As a classic work that vividly depicts the customs of ancient society, "Dream of Red Mansions" has profoundly outlined many female images, and it is still a hot topic of academic research.
Whether it is a concubine who is in the middle of old age or an unknown maid, their fate is full of profound tragedy.
In ancient times, the status of the concubine was low, and the gap between the concubine and the main wife was self-evident, and she could not accompany her children to grow up, and her own fate could not be controlled, just like a weak plant clinging to her master, it was difficult to be autonomous.
Their status is even lower, not only to take on the responsibility of taking care of their masters, but also to endure the de facto conjugal relationship established with their male masters, and their fate can be imagined if they encounter female suspicions and taboos.
Even a clever and cautious cronie like Ping'er is hard to avoid a difficult situation between the male host and the female protagonist in "Dream of Red Mansions".
Trying his best to survive, exhausted.
In ancient traditional societies, a man could have both a wife and a concubine, with the wife legally becoming his wife, and the concubine being the man's attendant in his career.
In addition to wives and concubines, there is another layer of identity, namely "tongfang maids", or "tongfang concubines", who are clearly different from their wives and concubines.
The maids employed by the wealthy were maids who belonged to the domestic servant class, who were mainly responsible for housework, had a lower status in the family, and often had to obey the orders and commands of their masters.
The secondary wife and concubine refer to the concubines of the rich and noble, whose status is slightly higher than that of the maids, corresponding to the main room, and closer to a member of the master's family.
The status of the family is indeed completely different, although the status of the concubine is not as good as that of the wife, but after all, it is accepted by the male owner through legal procedures, and has a certain status and dignity, and there is an obvious difference between the maid and the concubine in this regard.
As a maid in the house, she is just a subordinate after all, unable to change her background, and even lacks dignity in the house.
Even if the maid in the room is favored, her identity is still limited, she is just a maid, this is the so-called situation.
Although a concubine may not be valued, she has a legal status after all and is recognized as a person of disputable status. In front of the concubine, the maid is always at a disadvantage and cannot compete with the other party's status.
Ancient societies were ranked according to identity differences, and maids have always been at the bottom of the social hierarchy, forced to struggle to survive in the midst of disadvantages, without the slightest chance, even the little girl who was pampered and appreciated by the male owner had to endure the same dilemma.
For example, in Ping'er in Jiafu, she enjoyed wealth and beauty when she was young, but as time went by, when she looked old, what could she have?
In "Dream of Red Mansions", Ping'er not only has rare talent and beauty, but also has noble character and outstanding talent.
She is dignified and beautiful, talented, and perfectly handles many tasks such as taking care of Bao Dai, serving Daiyu, and dealing with family chores and family disputes.
She is also good at many arts such as **, painting and literature, so she is regarded as a "fairy sister" in Baoyu's heart.
Despite this, she is just a maid in Jia's mansion, but she has to take on the work of serving Jia Lian and is responsible for conveying the news to Wang Xifeng, which makes her in a dilemma, not only to endure Jia Lian's orders, but also to bear Wang Xifeng's blame.
Wang Xifeng's personal maid Ping'er has been with her since she was a child and grew up together. Later, Wang Xifeng married into Jiafu, and Ping'er also entered Jiafu.
Because she understands Wang Xifeng thoroughly, she plays a key role in Jiafu. Ping'er has a good appearance, a gentle personality, and is good at handling affairs, and she is also one of the most outstanding women in Jiafu.
Ping'er not only has to take care of Wang Xifeng, but also needs to pay extra attention to Jia Lian's needs. She has the same status as ordinary maids, and she can neither enjoy the status of a concubine, nor can she be close to the status of the master, and can only be condescended to the list of maids in the end.
In the ancient ** noble family, each male owner had three wives and four concubines, and there were groups of children, but Wang Xifeng had married into the Jia family for many years, but Jia Lian only married her one wife.
After careful consideration, Wang Xifeng, a woman who loves face, finally decided to recommend Ping'er, who had no interest in Jia Lian, to him for a room, which was actually a smart move to kill two birds with one stone.
On the one hand, she enjoys a good reputation and practical benefits, on the other hand, Ping'er, as her maid, must not dare to take a step beyond the thunder pool, so that she can continue to suppress Ping'er and maintain her status as the main family.
Since Wang Xifeng gave Ping'er to Jia Lian as a side room, Ping'er's fate was destined to participate in an intricate power contest and become a pawn between Wang and Jia.
As a key figure in the entanglement of the interests of the two masters, Ping'er has suffered from huge psychological and physical pressure for a long time, and has been under oppression and control.
She must not only consider her status and image in the eyes of the two masters, but also accommodate the opinions and actions of Wang Xifeng, who has been in the center of power all the year round, and Jia Lian, who is ostensibly powerful.
In such a complex and doubly difficult situation, Ping'er often feels powerless, helpless, bound and restricted, and life is like a never-ending struggle and torture.
As Jia Lian's wife, Wang Xifeng absolutely cannot tolerate her husband having anything to do with other women, even if she personally sent Ping'er to Jia Lian, she still maintained a wary attitude towards Ping'er.
In order to protect his identity, Wang Xifeng did not hesitate to pay a huge price and took various means to prevent the development of subtle emotions between Ping'er and Jia Lian. She always keeps an eye on Jia Lian's movements, in case they have a private relationship and hide it from her.
Wang Xifeng is extremely intelligent, and she clearly understands that the most effective strategy is to use psychological tactics to skillfully and gradually squeeze out Ping'er, so that Jia Lian's feelings gradually dilute her enthusiasm for Ping'er.
She also revealed to Jia Lian that if he is implicated with Ping'er, then the marriage between the two will face a crisis, and it may even lead to family conflicts.
Jia Lian was very frightened by this, because Wang Xifeng was not only young and beautiful, but also had outstanding talent and the ability to manage household chores, and her family background was strong and very strong, which could not be ignored.
As a result, Jia Lian began to avoid contact with Ping'er and gradually distanced himself from her. This strategy eventually worked, Jia Lian ended up not having any relationship with Ping'er, and Wang Xifeng's position in the family was consolidated.
Ping'er is very intelligent, knows Wang Xifeng's mind well, and understands her love and hate for Jia Lian, so she always avoids responding to any hints from Jia Lian.
In front of Jia Lian, Ping'er never competed with Wang Xifeng for favor;In front of Wang Xifeng, she never took the initiative to contact Jia Lian, so as not to arouse Wang Xifeng's suspicion and disgust.
Although Ping'er carefully weighed Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian, tried her best to avoid offending the two, and was always cautious in her words and deeds, she still could not escape the fate of being the object of their emotions.
The two of them scrutinized and considered her every word and deed, and as long as they had the slightest handle, they would not hesitate to vent their anger on Ping'er.
Ping'er may never realize the unbearable treatment of her in their minds, but this kind of humiliation and grievance is often staged in her ordinary and difficult life.
Under the ancient marriage system, the status of the concubine was relatively low, but she had at least a noble title, that is, master.
In the house, although the maids in the house were in the "management", they were still regarded as slaves. In the mansion, these maids have a very humble status, and their social status can be described as nothing.
In that era when women were oppressed, whether it was a court maid, a confidante or a wife, they could not escape the fate of being dominated by others.
They have different personalities, both in terms of talent and life experience.
However, they are inevitably constrained by a male-dominated society.
In this growing society, we should cherish what we have achieved so that the tragedies of history do not happen again.