and has the same interests, and is appreciated and pursued by the passionate Scarlett; This is what makes Ashley unique; it is precisely because of this difference that it determines his fate in the war and after the war; it is precisely because of this that he becomes a typical fantasy ists lay the foundation.

Comparison of the personalities of Ashley and Byrd.

Ashley and Bai Ruide, one is a person with profound cultural connotation, the other is a courageous and resourceful businessman; one is an extreme illusionist, and the other is a realist. This can be seen from their understanding and acceptance of new things. Ashley's cultural upbringing enables him to view the entire war with the same keen and accurate understanding as Bai Ruide. However, his fantasy thoughts often make his understanding unable to have practical significance. This is the biggest difference between him and Bai Ruide. Regarding this war, what he cares about is not the actual significance of the war, but the fear that his peaceful life will disappear. He is unwilling to change the status quo, and he is unwilling to try to change it. He would rather keep his incomplete dream, He is also unwilling to welcome a new life; Bai Ruide is different. He pays attention to the entire war with keen insight and tries to earn more benefits through this war, thereby changing the status quo and welcoming a new life and new life. challenges. Just as Bai Ruide's realism determines his open character, Ashley's fantasy also destined him to have a conservative character. Compared with Bai Ruide who often plays with prostitutes, Ashley seems to be a much more gentleman, but Ashley's gentlemanly behavior is a manifestation of his maintaining the old things. This kind of gentlemanly behavior is external and hypocritical. His embrace with Scarlett and other outrageous behaviors were all carried out secretly and hidden, which reflected his hypocritical and cowardly character, as well as the contradictions and conflicts in his personality. Ashley's conflicting understanding of new things destined him to be only suitable for stability; it also destined him to be eliminated in the ever-advancing society.

Ashley's feelings for Melanie.

Ashley's love for Melanie is love in the true sense. Even though this love is mixed with other ingredients, it is purer and deeper than Ashley's love for Scarlett. Ashley really loves Melanie, not Scarlett. When Ashley joined the war, she earnestly asked Scarlett to take care of Melanie. When Melanie died, Melanie also asked Scarlett to take good care of Ashley in the same tone. This shows that this couple They have deep feelings for each other. There are three main reasons why Ashley loves Melanie so much. The first and most important reason is that Melanie is the spiritual pillar of Ashley's life. As Grandma Fontaine said to Scarlett, "If the Wilkes family can survive these difficult times, it is their daughter-in-law Melanie, not their son Ashley." Indeed, Ashley is not only Love Melanie, and also rely on Melanie, he will not escape from prison after being captured by the Yankees, nor will he re-energize after the disillusionment of the war. In fact, Melanie is very aware of her husband's strong dependence on her. Before Melanie died, Melanie repeatedly asked Scarlett to take good care of him, thus giving Scarlett the task of protecting Ashley. In a sense, this kind of dependence and protection may This is one of the great sorrows of Ashley's life.

The second reason is that Ashley was deeply moved by Melanie's own excellent qualities. Melanie's devotion to Ashley was so great that she gave her entire youth and life. Melanie's untimely death was also caused by her husband. During the war, when Melanie gave birth to her child, her husband Ashley was not around to take care of her. It was Melanie who survived the difficult period and planted the seeds for the subsequent disease. Can we say that Ashley does not bear any responsibility for this? ? However, Melanie didn't care about these. She fulfilled her mother's duty and gave birth to the child and raised him strong. It can be said that Ashley has too much gratitude and apologies for being in front of such a great woman. When Melanie saw Ashley and Scarlett secretly hugging each other intimately, she was still so tolerant, as if this had never happened before. With such a generous and caring wife, how could Ashley not cherish her? The third reason is that, as mentioned earlier, Melanie and Ashley are both people who read poetry and books. They have the same interests and hobbies. Therefore, they speak many different languages. It was something Scarlett couldn't give him. Combining these factors, we can roughly understand the reason why Ashley really loves Melanie instead of Scarlett.

Ashley's feelings for Scarlett.

The relationship between Ashley and Scarlett runs through the entire work, and the author also spent a lot of time on Scarlett’s hard pursuit of this relationship and Ashley’s escape from it. A lot of pen and ink is used to describe the narrative. If we want to say that Ashley's love for Scarlett is just a review of old feelings and envy of Scarlett's character. This kind of feeling is a kind of revisiting of old relationships because Ashley is an idealist who always finds it difficult to break away from the past and tries his best to maintain the past that no longer exists. It is said that this feeling is envy of Scarlett's character because Ashley knows that he is an unrealistic person and is weak when facing the challenges of life. Therefore, he envies Scarlett for being so passionate and passionate about life. The spirit of daring to fight. It is precisely because of the support of this emotional factor that Ashley sometimes behaves impulsively toward Scarlett, causing the appearance of Ashley's love for Scarlett. This also reflects Ashley's fantasy-like character that cannot completely break with the past.

Ashley is a typical representative of fantasy in the American Civil War. The contradictions and conflicts in his character and thoughts exactly reflect the struggle process between new things and old things. However, he prefers old things and has difficulty recognizing and accepting new things. This also destined Ashley's fate to decline after the war. He is just suitable to grow up in the peaceful era that belongs to him, but when the new era comes, he will become declining. He is happy because there are two women who love him. He is unfortunate because the two women eventually left him. His value and meaning of existence are only shared by these two women. Supportive.