Ashley Wilkes

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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. The character also appears in the 1991 book Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind written by Alexandra Ripley.

Ashley is the man with whom Scarlett O'Hara is obsessed. Gentlemanly and weak, he loves Melanie, his cousin and later his wife, but is tormented by an obsession with Scarlett. Unfortunately for him and Scarlett his refusal to deal with his true feelings for her ruins any chance she has for real happiness with the true love of her life (Rhett Butler). In fact, his inability to deal with this situation mirrors his response to most of his life. He claims that he would have freed the slaves that worked on his plantation had the 'war never come' but has no problem living the carefree life their work gave him. He does love Scarlett but does not do much to help her and once the war is over lives off her work and generosity. Time and time again she saves his family but he does little for her. The way he treats Melanie is almost worse. If he truly loved her he would be a man and tell Scarlett to get on with her life. Instead he does the same thing throughout the story: He takes the easy way each and every time a decision has to be made. He never rocks the boat and therefore never really does anything worthwhile either. At best he is the perfect example of how not to behave.

Bizarrely, the character and his romantic problems were inspired by a relative by marriage of Mitchell's, the famous gunfighter Doc Holliday.

The character was played by Leslie Howard in the 1939 film. Howard was reluctant to play the part, for it was the type of person he got no joy out of playing: Ashley is a dreamer, someone who never could take real life.