Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

Victor ran down the stairs, followed by a black kid aged 6 or 7, shouting, "Master! Master!"

Manny followed behind the two boys in panic, but she didn't yell to stop the young master from running around.

Josephine did not allow the servants to shout and shout at Victor's behavior, because she was worried that his nature would be suppressed.Victor is a little over-steady kid, which makes him lose some of the "childishness" that a kid of his age should have.

Seeing his eager look and running around so recklessly now, I feel that he seems to have gone too wild all of a sudden.

"Mom!" Victor rushed over and hugged her leg.

"Oops!" Josephine pretended to be bumped and let out a soft cry.

Victor immediately said, "I'm sorry, Mom."

"It's okay, you are my mother's child, you don't need to say 'sorry' to me." She knelt down and touched his little face, "Miss your mother?"

"Miss you, miss you very much." Victor nodded vigorously, "Mom, you have to come and see, my grandfather gave me a pony, and Mr. Talent also gave me a pony, and now I have two Pony!"

He looked smug, earnestly looking forward to being praised by his mother.

"Then who will ride with you?"

He turned his head and looked at the black boy, "It's Damian. Damian is too stupid, he can't ride a horse."

Charles came in and picked him up, "Uncle taught you how to ride a horse."

Damian stood upright, "Miss, I haven't learned how to ride a horse before."

"Let Doug teach you."

The black young man on the side pinched Damian's slender arm and said mockingly, "You are too thin."

Josephine also glanced at Damian, "It's too thin. Nanny, let him eat more." The little boy's being too thin is nothing more than eating less and exercising a lot. Eating one more meal can perfectly solve this problem. question.

There is no shortage of food, not a little food for such a child.

After a month of separation, Victor seems to have gotten used to life in the southern United States, learned some English, and now uses English and French mixedly, but he still uses the more familiar French when he speaks.He babbled to his mother about what he did, where he went, and who he met this month. Because he was still young and his narrative ability was not strong, he couldn't help talking in a confusing way.

Scarlett then went downstairs, and stayed quietly watching their mother and son, thinking excitedly in her heart, Josephine came back again, does it mean that there is going to be a dance at uncle's house again?My uncle and aunt went out a lot during this time to choose my cousin's husband, and everyone in Savannah and Charleston knew about it.

There are many possible candidates, but there are not many truly suitable husbands.My aunt also took her out during this time, and explained to her what kind of young man is suitable to be a husband: first of all, one must have a good family background, preferably relatively rich, if a family has a farm and cotton fields, then basically You can’t be too poor. Pauline’s husband, Carey, is the lower limit standard. The family has a small farm, food and clothing, good status, integrity and loyalty; and then, a good personality, integrity, kindness, and loyalty. , it’s not a problem to be playful and active. Boys around 20 years old don’t know what they want to do. Playing is also learning, learning how to ride, hunt, and socialize. It will start to require them to become calm and learn to manage the family property. At this time, they are ready to become husbands.

The most suitable age for men to get married and start a family is between 25 and 32 years old. 35 years old is slightly older, but it is not a big problem. Older husbands will love younger wives especially, such as Gerrard and Ellen, although Emile didn't think much of Gerald, she still agreed with Gerald's absolute love for Ellen, and said to Scarlett that in the future, if someone can be like Gerald loved her as much as Ellen, and she must have been a happy bride.

Then we can talk about appearance. It is of course good to be a handsome man, but if the other party has a good family background and is loyal and reliable, then the requirements for appearance can be lowered. After all, beauty is scarce for both men and women.

The aunt also taught her some things that Ellen didn't understand, such as how to show her best side to men, her little self-willedness in front of her parents should be restrained, and she should flatter men, but not too flattering. Let them think that he is the most important in her heart.

Scarlett observed carefully, yes, my aunt is really good at talking.Let’s say that mother Ellen won the compliments from her neighbors because of her kind and beautiful heart, while Aunt Emile can say a set of words to everyone she meets, and she praises the ladies’ clothes. , children, grandchildren, as well as the garden at home, the cook's craftsmanship, and men praise their children, wives, and families, and the words are so precise that they won't even let the other party realize that they have fallen into her words .

My aunt always gets what she wants.

As for my cousin, she is still as beautiful as ever, and has not changed at all.

After talking for a long time, Victor was finally tired and sleepy, and fell asleep in his mother's arms.Lydia picked Victor up carefully and walked him upstairs to his room.

By now Charles had changed his clothes and went out, and he couldn't stay still.

Emile sent Scarlett away on the pretext of asking Scarlett to measure her clothes.

"Why is Scarlett still living at home? Aunt Ellen hasn't picked her up yet? Are Su Lun and Karin alright?"

"The two of them are already well, but they are still very weak. Tara has no shortage of food, but there is nothing delicious. I just sent some cocoa powder and fruit over to pick up Ellen. She hasn't been there for a long time. I've seen you, and I miss you very much."

"Are Suelen and Karin coming too?"

"That depends on how well they recover. Suellen is only thirteen, and not yet ready for a ball."

"Want to have a dance?"

"Of course. Ellen wrote to me and told me that Scarlett was also 14 years old. She had noticed a few boys in the neighborhood, but to be honest, there were not many of them, so she wanted to come to Savannah to see her." She hasn't been to Charleston for years, and if you remember some young son in Charleston, you can see him again—that Mr. Tarent came the other day and gave Viktor a pony Kedo, I said I made an agreement with Victor on the boat. I thought you went to the north this time, and you should have inquired about his family, right?"

"I've inquired about it, and there is indeed a Tarent family."

Emile was very interested, "Tell me quickly."

The Tarent family was one of the earliest Englishmen to settle in Boston. They came from three brothers. Later, one moved to New York, one to Philadelphia, and the youngest brother stayed in Boston. Philip was from Boston. The Lunt family.

Three branches of the Talent family continue to multiply, with luxuriant branches and many in-laws. They have their houses and farms from Richmond to Boston, but their footprints have never crossed the Nuanoke River in Virginia. They are typical northern giants. .

Emile hesitated, "This may not be good, your father will not agree."

"Mom, I didn't say I wanted to marry him." Josephine said lightly, "I just want to enjoy life without a husband."

Emile was at a loss, she couldn't understand her daughter's words, how could a woman have no husband?How could her daughter be a widow at such a young age?

After a while, she asked, "Did Mr. Butler come back with you?"

"No, he has something to do in New York, his own business."

"What about you? What the hell did you do in New York?"

"Do business."

Emile became more and more at a loss, "What?"

"Victor's father left some money. I bought land in New York and Boston, and I will build houses in New York and Boston in the future. If...the fight really breaks out, I want to take you and Dad to live in New York for a few years .”

Emile couldn't sit still now, and stood up abruptly: "What? No, no, your father is absolutely unwilling, he is a true southern gentleman."

"As long as you want to go, Dad will definitely have to go with you." The "sense of honor" of the southern gentleman is also something Josephine can't understand.In her opinion, "survival" is the most important thing, and nothing else is important.While staying in the south, there is a high probability that my brother will join the army as an officer, and then die in a certain battle. The Robillard family, which has only one son for generations, has no male descendants, and all the family property can only belong to her. But it's hard to say how much money the Robillard family will have.

She is not only thinking about her future family property, but also thinking about her parents and elder brother. War is always terrible, and people will die, but the overly proud southern gentlemen still think that the southern army is strong in fighting power, strong in soldiers and strong in horses, and unstoppable. Victory.

Such damned pride!

"It won't really start a fight, will it?"

"It's hard to say now, but we should be ready to fight. Mom, are you right?" She left the question to her mother to decide.Mother cannot be regarded as a very far-sighted woman, but a woman naturally knows how to retain her vitality and prepare for possible changes in the future.

Emile is different from the southern wife who was born and raised in the United States. She has heard of revolution and rebellion in France. Her parents have seen the French Revolution at the end of the last century. She has a little impression of "war" and "riot". Much better than typical Southern wives.

"Don't tell your father about this. He doesn't want to hear you say that our south will be defeated."

"Will you come with me? If you don't want to go to New York, we can go back to Paris, and you should also consider finding a lovely wife for Charlie in France." Josephine knows her mother's psychology well, and if she wants to say what she cares most about , not family property, not war, but her pair of children.

The author has something to say:

*I just happened to be reading a book about writing recently, which gave an example of "Gone with the Wind", saying that Tara symbolizes the old pre-war era in the South. In order to keep Tara as a "symbol", Scarlett gave up her love for Ashley and kept Lost his dignity as a "Southern aristocrat".I read the original book again, and the most criticized point of Scarlett is that Melanie proposed to Ashley to elope before she was dead, but she said this with a premise, it was Ashley who first said that he understood her He is a person who was abandoned by the new era. He doesn't know how to manage and drags Scarlet down.After saying these words, Scarlett should have more sympathy for him than love, saying that asking him to elope with her was also a kind of escape. She was infected by the atmosphere at that time and became fragile, wanting to escape the heavy responsibility on her shoulders.Fortunately, Ashley was not impulsive, so he sternly refused.In fact, I quite sympathize with Ashley's "sober pain and despair". If there was no civil war, he would be a typical southern gentleman, marrying Melanie and having a baby, and then dying of old age in his own Twelve Oaks. struggle.

Rhett despises people like Ashley who cannot be changed. He admires those who have not been defeated by the war and the new post-war era, so he also admires Scarlett later, but Scarlett’s way of doing things is too Yankee No, it's not "Southern elegant" enough, and he has nothing to say about it.