Abstract

Based on classic masterpieces A Dream in Red Mansions and Gone with the Wind and with the reference of current research and study, this dissertation compares two traditional female characters Xue Baochai and Melanie Hamilton from three aspects: birth, personality and life experience. It aims at analyzing how the environmental and individual factors affect one’s fate, through which the significance of feminism, the influence of cultural background as well as the theme of the novels can be better understood. 

As a culmination of Qing novels, A Dream in Red Mansions creates numerous lifelike characters, among whom Xue Baochai is the most impressive one. She stands out as a talented beauty with elegance and modesty. Coincidentally, Margaret Mitchell in her masterpiece Gone with the Wind portrays a fair maiden Melanie who has similar life experience as Xue Baochai. The two heroines not only come from similar aristocratic families and receive good education, but also have twists and turns in their life. However, as the representatives of traditional females in Western and Chinese cultures respectively, the two ladies Xue Baochai and Melanie have different endings. Xue Baochai, although fulfilling her long-cherished wish, is finally abandoned by her husband after the fake marriage, whereas Melanie dies in childbirth, yet she wins her husband’s love and the respects of all people around her. 

Careful analysis of the differences and similarities between these two female characters can not only clarify the relations between individual factors and fates, but also illuminate the influence of environment on one’s destiny.

Key words: Xue Baochai and Melanie; similarity and differences; factors

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1.Introduction1

2.Literature Review1

2.1 Current theories on Xue Baochai.1

2.2 Prevailing study about Melanie2

2.3 Comparison and contrast between the two heroines. 2

2.4 Future work3

3.Similarities Between Xue Baochai and Melanie.3

3.1 Noble birth.3

3.2 Tender personality.4

3.3 Twist life5

4.Differences Between Xue Baochai and Melanie.5

4.1 Environmental factors6

4.2 Individual factors8

5. Conclusion10

References.11