Rhett Butler, born in 1828, is a fictional character in the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and the 1939 film version of the story. Rhett is a character with many relationships in the story. He is described as a dishonest person and a gambler, and he is very wealthy. In the story, Rhett supports the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, and they meet many times. Scarlett first thinks poorly of Rhett, but over time, he gains her trust, and they marry. However, their differences in personality, a scandal, and the death of their daughter cause their marriage to fail.
The movie’s producer, David O. Selznick, worked to get an actor from another studio to play Rhett Butler. Many actors were considered for the role, but some refused. A deal between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Selznick gave the role to Clark Gable. Playing Rhett Butler is one of Clark Gable’s most famous and important roles.
Several stories after Gone with the Wind include Rhett Butler again. These include the miniseries Scarlett, based on a book by Alexandra Ripley, and the novel Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig. Another book, The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall, tells the story from the perspective of a slave. Musical versions of the story also show different portrayals of Rhett Butler, adding more depth to his character.
Role
Rhett Butler is a man who often acts with distrust, charm, and a tendency to tease others. He claims he does not have honor, but he respects people he believes are true gentlemen or ladies. He often thinks the worst about Scarlett, even though he admires and loves her. When they first meet, he says she is not a lady, just as he is not a gentleman. He teases her when she tries to act kind or ladylike, believing it does not fit her, and encourages her to use clever tricks, even though he dislikes them. He speaks in a way that is confusing and not always honest, causing Scarlett to misunderstand him. His teasing makes her doubt his true feelings, even when she can see them. He does not realize that Scarlett uses charm and sharp words to protect herself, not because she is mean.
At the beginning of the story, Rhett is first seen at a barbecue at the Twelve Oaks Plantation, the home of John Wilkes and his children. The story describes Rhett as someone from Charleston who was kicked out of West Point and is not welcomed by any respected families in Charleston or South Carolina. He is much older than Scarlett, who is 16, and is about 32 or 33 years old. He is known as a rich but dishonest person and a skilled gambler. Rhett sees Scarlett confess her feelings to Ashley at the barbecue and is immediately drawn to her boldness and beauty. He teases her about her confession, leaving her with a bad impression.
After Scarlett becomes a widow for the first time, Rhett gains her favor by giving her a lot of attention, even though he tells her he will not marry her and keeps her flirtatious behavior at a distance. She asks him to help her return to Tara with her family during the war. However, during the dangerous journey, Rhett kisses her and gives her a gun before leaving her on the road to join the war. Scarlett faces a very hard time without help, dealing with hunger, illness, and violence while caring for her family.
During the war, Rhett becomes wealthy by smuggling supplies and avoiding capture. Southern society sees him as an outsider, though some people are charmed by him. When Scarlett is poor and desperate, she asks Rhett for a loan of $300 (equal to $6,176 in 2025) to save Tara. After testing how much she would do to get the money, including offering to be his mistress, Rhett reveals he cannot lend her the money because he does not have enough cash. Scarlett is angry and embarrassed. She then convinces Frank Kennedy, her sister Suellen’s boyfriend, to marry her to save her family, as Suellen plans to leave them for Frank’s wealth.
Rhett is upset because he had planned to lend her the money once he was free. Later, he praises Scarlett for her cleverness in tricking her sister and taking Frank for herself. During this time, Rhett admires Scarlett’s ability to run Frank’s businesses but dislikes her strict and greedy ways, which make her unpopular. He does not understand her strong need to save money.
Scarlett’s harsh business practices lead to her being attacked in a poor area. When her husband, Frank, dies in a raid by the Ku Klux Klan, Rhett helps save Ashley Wilkes and others by lying to a Union officer he knows. Though he blames Scarlett for Frank’s death, he laughs at her fear of going to hell for her role in his life and proposes to the newly widowed Scarlett, saying he always knew he would marry her eventually and that she should marry him for fun and their physical connection.
Scarlett agrees, but only for his money. Rhett’s wealth is estimated at $50,000,000 (equal to $1,029,000,000 in 2025). He secretly hopes Scarlett will one day return his love, but he refuses to show her he loves her, believing those who love Scarlett suffer. Their marriage starts with loud arguments.
Rhett’s jealousy over Scarlett’s continued feelings for Ashley Wilkes causes problems, as does their low opinion of each other. Scarlett does not see Rhett as a gentleman or a good person and resents that he does not treat her as a lady. She does not believe he loves her and uses her idealized view of Ashley to comfort herself. Rhett dislikes Scarlett’s greed and the role Ashley plays in her heart, unable to change her feelings with his teasing. However, he deeply loves their daughter, Bonnie, showering her with affection Scarlett does not accept from him, which makes him feel even more distant from her.
In contrast, Rhett forms a warm friendship with Melanie Wilkes, Ashley’s wife and Scarlett’s only friend, whom he sees as a true lady. He often helps her and relies on her for support. He also continues his shady activities, which annoy Scarlett.
The Butler marriage breaks down due to scandal, the death of their daughter, an accident where Rhett causes Scarlett to fall down the stairs and lose a baby, and the death of Melanie, who asks Scarlett to care for Ashley after she dies and tells Rhett how much he loves Scarlett. Rhett believes Scarlett will marry Ashley now that Melanie is gone and ignores her claims that she loves him. Tired of the problems, Rhett leaves his marriage, searching for something left of "charm and grace" in the world.
Character
In the story, Rhett grows more impressed by Scarlett's strong determination to survive during the difficult times of the war. The book includes details about Rhett that are not shown in the movie. After being cut off from his family, especially by his father, Rhett became a professional gambler. He later joined the California Gold Rush, where he received a scar on his stomach during a knife fight. He cares about his mother and sister Rosemary but has a long-lasting conflict with his father that is never fixed. He has an unnamed younger brother and a sister-in-law who owns a rice plantation, but he does not respect them much. Rhett is the guardian of a young boy who goes to a boarding school in New Orleans. Some readers believe this boy might be Belle Watling's son, as Belle mentions him briefly to Melanie, and possibly Rhett's own child.
Even though Rhett was expelled from West Point, the book shows he is highly educated, mentioning works by Shakespeare, classical history, and German philosophy. He also understands women well, both physically and mentally, which Scarlett finds interesting but not "decent." Rhett respects and gradually grows fond of Melanie as a friend but has little regard for Ashley. He understands people, including children, and is a better parent to Scarlett's children from her past marriages than Scarlett is herself. He especially connects with her son Wade before becoming his stepfather. When Scarlett's daughter Bonnie is born, Rhett gives her a lot of attention, which Scarlett later stops allowing him to do, and he becomes a devoted and caring father to her.
Rhett chooses to join the Confederate Army only after the South's defeat at Atlanta, when he realized the war was lost. He has always believed the South would lose and never risked his life or money for the Southern cause, even though doing so early in the war might have helped create a new nation.
In the official sequels, Scarlett (1991) by Alexandra Ripley and Rhett Butler's People (2007) by Donald McCaig, as well as the unofficial sequel Winds of Tara by Kate Pinotti, Scarlett manages to reunite with Rhett.
Family
Rhett is the oldest child in his family. In Gone with the Wind, only his younger sister, Rosemary, is given a name. His brother and sister-in-law are mentioned briefly but are not named. In the follow-up book Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley, Rhett’s parents are named Steven and Eleanor, and his younger brother is called Ross. In this book, Rhett marries Anne Hampton after divorcing Scarlett. He reunites with Scarlett only after Anne passes away. Rhett and Scarlett have a second daughter named Katie, also called "Cat."
In the official prequel and sequel Rhett Butler’s People, Rhett’s parents are named Langston and Elizabeth, and his brother is Julian. In this novel, Belle Watling’s son plays a significant role. Later in the story, it is discovered that this boy is not Rhett’s son, even though he believed Rhett was his father.
Searching for Rhett
In the 1939 film version of Gone with the Wind, Clark Gable was quickly chosen by the public and producer David O. Selznick to play Rhett Butler, even though Gable himself was not sure about the role. However, Selznick did not have any male stars under long-term contracts, so he had to talk to other studios to borrow an actor. Gary Cooper was Selznick’s first choice because Cooper’s contract with Samuel Goldwyn included a shared company, United Artists, with which Selznick had an agreement to make eight movies. But Goldwyn did not agree to the deal quickly.
Warner Bros. offered to provide Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland for the main roles in exchange for the rights to distribute the movie. When Gary Cooper refused the role of Rhett Butler, he strongly opposed it. He said, “Gone With The Wind will be the biggest failure in Hollywood history. I’m glad it’ll be Clark Gable who fails, not Gary Cooper.” However, Selznick was determined to cast Gable and eventually found a way to borrow him from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Selznick’s father-in-law, Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, agreed in May 1938 to fund half of the movie’s budget in return for a deal: 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% of the movie’s total income.
Selznick accepted the offer in August, and Gable was cast. However, the agreement to release the movie through MGM meant production had to wait until Selznick International finished its eight-picture contract with United Artists. Gable was hesitant to take the role because he worried about disappointing the public, who already had a strong image of the character that he might not be able to portray.
Adaptations and sequels
In the 1939 movie version, Rhett Butler was played by Clark Gable. Although he was unsure at first, Gable later enjoyed the role. His performance, along with the film, was highly praised and is considered the most well-known version of the character. He was also nominated for Best Actor.
In the book Scarlett, which is based on a later novel, Rhett was played by Timothy Dalton.
In the musical production by Takarazuka Revue, Rhett was acted by several famous members of the group. These included Yūki Amami, who is now a film and TV actress; Yu Todoroki, who is now a director in the group; and Yōka Wao, who was a leading male performer in the Cosmos Troupe before retiring in July 2006.
In Alice Randall’s novel The Wind Done Gone, the story is either a historical novel that follows the original or, after a legal case, a parody. The story is told from the perspective of enslaved people.
In Donald McCaig’s novel Rhett Butler’s People, the story is told from Rhett Butler’s point of view.
In the 2008 musical Gone with the Wind by Margaret Martin, the role of Rhett Butler was first performed by Darius Danesh.
Reception
Michael Sragow of Entertainment Weekly compared Butler to James Bond, stating that both characters have the ability to think clearly, are skilled at persuading women who are uncertain, and are experts at moving secretly in dangerous situations. He also noted that James Bond's flirtatious remarks are similar to Rhett's clever conversations with Scarlett.