Dai-Yu In Dream Of The Red Chamber

The notions of what makes something “good” and what makes something “bad” is regarded as subjective. Thus, it makes sense that such valuation largely depends on context. For instance, an object that has once symbolized the joys of life can soon cause a character’s misery once the situation surrounding the object has changed. In the Dream of the Red Chamber, this is especially apparent in the case of Dai-yu in Chapter 82. The structures that had once catered to her happiness soon trap her in a state of insecurity and fear. Thus, the fragility of how these systems change in valuation in relation to Dai-yu signify that the factors that have been altered have great meaning to her. In particular, it is the forced maturation of the friends she has

For Dai-yu, her illness is especially bad, causing her to cough blood into the spittoon (67). This is after a woman invades the garden and upsets her with what she sees as a complement. This old lady, not from the idyllic Prospect Garden, does not know that it functions as a safe place far removed from the worries of life. She states, “[o]nly Bao-yu would have the style to match such a fine lady…’”(61). To explicitly bring up her marriage in such a transactional and shallow manner is truly when Dai-yu knows that the garden has been infiltrated. Without her friends to spend an idle life with, this becomes apparent to her, and the garden becomes a chamber where painful reminders of being left behind while the world grows older around her echo. In fact, Dai-yu notices that “[t]he garden outside, which had always been such a haven of quiet and solitude, now seemed alive with sounds – the wind, insects buzzing, birds chattering … all of which drifted in through the window and set her nerves on edge” (74). The sounds of the wind, for example, are not never absent. Rather, it was Dai-yu’s vulnerable state from knowing that the community she had built with her friends was being intruded upon by the responsibilities of adulthood that makes her come to notice the sounds of the garden that probably have always been there. The garden has largely been the same, but her perception of the garden has

It is therefore the case that the reader follows her rise from living in such a perfect place for her, where there does not exist concerns of adulthood. Especially for her, Prospect Garden was a community, where all her friends would create poetry and make fun, even if there were occasional disagreements. Contributing to this tranquil atmosphere was the appearance of dreams. Dreams allow people to transcend beyond the physical realm and look candidly at certain facts, like the futility of escaping fate. However, once the Jia family starts declining, the young members living in the garden are pushed to grow up. Dai-yu begins to lose her friends to the prospect of adulthood. Soon, what had once embodied her happiness became a reminder that things will never be the way they once were. The garden, once a seemingly impenetrable force separating her and her friends from the grim realities of the outside world, becomes riddled with outsiders. Whether it is because the declining wealth of the family causes reality to seep into the garden or if the absence of her friends heightens her insecurities, Dai-yu no longer feels at home, and her insecurities heighten. Dreams that once displayed a reassuring clarity now reflect her fears in a frightening reality as her subconscious thoughts arise. It has even clouded her image of people. From Grandmother Jia to