《红楼梦》与《汤姆·琼斯》这两部伟大的作品同时诞生在十八世纪中期,它们从思想到艺术都存在了很多可以比较研究的因素。虽然它们主题相同:追求爱情自由与婚姻自由,但故事中男女主人公最终的爱情结局却截然不同。本文通过对两本伟大著作的比较,体现了在不同的历史背景下,父权制社会对爱情与婚姻的影响。无论是曹雪芹著的《红楼梦》,还是英国著名作家亨利·菲尔丁写的《汤姆·琼斯》,在十八世纪中期都代表了两国小说的顶级成就。它 The two great works of “Dream of Red Mansions” and “Tom Jones” were born at the same time in the middle of the eighteenth century. They all have a lot of factors that can be studied comparatively from thought to art. Although they share the same theme: the pursuit of freedom of love and freedom of marriage, but the story of the hero and heroine eventually ending with a very different love outcome. By comparing the two great works, this article reflects the influence of patriarchal society on love and marriage under different historical background. Both the “Dream of Red Mansions” by Cao Xueqin and “Tom Jones” written by the famous English writer Henry Fielding both represented the top achievements of the novels of the two countries in the mid-18th century. it