Love And Marriage In The Patriarchal Society

Henry Fielding and Cao Xueqin are two great writers who could have come together and talk to each other. Their masterpieces, Tom Jones and A Dream of Red Mansions, which were both written in the middle of the 18th century, can be studied comparatively on many factors from ideology to art. To seek for the true love and the freedom of marriage is the cross-cutting theme of the two novels. However, the results of the love between the heroes and heroines in the two novels are entirely different. This thesis is intended to study the influence of the patriarchal value system on the completely different endings of the love between the heroes and heroines in the two novels.This thesis is composed of five parts.The first part is an introduction which briefly introduces the life of the two writers Henry Fielding and Cao Xueqin, the basic outline of the two novels, literature reviews of the two novels and significance of the study.Chapter One is devoted to introduce the status quo of the patriarchal society both in Britain and China in the 18th century, and the effect of patriarchal value system on the love and marriage at that time. Then after the analysis on the major characters and main plots of the two love stories from the perspective of patriarchy, the author intends to show the embodiments of patriarchy on love and marriage in the two novels.Chapter Two elaborates on the common theme of the two novels—love. By analyzing the character of the heroes and heroines in the two novels, we can recognize and understand the real cause of their affection, and their great efforts of seeking their true love and happiness persistently and inflexibly in the hierarchical patriarchal society.Chapter Three firstly deals with the different endings of the two novels. In Tom Jones, finally, Tom and Sophia join their lives together in holy matrimony after their breaking through one barrier after another from family and society. It is a happy ending. Whereas, in A Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu have not been able to smash the bonds of the feudal marriage in the patriarchal society. Under the enormous pressure from the elders of the Jia family, eventually, grieved to the heart, Lin Daiyu goes out of this world. Although Jia Baoyu finally marries Xue Baochai, he can not forget Daiyu. At last, he leaves home and becomes a Buddhist monk. Actually, there are two tragedies, one is the "Pledge between Plant and Stone", and the other is the "Match between Gold and Jade". The two novels were both written in the same period, which share the common theme—love. However, the endings of the two novels are entirely different. After a research on them, we may safely draw the conclusion that it is just the realistic reflection of the historical background of the patriarchal society both in Britain and China in the 18th century. It also shows that the two novels are quite close to the real life.The last part makes a conclusion of the whole thesis. In addition, it also shows Henry Fielding's historical limitations that Tom is given a high social position as the nephew and the sole heir of Mr. Allworthy in the end, which becomes the cornerstone of his marriage with Sophia. However, Cao Xueqin places the convoluted love and marriage plot in a realistic, complex social setting. The novel traces the roots of the emotional tragedy by means of describing the interactions between the marriage and the social environment. Then from the point of view of this aspect, A Dream of Red Mansions is more realistic than Tom Jones.