Among the many women in A Dream of Red Mansions, Lin Daiyu, one of the protagonists in the book, is the most beautifully portrayed and admired by the author. She and Jia Baoyu constitute two distinct characters in A Dream of Red Mansions. They are all unprecedented figures in ancient and modern times, and their actions are out of place in the eyes of ordinary people. Just like Lin Daiyu, who is not a "serious master", in the eyes of ordinary people, she is a "arrogant" person and is very unpopular in Jiafu. Shi Xiangyun, who has a clever mind, once said to Baoyu that she was a "disgusting little person". Aunt Zhao, who had nothing to do with Lin Daiyu, complained behind her back: "If that girl were Lin, she wouldn't even look at our girl ...". Maid Xiaohong and Zhui Er were whispering in Didi Pavilion, and they fell into Baochai's "golden cicada" trick. They mistakenly thought that Lin Daiyu heard it, and they were very nervous at that time. Xiaohong said, "Miss Lin has a cheap mouth but a narrow heart ...", so they were all dissatisfied with her. Lin Daiyu gradually fell out of favor even in front of Grandmother Jia, and finally, as her own poems such as Flower Burial and Rainy Autumn Window said, she fell into the dilemma of "360 days a year, the wind and sword frost and snow pressed each other".
Why did Lin Daiyu fall into such a miserable situation? This must be analyzed from Lin Daiyu's character. The following detailed analysis of Lin Daiyu's personality characteristics, causes and significance of the times.
First, the performance of Lin Daiyu's rich personality characteristics
(1) Among Lin Daiyu's rich personality, the so-called "smallness" is the most prominent and recognized by the world. Her words are mean and everything is unforgiving. In fact, these are superficial phenomena, and behind her unpleasant personality such as "child" and sharp words, what is hidden is her very strong self-esteem. Persistent maintenance of her self-esteem is the root of all her characters. It is the core part of her character to demand respect and maintenance of human dignity and not tolerate the slightest blasphemy against personality and self-esteem.
When "Lin Daiyu left her father for Beijing", she was "careful step by step, always worried, refused to say a word easily, refused to go further, and was afraid of being laughed at". This just reflects her strong self-esteem. The reason why Lin Daiyu is like this is because she "often heard from her mother that grandma's house is different from other homes, and these third-class domestic servants he saw recently have an extraordinary degree of food and clothing, not to mention today's home". And now I am in a dependent position, not a "serious host", so I am more cautious, lest my self-esteem be damaged in front of everyone. It can be said that Lin Daiyu came to Jiafu with such strong self-esteem. Knowing this, we will find that the reason why Lin Daiyu is regarded as a "child" is closely related to her strong self-esteem. It is like a tightly stretched string, installed on Lin Daiyu, who is extremely sensitive. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, a light touch will cause a strong vibration.
The seventh time I wrote about Zhou Rui's family, I sent flowers to Aunt Xue and sent them to Jia's sisters. When I gave it to Lin Daiyu, she was in Baoyu's room. Zhou Rui's wife smiled and said, "Miss Lin, my aunt asked me to send flowers to the girl to wear." Baoyu said, "What flowers? Show me. " Lin Daiyu only glanced at it and asked, "Is it for only one person or for all the other girls?" Zhou Rui's wife said, "You all have them. These two branches are girls'. " Lin Daiyu "sneered" at that time: "I knew that others would not give me the rest if they didn't pick it." It can be seen from here that what Lin Daiyu cares about is not the value of palace flowers, but the attitude of others to her in this matter. She doesn't think the flowers she sent are "fake flowers" or not to her liking, but she just doesn't want others to deliberately put her last and give her leftovers. Because it hurts her self-esteem, if you don't understand this, you will really think that Lin Daiyu is too stingy with people and things.
In the eighteenth chapter "Lin Daiyu cut the sachet by mistake, why did she return to save the Lantern Festival?", it was written that Baoyu was happy to give all his possessions to the page. When Lin Daiyu knew about it, she thought that the "purse" she gave him had also been robbed by the pages, and she said, "Did I give them that purse, too? You can't think about me tomorrow! " With that, he stormed back to his room and "twisted" the sachet made for Baoyu. Later, after Baoyu explained to her, he also learned about the "purse" treasured in Baoyu's arms, but he was still angry. Baoyu accompanied her, and she cried and said, "You don't have to argue with me for a long time. If you want to be angry, just let it go. This is nothing! " Finally, I can't help asking Baoyu to apologize as a "good sister" and "good sister". At first glance, Lin Daiyu seems to be so stingy and unreasonable. But as long as we analyze it carefully, we can see that behind her "small nature", what is hidden is her beautiful moral character, and her strong self-esteem demands that love be single-minded, respect people and safeguard human dignity, which is the performance of this strong self-esteem.
In the 19th verse of "A Quiet Sunrise Scent", Baoyu smelled the fragrance in Lin Daiyu's sleeve, so he grabbed it to see what was in the cage. Lin Daiyu said, "It must be the smell in the cupboard. The smell on the clothes is unknown." "This smell is strange," Baoyu said. "It's not the smell of sweet cake ...". Lin Daiyu sneered, "Don't I have a Luohan or a real person to give me some incense? Even though I got a strange fragrance, I didn't get flowers, buds, frost or snow for me. I only have those vulgar scents. " Baoyu avoided it intriguing and added, "I have a strange smell. Do you have a' warm fragrance'? " So that Baoyu couldn't untie it for a moment, he asked, "What is this' warm fragrance'?" She smiled and said, "Fool, fool, if you have jade, people will have gold for you, and if they have Leng Xiang, you won't have warm incense?" Later, Baoyu spread. As we all know, Xue Baochai is the only person who owns "Leng Xiang" in A Dream of Red Mansions, and the "home" mentioned by Lin Daiyu certainly refers to Baochai. From here on, Lin Daiyu showed a thoughtful and sensitive abnormality. Why is this happening? If you think about it carefully, you will know that this actually reflects Lin Daiyu's strong self-esteem. She is afraid that her close lover will be taken away, which is unfair to her.
On the twentieth occasion, Shi Xiangyun said to Lin Daiyu, "If you dare to criticize your sister, even if you are good, I am not as good as you. Why can't he be as good as you? " Hearing this, Lin Daiyu sneered, "Who am I? It was her. How dare I pick him? " Later, people persuaded her. Can you say that Lin Daiyu is a "little girl" from here? Why does she sneer? I think we all know that in A Dream of Red Mansions, the relationship between Baochai is the most sensitive and acute topic, and Shi Xiangyun deliberately made Lin Daiyu worse than Baochai. How can this not break her heart? Her self-esteem string can't help shaking violently.
On the 22nd occasion, Jia took the lead in donating 220 taels to Baochai's birthday, and specially invited a group of performers to entertain. But Lin Daiyu has never had a decent birthday in Jia's family for so many years. As for "Min Tanchun", Lin Daiyu's birthday is counted as everyone's birthday at Jia's house, but I can't remember it clearly. It doesn't matter. At the end of the performance, Feng pointed to an actor and said, "The child is dressed like a man. Can't you see again? " Shi Xiangyun smiled in front of everyone: "It looks like Sister Lin." Everyone laughed and said, "Great." Baoyu winked at Xiangyun, and he was almost angry with Shi Xiangyun, who is a clever man. This has also become the most intense and longest-lasting fuse of Baodi conflict. Baoyu was so angry that he burst into tears and felt that it was "boring to look back." Baoyu has never been so depressed about Lin Daiyu. Lin Daiyu coaxed her every time she was angry, this time it was an exception. The reason why Lin Daiyu has such a big attack is very simple. "I used to make fun of you-I was an actor", which hurt Lin Daiyu's self-esteem and personality, because the actor was the lowest social status at that time. How can this not make her feel ashamed? Can we still call her "little girl"?
On 26th, Lin Daiyu knocked on the door of Hongyi Hospital, and Qingwen was angry. She didn't hear Lin Daiyu's voice clearly and didn't open the door. Lin Daiyu was wrong about Baoyu, so she "sobbed in the shade of flowers in an independent corner". After returning, she "leaned against the railing of the bed, with her knees in her hands and tears in her eyes, and sat straight for more than twenty days." Both Xue Baochai and Shi Xiangyun have been maliciously contradicted by Baoyu, but they are "flushed", while Lin Daiyu is heartbroken and crying because of a little misunderstanding, which shows her strong self-esteem.
There are too many examples of Lin Daiyu's "meanness" in defending her self-esteem, but the most telling thing is that if Lin Daiyu shows dignity in treating love, life and love can be forgotten. In the 23rd episode of The West Chamber, Lin Daiyu found Baoyu reading The True Story. "Put down all the flowers, read this book, read it from the beginning, and the more you read it, the more you like to read it ... consciously warning people that Yu Xiang is full of words. Although she finished reading the book, she just lost her mind and recited it silently in her heart. " He also said with a smile, "That's interesting", but when Baoyu took the opportunity to express his love with "I am a sad and sick person, and you are the beauty of the country", Lin Daiyu listened, "I don't think her cheeks are flushed, but she cried and raised two eyebrows that seemed to be frowning, stared at two eyes that seemed to be closed, and her cheeks were angry and her face was angry", pointing angrily. I got this obscene song very well and learned these mixed words to bully me. I told my uncle and aunt. "When it comes to" bullying ","my eyes are red again, and I turned to go. "What is the reason? Is Baoyu really talking about "colourful love songs" or "miscellaneous words"? Of course not. As mentioned above, Lin Daiyu is also "more fond of reading" books such as The West Chamber and true stories. How did she become a "mixed story" now? Does Lin Daiyu not love Baoyu? But everyone knows that Baodai's love is sincere. It can be said that Lin Daiyu dares to live in Jiafu, which is the pursuit and yearning for Baoyu's love, and it is the faith brought to her by Baoyu's love that attracts her expectation for the future. Once she got Baoyu's love confession, it was so happy and joyful. On the contrary, Lin Daiyu was very angry with her dream lover's confession and felt that Baoyu was "bullying" her. Since Lin Daiyu loves Baoyu and likes these "miscellaneous words", is Lin Daiyu artificial? We know that Lin Daiyu's expressions of "blushing and blushing" and "blushing early" at that time didn't even feel fashionable for the fickle Wang Xifeng, let alone this "idiot". From this point of view, the only explanation is that with Lin Daiyu's identity, status and upbringing, such a marriage event can't appear on such an occasion and show love in such a way. At least she can't accept such occasions and ways. This confession of love is a blasphemy to her, a "bully" to her and hurts her self-esteem. Examples like this are also fully displayed in the 26th "Spring Sleepiness in Xiaoxiang Pavilion". Baoyu looked at the maid Zijuan in front of Lin Daiyu and said with a smile, "Good girl,' how can you make the bed if you are affectionate?" "At that time, Lin Daiyu was so angry that she was" face down "and cried:" Now she is emerging. She listened to the village outside and told me; Read fucking books and make fun of me. I became a man to relieve boredom. "Crying out of bed, go outside. Why did Lin Daiyu have such a big attack? When Baoyu came, she clearly heard Lin Daiyu sighing in bed, "sleepy every day", which showed that Lin Daiyu's love for Baoyu was infinitely hot. Every day, I am confused about Baoyu, thinking about songs and lingering, and what I say in my mouth is the so-called "mixed words." "It can be seen that the content and words in Baoyu's words can bring Lin Daiyu the joy of love, but Baoyu's way of expressing love hurts her dignity and makes her unacceptable, at least she thinks so. If she had to make a choice in the face of sacred love and dignity, Lin Daiyu chose to safeguard her dignity without hesitation. Visible Lin Daiyu's self-esteem is so strong.
(2) While people notice Lin Daiyu's "small temperament", they are often moved by her kindness, purity, frankness, generosity, gentleness and thoughtfulness. This is the true face of Lin Daiyu's character.
On the forty-first occasion of "Plum Blossom Snow in Tea Garden", Lin Daiyu listened to Baoyu's praise of tea and asked, "Is this also the rain of the old year?" At that time, Miao Yu said to Lin Daiyu in front of Baoyu and Baochai, "You vulgar person can't even taste water ... why can't you taste it?" The rain next year is so frivolous, how to eat it? "But Lin Daiyu" knows that she is eccentric and doesn't talk much "and doesn't mind at all. On the 22nd time, Baoyu wrote a copybook in a fit of pique. Lin Daiyu read it and took it back to read it with Xiangyun. This is not because Xiang Yun just said in public that she had a big storm with Baoyu on the stage like a performer, but that it is beyond the reach of ordinary people. But Lin Daiyu, who is regarded as a "child", can do it, which shows that she is generous! Lin Daiyu is tolerant not only in front of the twelve maids, but also in front of the maids. In the process of Lin Daiyu's contact with Baoyu, everyone is familiar with it. The maid Zijuan once criticized Lin Daiyu for this matter: "Baoyu has three points, and the girl has seven points." Of course, many of these things are unclear to Zijuan, but Lin Daiyu doesn't blame her at all. In these respects, Lin Daiyu, who is regarded as a "child" and "annoying in action", is not very open-minded and tolerant?
In the 45th episode of "Analysis of Gold", Lin Daiyu said to Baochai: "It is true that you always treat others well, but I am the most thoughtful person. I only think there is a traitor in your heart. The day before yesterday, you said reading miscellaneous books was not good, and you also advised me to say those good ones. Thank you very much. I used to be wrong, but now I'm really wrong ... ". Baochai offered to send bird's nest, and Lin Daiyu quickly smiled and said, "It's rare for you to be so affectionate." Others don't know, but I think Lin Daiyu is really a caring person. In fact, Lin Daiyu suspected Baochai for a reason. From the eavesdropping of Baochai in Didi Cuiting's butterfly throwing, it can be seen that Baochai is really treacherous and it is natural for Lin Daiyu to be wary of her. When Lin Daiyu was in a lonely and melancholy mood, Baochai sent her some bird's nest and whispered a few words to her. Then she took out her heart and told Baochai all her inner secrets. If it weren't for the day before, I wouldn't have said this to you today. In this way, the contradiction between Chai Dai and Lin Daiyu's frank and innocent hearts eased a little. Of course, this is just a trap set by Baochai, but at least in the eyes of outsiders, including Lin Daiyu, they all think that they have a good relationship with Baochai. Baoyu asked Lin Daiyu from behind: "When did Meng Guang take the case of Hongliang?" Lin Daiyu said with a smile, "Who knows that she is really a good person? I always thought she was a traitor. " It can be seen that here, Lin Daiyu believed Baochai only by a few small things, not only changed her opinion, but also frankly told each other her past disrespectful views on Baochai. It is not that she is naive and ignorant, but that she embodies her virtue of simplicity, purity and frankness.
The forty-eighth time, when writing Xiangling's poems, Lin Daiyu said with a smile, "If you want to write poems, you can worship me as a teacher. Although I know nothing, I probably have the ability to teach you. " How enthusiastic! In the process of teaching poetry, I first told her a big principle, "Don't use words to harm meaning". Recommend good books to her, lend her the books she needs, such as The Complete Works of Wang Moshu, help her explain poetry, and then write poetry. The revision of poetry is particularly careful and meticulous, and it has truly achieved its self-proclaimed "tireless teaching." How many people have seen Jia's sincere and enthusiastic people like chickens with dark circles, wishing you ate me and I ate you? Besides, Xiangling is still a poor man with half concubine and half maid! Examples of Lin Daiyu caring for others are not uncommon. An old woman in Hengwuyuan brought her a pack of bird's nest at night, and Lin Daiyu ordered her to "have tea" outside. She also thought that "if it is cold today and the night is long, there will be more and more time to gamble for two games" and "order him to drink a few hundred dollars to avoid the rain". Who else in Jiafu can observe and care so carefully about the old women living at the bottom of society? Only Lin Daiyu can do it, which shows that her heart is kind.
Many readers believe that Lin Daiyu always likes to be awkward with Baoyu and loves to cry. In fact, these phenomena all happened in the early days of Baodai's love. When Baodai's love entered a tacit stage, Lin Daiyu showed great tenderness and consideration for Baoyu. One stormy night, Baoyu came to see Daiyu. As he was about to leave Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Lin Daiyu asked, "You are listening to the rain more and more tightly. Go, but is anyone following you? " Also, because his light didn't work, I gave him my best, pointing out that he didn't pay attention to people, so he became a "give up the basics" temper. Also taught him how to play lanterns, how to walk on the road and so on. How gentle and considerate!
Second, the complex reasons for the formation of Lin Daiyu's rich personality characteristics
As can be seen from the above, Lin Daiyu is a kind, pure, warm and generous, gentle and considerate person with an open mind. However, due to various environmental factors, her original personality is often covered with a layer of sad, "trivial" and bitter words, which is difficult for readers to really understand. Broadly speaking, the reason for this is given by the times. Lin Daiyu lived in the declining period of feudal society, and capitalism began to sprout. Lin Daiyu's affirmation of human dignity has emerged as a new trend of thought. They are the opposite of the irrational phenomenon in feudal society, so they are often obstructed by the defenders of feudal system, and what Lin Daiyu has done is bound to be accused by the old school. In such a contradictory struggle, the bright spot in Lin Daiyu's character is often regarded as a "child" by secular people.
From the analysis of Lin Daiyu's specific environment, we can also find that Jia's family where Lin Daiyu lives is a typical feudal declining family, and the traditional forces are stubborn. Many unreasonable phenomena in feudal society can be found here. For example, Wang Xifeng's disgusting "filial piety" is like "a colorful dress with dramatic effect"; Baochai's attentions to Mrs. Jia in eating, wearing, playing and guessing, her flattery to Princess Yuan in writing poems, and her actions in front of the maids; Mrs. Wang's crocodile tears in front of people; The legacy of feudal society such as "Aunt Xue's sweet words comforted her". Although Lin Daiyu, as the initiator, is a weak woman, she has chosen the life path of "lead an honest and clean life, which is better than being trapped in a ditch when she is dirty", so she refuses vulgarity and vulgar noble character, which is bound to be incompatible with the secular world. Therefore, because Lin Daiyu insists on her innate noble essence, she can't tolerate this dirty feudal secular, which in turn leads to her self-esteem being more dissatisfied with the dirty secular. It is these reasons that cause the sharp contradiction between Lin Daiyu's personality and reality, and these contradictions form Lin Daiyu's rich personality characteristics.
Third, the significance of Lin Daiyu's personality characteristics
From the analysis of the causes of the formation of Lin Daiyu's personality characteristics, we can realize that Lin Daiyu's "smallness" is not her nature, but only a counterattack against all kinds of injuries imposed on her by reality. Therefore, it is not a character defect, but a manifestation of struggle, a strong sense of self-esteem, and the most full embodiment of its maintenance of personal dignity.
In the long feudal society, people were not treated as people at home and abroad, especially women had no social status and were not respected. The feudal eyes regarded women as "bitches" and second-class people. They are deprived of their basic rights to be human beings, not to mention respecting and safeguarding human dignity. In China ancient literature, the most beautiful female images are lovely images who dare to fight for their love and happiness. There has never been a female image who regards women's status as highly as Lin Daiyu. There has never been a female image who has such a strong self-esteem and is so persistent in safeguarding human dignity, especially in demanding respect for women. Her appearance has greatly improved people's value. Therefore, her personality is a new trend of thought that is not easily perceived and has historical inevitability. This trend of thought sprouted from Lin Daiyu, and appeared as a slogan of struggle, a sprout of democratic thought and a signal light to call people forward. Its development prospect is immeasurable and has far-reaching significance of the times. The image of Lin Daiyu with this personality is undoubtedly the idol in the author's mind and the representative of truth, goodness and beauty in the author's mind. But she died under the weight of feudal forces. What a tragedy! It is through the image of Lin Daiyu that the author has powerfully exposed and lashed the filthy secular world, letting people clearly see how truth, goodness and beauty were trampled and swallowed up by falsehood, evil and ugliness in feudal society, thus causing people's dissatisfaction with the real world. This is the tragic significance of Lin Daiyu's personality characteristics.
In a word, the personality characteristics of the image of Lin Daiyu in A Dream of Red Mansions are rich, profound and multifaceted. Her acerbity of "It's a deal, ten thousand knives are not as good as one knife", her tenderness and consideration for Baoyu and her concern for the old lady all exist objectively. Lin Daiyu's affirmation of human dignity and persistence in safeguarding human dignity are the most shining in her character. His personality characteristics are endowed by the times and formed in the struggle with the filthy secular world. Lin Daiyu's personality is the bud of democratic thought and the sustenance of the author's truth, goodness and beauty, which has profound significance of the times.