What is the theme of a dream of red mansions?

A Dream of Red Mansions takes the love and marriage tragedy among Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai as the main line, describes the rise and fall of four big families represented by Jia Jia, reveals various complex contradictions of feudal families, shows the decadent feudal marriage, morality, culture and education, shapes a series of tragic images of nobles, civilians and handmaiden, shows a very broad and typical feudal social living environment, and reflects that society in a tortuous way.

The work also praises the noble rebels and the love that violates feudal ethics, embodies the initial democratic thought of pursuing individual freedom, and profoundly and comprehensively reveals the social roots of Jia, Lin and Xue's love and marriage tragedy. However, due to historical limitations, while describing the decline of feudal families, the author also reveals feelings of regret and sentimentality, with fatalism and nihilism.

Extended data:

A Dream of Red Mansions comprehensively and profoundly reflects the characteristics of the ups and downs of feudal society. What it describes is not the love story of "getting married and being the top scholar", but the love and marriage tragedy between young feudal nobles Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai.

The great social significance of the novel lies in that it does not describe this love tragedy in isolation, but focuses on this love and marriage tragedy, and writes the rise and fall of four representative families of Jia, Wang, Shi and Xue at that time. Focusing on the Jia family, it exposes all kinds of darkness and evil in the late feudal society and their insurmountable internal contradictions, and strongly criticizes the decadent feudal ruling class and the feudal system that is about to collapse, making readers feel that it is bound to perish. At the same time, the novel also expresses a new hazy ideal by praising the noble rebels.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Dream of Red Mansions