Reading 1001 discussion

3. Describe the dynamics between characters.

There are so many characters all with there own dynamics so I will just list the key ones to me;

Bao-Yu = spoilt by Grandmother, fears his father, loves his cousins Lin Dai-yu and Xue Bao-chai, intimate with his maid Aroma, indifferent to his half brother Jia Huan.

Lin Dai-yu and Xue Bao-chai are considered 2 halves of the same person the perfect woman. Sometimes jealous of each other, each wants Bao-yu's affection.

Xi-Feng = social climber, control freak, loves to be in control and to manipulate those around her.

Aroma = Dao-Yu's maid, she is trying to manipulate Dao-yu into marrying her, gives up her family to further herself.

Book wrote: "There are so many characters all with there own dynamics so I will just list the key ones to me;

Bao-Yu = spoilt by Grandmother, fears his father, loves his cousins Lin Dai-yu and Xue Bao-chai, in..."

That's great BW, I can't think of anything to add.

Grandmother Jia - the Matriarch or the Dowager - Grandmother to both Baoyu and Daiyu - She has two sons, Jia She and Jia Zheng, and a daughter, Min, Daiyu's mother - She distributes her savings among her relatives after the seizure of their properties by the government shortly before her death.

Jia She - The elder son of the Dowager. He is the father of Jia Lian and Jia Yingchun. He is a treacherous and greedy man, and a womanizer. He is jealous of his younger brother whom his mother favors. He is later stripped of his title and banished by the government.

Jia Zheng - Baoyu's father, the younger son of the Dowager. He is a disciplinarian and Confucian scholar. Afraid his one surviving heir will turn bad, he imposes strict rules on his son, and uses occasional corporal punishment. He has a wife, Lady Wang, and two concubines: Zhao and Zhou. He is a Confucian scholar who tries to be an upright and decent person. He is out of touch with reality and is a hands-off person at home and in court.

Lady Wang - A Buddhist, primary wife of Jia Zheng. Daughter of one of the four most prominent families of Jinling. Because of her purported ill-health, she hands over the running of the household to her niece, Xifeng, as soon as the latter marries into the Jia household, although she retains overall control over Xifeng's affairs so that the latter always has to report to her. Although Lady Wang appears to be a kind mistress and a doting mother, she can in fact be cruel and ruthless when her authority is challenged. She pays a great deal of attention to Baoyu's maids to make sure that Baoyu does not develop romantic relationships with them.

The relationship between between Bao Yu and Dai Yu is fascinating. She flies into jealous rages all the time (But with good reason) and Bao Yu is always trying to placate her.