Female Rebellion Bound by Culture: A Comparative Study of Lin Daiyu and Anna Karenina’s Struggles Against Societal Expectations

Lin Daiyu and Anna Karenina are female protagonists in Cao Xueqin’s Dream of the Red Chamber and Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, two masterpieces of world literature. Despite their geographical and cultural differences, both characters engage in acts of defiance against social norms that reflect their desires for autonomy, love, and self-expression. This paper explores the similarities and differences of their rebellions, including their driving force, detailed rebellious acts, the ending of their rebellions, and the cultural elements involved. By analyzing their gender roles under different cultural contexts, this paper seeks to uncover the universal social constraints carried upon women, and their different embodiment because of cultural and social structure demonstrated in the literature. The comparative study sheds light on the broader implications of female resistance in literature and how these narratives contribute to the discourse on gender and societal changes. This research applies gynocriticism in feminist criticism to provide a comprehensive understanding of women’s internal consciousness embodied in literature across cultures.