Dilcey Character Analysis in Gone with the Wind

Dilcey is Pork’s wife and Prissy’s mother. Early on, Gerald buys Dilcey and Prissy from the Wilkes so that the family can be together. Dilcey is diligent and faithful, staying on at Tara even after the war. She is the only person who doesn’t complain about picking cotton with Scarlett in the fields.

Dilcey Character Timeline in Gone with the Wind

The timeline below shows where the character Dilcey appears in Gone with the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Gerald explains that he bought Dilcey, the wife of their enslaved man Pork, from the Wilkeses where she’d been enslaved. He... (full context)

...back. She hears Black voices. Pork comes into the dining room to introduce his wife Dilcey, who’s just arrived. Dilcey enters with her daughter Prissy, whom Gerald had also purchased. Dilcey... (full context)

The Civil War and Reconstruction Theme Icon

Practicality, Tenacity, and Selfishness Theme Icon

...and tells her to get news of the fighting in Jonesboro. Thinking of Tara and Dilcey, Prissy starts to cry. Scarlett sends her to the hospital with a note written in... (full context)

Looking Forward vs. Looking Back Theme Icon

...to meet her. Prissy says the Confederates are losing in Jonesboro, and she’s scared for Dilcey and Pork. Scarlett asks where Dr. Meade is. Prissy says he’s at the train depot... (full context)

...a “dutiful dog.” She asks him who else is here. He says only Mammy and Dilcey are here; all the “trashy niggers” left with the Yankees. Scarlett asks if there’s anything... (full context)

...speak of pregnancy, she says Melanie doesn’t have milk for the baby. Pork shares that Dilcey just had a baby boy and has milk to spare. Again, Scarlett muses that unintelligent... (full context)

Dilcey enters, holding Melanie’s baby and the whiskey gourd. Her dress is open, and the baby... (full context)

Scarlett finds herself alone in her moonlit room. Mammy and Dilcey undress her and bathe her feet. She is drunk and tired. She knows she left... (full context)

...that no one has left Tara. Scarlett decides to go to Twelve Oaks and send Dilcey to the McIntoshes, ignoring Pork’s warning that it’s too dangerous with the Yankees around. (full context)

...at Tara complains of hunger except Melanie, who tells Scarlett to give her portion to Dilcey. Her selflessness irritates Scarlett. Wade acts very strange, but Scarlett doesn’t realize he’s constantly terrified.... (full context)

So, Dilcey, Prissy and Scarlett pick the cotton. Dilcey works hard and whips Prissy when she is... (full context)

...with baskets of food, and Pork running with Gerald and two pigs under his arms. Dilcey complains that the sow bit Prissy and has trapped her under the house. Scarlett gathers... (full context)

...with them. Scarlett trusts “darkies” more than she trusts white people. She thinks of Mammy, Dilcey, and Pork who have stuck by her despite the promises the Freedman’s Bureau made them. (full context)

...marry and Carreen goes to the convent, Ashley, Melanie, and Beau move to Atlanta, bringing Dilcey with them. They move into a house with a backyard that connects to Pitty’s. The... (full context)

Scarlett opens the door and walks into the parlor. The tearful faces of Dilcey, Peter, India and Pitty greet her. India and Pitty come to her, but she snaps... (full context)