Gone with the Wind characters

Appears from the start

The willful, green-eyed eldest daughter of the O'Hara family of Tara, a cotton plantation in north Georgia, on the eve of the Civil War. Sixteen, beautiful, and accustomed to being the belle of every gathering, she is far more practical, sharp, and headstrong than the demure Southern ladyhood her mother has tried to instill in her. She is infatuated with the neighboring planter Ashley Wilkes and cannot accept that he means to marry his gentle cousin Melanie. Vain and self-centered but fiercely determined, Scarlett pursues what she wants with little patience for convention.

Appears from the start

A young gentleman of the neighboring Twelve Oaks plantation, admired for his grace, his learning, and his dreamy, cultured manner. Scarlett has loved him for years and is dismayed by the news that he is to marry his quiet cousin Melanie Hamilton. Thoughtful and honorable, Ashley belongs to an old, genteel way of Southern life and seems poorly suited to the hardships the coming war will bring.

First appears in chapter 6

A dark, handsome, and notorious guest at the Twelve Oaks barbecue, received coldly by respectable society because he was expelled from West Point and cast off by his Charleston family. Cynical, blunt, and amused by the airs of the planter class, he speaks openly about the folly of secession while other men cheer for war. He happens to overhear Scarlett's private declaration of love to Ashley, and from that moment takes a knowing, mocking interest in her.

First appears in chapter 6

A plain, soft-spoken young woman from Atlanta, cousin and betrothed of Ashley Wilkes. Gentle, generous, and unfailingly kind, she thinks the best of everyone, including Scarlett, who privately resents her. Beneath her frail, retiring manner lies a quiet and unshakable strength and loyalty.

First appears in chapter 2

Scarlett's father, a hot-tempered, big-hearted Irish immigrant who won Tara at cards and built it into a thriving cotton plantation. Loud, hard-riding, and devoted to his land and his family, he adores his eldest daughter and is one of the few people who cannot refuse her.

First appears in chapter 3

Scarlett's mother, the serene and dignified mistress of Tara. Of aristocratic coastal stock, she runs the plantation household with tireless grace and piety, and embodies the gracious ladyhood she hopes Scarlett will one day inherit.

Appears from the start

The formidable house servant who nursed Scarlett's mother and then Scarlett herself, and who rules the domestic life of Tara. Devoted, shrewd, and outspoken, she is forever trying to school the headstrong Scarlett in proper behavior.

First appears in chapter 6

Melanie's shy, earnest younger brother. Smitten with Scarlett, he is easily won when she encourages him out of spite over Ashley, and the two are hastily married as the war begins.

First appears in chapter 8

The fluttery, easily flustered elderly aunt of Charles and Melanie Hamilton, with whom the young Hamilton women keep house in Atlanta. Timid and prone to fainting spells, she is fond of gossip and comfort.

First appears in chapter 9

A mild, fussy, middle-aged merchant and cautious suitor of Scarlett's younger sister Suellen. Old-fashioned in manner, he runs a store and nurses quiet ambitions to expand his trade.

First appears in chapter 3

Scarlett's next younger sister, discontented and self-pitying, quick to complain and to envy. She regards Frank Kennedy as her beau and expects one day to marry him.