Young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a prosperous plantation owner, faces hardships in Margaret Mitchell's book Gone with the Wind. During the American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877), Gone with the Wind was written. Scarlett O'Hara, the primary character, is characterized as brilliant, witty, and willful yet uninterested in going to school.After being humiliated at Twelve Oaks, Scarlett is ashamed to finally run into Rhett Butler. Melanie, who is now her sister-in-law, steps in to salvage her reputation. Scarlett is devastated when Melanie becomes pregnant with Ashley's child.Atlanta is under siege in 1864 on three fronts. The Union Army takes it over from the Confederate States Army. Scarlett's father has gone insane from grief, her mother is dead, her sisters are ill with typhoid fever, and there is no food in the home.Suellen, Scarlett's sister, will abandon Tara after she gets married. Scarlett is offered money by Rhett Butler to assist her in paying off debts. She marries Frank Kennedy and takes over his business, which infuriates many Atlantans.Later, Rhett proposes to Scarlett at Frank's funeral. She first declines, but later she agrees. Scarlett starts to realize that she no longer loves Rhett after Bonnie's death.