Rhett Butler
First appearance	Gone with the Wind
Created by	Margaret Mitchell
Portrayed by	Clark Gable (Gone with the Wind) Timothy Dalton (Scarlett)
Information
Gender	Male
Age	33 at the beginning of the novel, 45 by the end
Occupation	Professional gambler, blockade runner
Title	Captain
Spouse(s)	Scarlett O'Hara, Ann Hampton
Children	Eugenie Victoria "Bonnie Blue" Butler and Katie Colum Butler (Cat); stepchildren, Wade Hampton Hamilton and Ella Lorena Kennedy
Relatives	Eleanor and Langston Butler (parents), Ross Butler (brother), Rosemary Butler (sister)

Rhett Butler is one of the main characters of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. This is about the 1936 American Novel. For the film see Gone with the Wind (film Gone with the Wind is a 1936 American Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell Marsh ( November 8 1900 – August 16 1949) popularly known as Margaret Mitchell was an American Clark Gable (February 1 &ndashNovember 16) was an iconic American Actor nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" in his heyday Timothy Peter Dalton (born March 21, 1946) is an English Scarlett O'Hara (full name Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler) is the Protagonist in Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 novel Gone with This is about the 1936 American Novel. For the film see Gone with the Wind (film Gone with the Wind is a 1936 American Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell Marsh ( November 8 1900 – August 16 1949) popularly known as Margaret Mitchell was an American

Contents 1 Role 2 Character 3 Searching for Rhett 4 Adaptations and sequels 5 Historic basis 6 Butler family 7 Real-life Rhett Butlers 8 Popular culture 9 References

Role

The novel introduces him as the problem-solving pragmatist who is sure that the South cannot win a protracted war with the North. The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three His opinions, expressed in the parlor of a Southern gentleman's household, provoke the ire of many of his fellow Southerners and as a result, he is even challenged to a duel. Rhett gracefully takes a bow with the famous lines "I seem to have ruined everybody's brandy and cigars and dreams of victory. Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn — “burnt wine” is a spirit produced by distilling Wine "

In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the barbecue at the Twelve Oaks Plantation, the home of Ashley and India Wilkes. Ashley Wilkes is a Fictional character in the Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and the later film of the same name India Wilkes is the sister of Ashley Wilkes and the rival of Scarlett O'Hara in the novel and film Gone with the Wind. The novel describes Rhett as "a visitor from Charleston;" a black sheep, he was kicked out of West Point and he is not accepted by any family with repute in the whole of Charleston, and perhaps all of South Carolina. Charleston is a city in Charleston county in the US state of South Carolina. Black sheep is an English language Idiom which describes an odd or disreputable member of a group especially within one's family "USMA" redirects here For other uses see USMA (disambiguation The United States Military Academy (also known as USMA, When Scarlett O'Hara, who was at the Twelve Oaks party where Rhett was introduced, hears of this, she is shocked and intrigued at the same time. Scarlett O'Hara (full name Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler) is the Protagonist in Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 novel Gone with Rhett's enthrallment with Scarlett begins when he overhears her declaration of love for Ashley in the library while the rest of the "proper" girls are taking a nap in the late afternoon to prepare for the dance that would take place later that evening. He recognizes that she's willful and spirited, and also that they're alike in many ways, including their disgust with the impending, and later ongoing, war with the Yankees.

They meet again when Scarlett has already lost her first husband, Charles Hamilton, while she's staying with Charles' sister Melanie and their Aunt Pittypat in Atlanta during the war. Rhett, the dashing blockade runner, shocks the entire charity ball that was being thrown to raise money for the confederate troops, by asking to dance with Scarlett, who is now a widow, something that was heresy in the Antebellum South. " Antebellum " is an expression derived from Latin that means "before war" ( ante, "before" and bellum

Rhett seemingly ruins Scarlett's reputation after this very public display of frivolity and Scarlett's father, Gerald O'Hara, comes to speak to Rhett and to take Scarlett back to Tara. Tara, the Fictional Plantation found in Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, was located near Jonesborough (now However, Rhett, blackguard that he is, gets Gerald intoxicated and he and Rhett come to terms, so to speak. Gerald returns to Tara and Scarlett remains in Atlanta.

As the Yankees advance towards Atlanta, Scarlett stays behind to help deliver Melanie's baby and then must depend on Rhett to get them out of the city. Once they have fled Atlanta, Rhett joins the Confederate soldiers for their one last stand against General Sherman. Scarlett couldn't understand why Rhett chose to ally himself at the moment when the Confederate cause had failed.

After a great many months, Scarlett returns to Atlanta, this time to solicit money from Rhett to save Tara from being stolen out from under her, only to learn from Aunt Pitty that he was in military jail, imprisoned by the Yankees for stealing the Confederate gold. Tara, the Fictional Plantation found in Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, was located near Jonesborough (now Scarlett comes waltzing in, supposedly horrified that Rhett's life was in danger, all the while maneuvering him to give her money for the plantation. When Rhett sees through her ploy, he laughs in her face, in which case Scarlett flees, only to be confronted by Belle, a prostitute who enjoyed keeping company with Rhett. Disgusted with how low she's sunk, she's on her way back to Aunt Pittypat's when she meets Frank Kennedy, her sister Sue Ellen's beau. Learning that Frank has done very well for himself, she plies him with affection and finally secures a marriage proposal, to which she accepts, thereby securing Tara's future indefinitely.

Two weeks later, Scarlett is shocked when she sees Rhett Butler while she's running Frank's store, free from the Yankees and amused that she has rushed into yet another marriage with a man that she doesn't love, much less the fact that she stole him right out from under her sister's nose.

After Frank Kennedy is killed during a Ku Klux Klan raid on the shanty town after Scarlett is attacked, Rhett saves the lives of Ashley Wilkes and several others by alibiing them to the Yankee captain, a man with whom Rhett has played cards on several occasions. Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are Shanty towns (also called Squatter camps or Favelas are settlements (sometimes illegal or unauthorized of impoverished people who live in improvised

While Scarlett is torn with guilt of causing the death of her second husband, Rhett appears and offers a marriage proposal, promising to give her everything. Scarlett accepts for the money while Rhett secretly hopes that Scarlett will eventually return the love he's had since the day he saw her at Twelve Oaks. Her continuing affection for Ashley Wilkes becomes a problem for the couple, however. When their daughter, Bonnie, falls off a pony and dies, the tragedy causes a rift between the two which is impossible to bridge. Rhett eventually leaves because he knows he has to get away from Scarlett. Her confession of love is something that Rhett seems to have expected from the moment he first saw her breathless face when she rushes to him. He knows that Scarlett could never be happy with Ashley and when she discovers that, he does not want to be around when she throws her obsession onto him. When he finally gets Scarlett's love, he is not happy and leaves with his famous Parthian shot that has since been immortalized: " Frankly My dear, I don't give a damn. The Parthian shot was a military tactic employed by the Parthians, an ancient Iranian people. "

Character

In the course of the novel, Rhett becomes increasingly enamored with Scarlett's sheer will to survive in the chaos surrounding the war. Will, or willpower is a philosophical concept that is defined in several different ways The novel contains several pieces of information about him that do not appear in the film. After being disowned by his family he became a professional gambler, and at one point was involved in the California Gold Rush, where he ended up getting a scar on his stomach in a knife fight. He seems to love his mother and his sister Rosemary but has an adversarial relationship with his father. He also has a younger brother who owns a rice plantation and is never named. Rhett is the guardian of a little boy who goes attends boarding school in New Orleans; it is speculated among readers that this boy is Belle Watling's son, and perhaps Rhett's illegitimate son as well.

Despite being thrown out of West Point, the Rhett of the novel is obviously very well-educated, referencing everything from Shakespeare to classical history to German philosophy. He has an understanding of human nature that the obtuse Scarlett never does, and at several points provides insightful perspectives on other characters. He also has an extensive knowledge of women, both physically and psychologically, which Scarlett does not consider to be "decent". Rhett's understanding of human nature extends to children, and he is a much better parent to Scarlett's children from her previous marriages than she is herself; he has a particular affinity with her son Wade, even before Wade is his stepson. When Bonnie is born Rhett showers her with the attention that Scarlett will no longer allow him to give to her and is a devoted father.

Like Thomas Sutpen from Absalom, Absalom!, Rhett decides to join in the Southern cause, but unlike his fellow Confederate, Ashley Wilkes, Rhett is not spiritually paralyzed by the South's loss. Thomas Sutpen is the Protagonist of William Faulkner 's 1936 novel Absalom Absalom!. The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861

In a sequel, Scarlett, written by Alexandra Ripley, Scarlett finally succeeds in getting Rhett back. Scarlett is a novel written in 1991 by Alexandra Ripley as a sequel to Margaret Mitchell 's Gone with the Wind Alexandra Ripley, née Braid ( January 8, 1934 - January 10, 2004) was an American writer best known as the author of

Searching for Rhett

In the 1939 film version of Gone with the Wind, for the role of Rhett Butler, Clark Gable was an almost immediate favorite for both the public and producer David O. Selznick (except for Gable himself). Clark Gable (February 1 &ndashNovember 16) was an iconic American Actor nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" in his heyday David O Selznick, born David Selznick ( May 10, 1902 &ndash June 22, 1965) was one of the iconic Hollywood producers But as Selznick had no male stars under long-term contract, he needed to go through the process of negotiating to borrow an actor from another studio. Gary Cooper was thus Selznick's first choice, because Cooper's contract with Samuel Goldwyn involved a common distribution company, United Artists, with which Selznick had an eight-picture deal. Frank James “Gary” Cooper (May 7 &ndashMay 13) was an American film actor and iconic star Samuel Goldwyn ( ca. July 1879 &ndash 31 January 1974) was an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award -winning producer This article is about the film studio Previously it was affiliated with a cinema chain bearing its name now owned by Regal Entertainment Group. However, Goldwyn remained noncommittal in negotiations. ^[1] Warner Bros. offered a package of Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland for the lead roles in return for the distribution rights. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5 1908 – October 6 1989 was an American actress of Film, Television and Theatre. Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn ( June 20, 1909 &ndash October 14, 1959) was an Australian Film Actor, most Olivia Mary de Havilland (born July 1, 1916) is a two-time Academy Award -winning actress. When Gary Cooper turned down the role for Rhett Butler, he was passionately against it. He is quoted saying, "Gone With The Wind is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history. I’m glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling flat on his nose, not Gary Cooper". ^[2][3] But by then Selznick was determined to get Clark Gable, and eventually found a way to borrow him from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Selznick's father-in-law, MGM chief Louis B. Mayer, offered in May 1938 to fund half of the movie's budget in return for a powerful package: 50% of the profits would go to MGM, the movie's distribution would be credited to MGM's parent company, Loew's, Inc., and Loew's would receive 15 percent of the movie's gross income. Louis Burt Mayer (born Lazar Meir July 4, 1884 &ndash October 29, 1957) was an early Film producer, most Loews Theatres, aka Loews Incorporated, founded in 1904 by Marcus Loew, was the oldest theater chain operating in North America until it merged with Gross income is commonly defined as the amount of a Company 's or a Person 's income before all deductions or any taxpayer’s income except that which is specifically Selznick accepted this offer in August, and Gable was cast. But the arrangement to release through MGM meant delaying the start of production until Selznick International completed its eight-picture contract with United Artists. Gable was reluctant to play the role. At the time, he was wary of potentially disappointing a public who had decided no one else could play the part. Rhett was a hero.

Adaptations and sequels

In the 1939 film adaptation, Rhett was played by Clark Gable. This is about the 1936 American Novel. For the film see Gone with the Wind (film Gone with the Wind is a 1936 American Clark Gable (February 1 &ndashNovember 16) was an iconic American Actor nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" in his heyday

In the Scarlett TV mini-series produced in 1994 (based on the above sequel novel), Rhett was played by Timothy Dalton. Scarlett is a novel written in 1991 by Alexandra Ripley as a sequel to Margaret Mitchell 's Gone with the Wind A miniseries (also mini-series) in a serial Storytelling medium is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes Timothy Peter Dalton (born March 21, 1946) is an English

In the musical production by Takarazuka Revue, Rhett had been played by several top stars of the group, including Yuki Amami (currently a film/TV actress), Yu Todoroki (currently one of the directors of the group) and Youka Wao (former leading male role of the Cosmo Troup that retired from the group in July 2006). The Takarazuka Revue (宝塚歌劇団 Takarazuka Kagekidan) is a Japanese all- Female musical theater in the city of Takarazuka Japan is a Japanese Actress. Her real name is She joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1987 and retired in 1995 and was the youngest actress in the Company's history to be cast in Yu Todoroki (轟 悠 Todoroki Yū) is a current member of Takarazuka Revue, where she plays an otokoyaku is a Japanese performing artist and a former member of the Takarazuka Revue, where she specialized in playing male characters ( Otokoyaku) Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

In the Margaret Martin musical Gone With The Wind, the role of Rhett Butler was originated by Darius Danesh. Gone With The Wind is a musical based on the famous book of the same name, with music and lyrics by Margaret Martin and a book by Martin adapted by Sir Darius Danesh ( born 19 August 1980 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a platinum-selling recording artist Songwriter, and West

Alice Randall's The Wind Done Gone is either a parallel historical novel, or (after litigation) a parody. Alice Randall (born Detroit Michigan) is an American author and Songwriter. The Wind Done Gone ( 2001) is the first Novel written by Alice Randall. It is told from the slave point of view.

Donald McCaig's novel Rhett Butler's People is told from Rhett Butler's perspective. Donald McCaig (born 1940 in Butte Montana) is an American Novelist, Poet and Essayist. Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig is an authorized sequel to Gone with the Wind.

Historic basis

On April 4, 1989, Dr. E. Lee Spence, an internationally known shipwreck expert, archaeologist, and historian, from Charleston, South Carolina, announced his discovery that Margaret Mitchell, who had claimed that her Pulitzer Prize winning novel Gone With The Wind was pure fiction, had actually taken much of her compelling story of love, greed and war from real life^[4] and that Mitchell had actually based Rhett Butler on the life of George Alfred Trenholm, a tall, handsome shipping and banking magnate from Charleston, South Carolina, who had made millions of dollars from blockade running, was accused of making off with much of the Confederate treasury, and had been thrown into prison after the Civil War. Edward Lee Spence (born 1947 in Germany is a pioneer in Underwater archaeology who studies Shipwrecks and Sunken treasure. Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell Marsh ( November 8 1900 – August 16 1949) popularly known as Margaret Mitchell was an American The Pulitzer Prize, ˈpʊlɨtsɚ PULL-it-sər is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in Newspaper journalism, George Alfred Trenholm ( February 25, 1807 &ndash December 9, 1876) was a prominent politician in the Confederate States of America Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man itself from Latin magnus 'great' designates a noble or other man in a high social position A blockade runner is a term applied to ships used to evade a naval Blockade of a harbor or strait as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade ^[5][6] Spence's literary discovery that had its roots in his prior discoveries of some of Trenholm's wrecked blockade runners made international news. ^[7]

In his book, Treasures of the Confederate Coast: The "Real Rhett Butler" and Other Revelations, Dr. Spence reveals what the editors of Life magazine called "overwhelming evidence" that Trenholm was the historical basis for Mitchell's romantic sea captain. George Alfred Trenholm ( February 25, 1807 &ndash December 9, 1876) was a prominent politician in the Confederate States of America Spence's book gives a compelling case that Mitchell had falsely claimed Rhett was pure fiction. ^[8]

According to Dr. Spence's research, Trenholm had been on the verge of bankruptcy at the outbreak of hostilities, yet by the end of the Civil War controlled over sixty large steamers and numerous sailing ships. His amazingly successful blockade-running ventures had earned him today's equivalent of well over $1 billion in gold, making him both fabulously wealthy and enormously powerful. Trenholm's ships sailed out of the ports of Charleston, South Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and New York City.

Mitchell wrote that Atlanta believed Rhett had made off with the gold of the Confederate Treasury, an improbable feat for the captain of a ship. However, unlike Rhett, Trenholm was not just a ship's captain. By the end of the Civil War, he was not only the South's most successful blockade runner, but also Treasurer of the Confederacy. When the government gold and the jewels entrusted to the Treasury by banks and private citizens disappeared, many believed Trenholm had stolen it.

After the Civil War, both men were arrested and threatened with execution. Both had much younger women visit them in jail and both men tried to comfort them as the women shed tears over the men's proposed fate. Both women were from good families and were widows of Confederate officers. Each had a reputation for being "fast", but was still received in society. In fact, when Trenholm's lady friend was introduced to the famed novelist Lord Thackeray at a party, he insulted her by saying that he had been looking forward to meeting her because he had heard she was the "fastest" lady received in society. She returned the insult by saying that they had both been misinformed because she had been told he was a "gentleman. "

See George Alfred Trenholm for a more detailed account of the ties between George Trenholm and Rhett Butler. George Alfred Trenholm ( February 25, 1807 &ndash December 9, 1876) was a prominent politician in the Confederate States of America

Butler family

The butler family was, in fact, one of the great aristocratic families of Charleston, with several ancestors playing part in the very founding days of the city (whereas a number of other such families, e. g. the Ansons, the Bennetts, and the Lucases, arrived slightly later in the colony's history). The butlers are still prominent today.

Real-life Rhett Butlers

Likely due in large part to the popularity of Gone with the Wind, there are nearly 6000 people named Rhett in the United States, according to the United States Bureau of the Census. Real Rhett Butlers range from an acoustic guitarist in Texas to Rhett Ayers Butler, founder of mongabay.com, an environmental science web site, to a 2006 World Series of Poker final table poker millionaire. The 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events with regular play commencing on June 26 with Poker is a type of Card game in which players bet on the value of the card combination (" hand " in their possession by placing a bet into

Rhett Butler is also a Senior Account Executive for Intelligent Decisions, Inc.

Rhett Butler is also a self made millionare who lives in Kalamazoo, MI. He has opened several pubs in and around the campus of Western Michigan University.

Cpl. Rhett A. Butler, 22, of Fort Worth, TX, died July 20, 2007 of wounds suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Khan Bani Sa’d, Iraq. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. He was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, WA. ^[9]

There are about seventy-eight telephone listings for Rhett Butler in the United States. ^[10]

Popular culture

Rhett the Boston Terrier is also the name of Boston University's mascot. Rhett is the official costumed Mascot of the Boston University Terriers and has been the BU mascot since 1922 For similarly-named academic institutions see Education in Boston MA. He is so named because the school's colors are white and scarlet, and as the BU website states, "No one loves Scarlett more than Rhett. "

References

---

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic