There are compelling arguments to be made in support of lust or love as the central element in Dream of the Red Chamber. Those that favor “lust” emphasize sexual relationships and the hunger for power that drives many of the characters. The support for “love” leans toward the romantic, affectionate, and generous relationships among the characters. However, there is considerable overlap between these concepts—at different times in the novel and even within the same character. In that regard, the contexts in which particular events occur and the motivations for characters’ behaviors must be taken into consideration. Furthermore, the idea that either theme lacks depth should be addressed. As noted, the novel has strong elements of political criticism and includes information about court life, linked in part to the author’s drawing liberally on actual people and events; as those elements are among the reasons it was banned, the political dimensions deserve consideration. In addition, there is ample use of symbolism from the Buddhist tradition, encouraging allegorical readings regarding the material versus the spiritual realm.
The David Hawkes version includes 120 chapters (about 2,500 page), so evidence in support of all positions can be found therein. At the very outset, the “stone” offers improvement over past works. This stone, which is the story’s source, criticizes the shortcomings of other types of works: “historical romances . . . [are] scandalous anecdotes,” the “erotic novel [consists of] filthy obscenities,” and “erotic novels [are] volumes . . . of dreary stereotypes” of beautiful people. The stone’s work, it promises, rejects “stale old convention [in favor of] . . . a freshness these other books do not have.”
Lust as desire for sex and power is prominently featured. Characters who are thus motivated sometimes engage in sexual assault. One character who constantly seeks power is Phoenix, Chia Lien's wife, who asserts control over the household and earns money unethically through usury. Chia Lien in turn commits adultery, and his mistress’s sorrow over his likely abandonment leads to her suicide. Phoenix’s activities run afoul of the emperor, leading his guards to raid her and Lien’s home. Both husband and wife, therefore, stand for lust of different types, and their actions bring on different consequences.
Among the romantic elements are the love between Chia Pao-yu and Black Jade, his cousin. However, Pao-yu must marry Precious Virtue, another cousin. Although his family is initially unwilling to separate him from Black Jade, when she is abandoned, she dies of a broken heart. The family’s choices reflect their pragmatism in making the most advantageous match for the heir. After the guards invade their home, Pao-yu leaves to accompany Buddhist and Taoist monks, thus detaching from both love and politics.
As the novel lays out financial and political relations between the Chia family and the imperial forces, it can be considered primarily a political work. The author, Cao, almost certainly drew on his own family’s experiences, which put them into conflict with the state. The individual characters embody the push and pull of the quest for material gain—which in turn supports acquiring power—and the metaphysical domain, with its contemplation of morality and righteousness. Pao-yu’s withdrawal shows him taking the latter path.
The literal interpretation of the title, focusing on “chamber” and “dust,” supports the materialist explanation. Other meanings, stressing “stone” and “flower,” emphasize the ethereal quality of existence, backing the metaphysical perspective. Yet only as the stone left the sky for earth did it gain power to influence people. As the diverse characters’ behaviors, as they seek power or love, have consequences for others, they are inextricably linked to the larger themes.
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Story_of_the_Stone_The_Golden_Days.html?id=0U5ILHHIOZgC
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