Story Of The Stone

Cáo Xuěqín’s “Story of the Stone” or “Dream of the Red Chamber” incorporates several themes, all of which are reflective of traditional Chinese culture. This is probably one of the reasons why it is the greatest among the “Four Great Classical Novels.” This essay will focus on the role of the female protagonists in the novel, as there are several female characters whose roles and characters are different from each other. In particular, the two females who are vying for the attention of Baoyu. Their stories and the conflicts around the intimacy, passion, and love of these three main characters form the center of the novel. This text will be analyzed in conjunction with “Ying-ying’s Story,” written by Yuan Zhen sometime between the period of …show more content…
These women are both his first cousins, and they both experience romantic feelings for Baoyu. Their personalities, however, are exact opposites of one another. While Daiyu is emotionally fragile and lonely, Baochai is smart, beautiful, and reserved. In terms of their intellectual skills, Daiyu is a poet and musician, whereas Baochai does not really exhibit her full potential. As for their looks, both of the females are beautiful, though Daiyu has more of a non-traditional beauty. She is sickly, which means she is more likely to be thin or petite. Baochai, on the other hand, is described as being voluptuous and having fair skin and a beautiful face. It seems that Daiyu and Baochai are everything each other is not. On the contrary, the female protagonist of Yuan Zhen’s “Ying-ying’s Story” is Ying-ying herself. Ying-ying is described as an extremely beautiful girl. Her cheeks are as red as roses, her skin has a different glow, and her hair frames her face beautifully. Zhang, the male protagonist of the story, instantly falls in love with her because of this. Ying-ying also displays a sense of decorum. She knows how to pay proper respect and she is described as being modest (in the beginning), although she eventually gave in to desire towards the middle of the story (Zhen, …show more content…
Daiyu, Baochai, and Ying-ying are all female love interests of the male protagonists in the two stories. On the basis of their physical looks, all female characters are said to be beautiful, and their outer beauty is one of the reasons why the males fell in love with them in the first place. Their personalities are also similar. It could be said, however, that Ying-ying is a combination of both Daiyu and Baochai’s characteristics. This is because Daiyu and Baochai seem to be extreme opposites of each other, and whatever one lacks, the other seems to have. Ying-ying, on the other hand, possesses the personalities of Daiyu and Baochai. Ying-ying is an artist. She is smart and poetic just like Daiyu. In the beginning, she is also reserved and very conscious of her actions, similar to Daiyu. However, in the middle of the story, she gives in to Zhang’s seduction, although it seems as if Zhang himself was unaware of the events and was unsure if what happened was a dream or not (Zhen, 544). This latter action seems to be a reflection Baochai’s personality. Baochai, who is the more emotionally stable among the two love interests of Baoyu, is also the more stable one. She is sensible, just like Ying-ying. Ying-ying, upon Zhang’s departure, shows how she understands that a man will leave a woman once he accomplishes seducing her (Zhen, 545). Other women would be extremely broken-hearted, depressed, and