Chinese Cinderella (A Puffin Book)

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Adeline excels in her academics once again and has a few close friends, but she never manages to confide in them about her abusive family life. She also feels rather pathetic, since Father and Niang refuse to buy her properly fitting clothes or anything that is not worn out. Despite her impressive intelligence, Adeline most often feels shabby and inadequate. During this time, she begs her parents to send her to study in England, where two of her brothers are already in college, but Father and Niang ignore her. Contrary to all logic, I had the uncanny sensation that Shakespeare had actually had my Ye Ye in mind when he wrote his immortal play four hundred years earlier.” Chinese Cinderella, p.168 The eldest daughter of Ye Ye and Nai Nai, Aunt Baba is described as "meek, shy and unmarried," wholly dependent on her younger brother--Adeline's father--financially. Tasked with taking care of Adeline, the two develop a close bond due to their position as the unwanted and powerless members of the family. Aunt Baba provides encouragement for Adeline to pursue her dreams, a decision that causes her to lose favor in the eyes of Niang.

The protagonist of the tale, Ye Xian is the motherless daughter of a cave-dwelling chieftain in an uncertain region of China called Wudoung. The other primary characters of Ye Xian's tale all fall into a very similar role to that of the French "Cinderella": there is the cruel stepmother, one of two wives of Ye Xian's father; an unkind stepsister called Jun-li, who's age varies depending on the translation; a supernatural wish granting figure; and—of course—the royal male who will whisk Ye Xian away from her difficulties.

Nai Nai is Adeline's paternal grandmother, the wife of Ye Ye. Born under a different dynasty, her feet were broken and bound as a child. This causes her constant pain and she "hobbles" instead of walking tall. In the few chapters where she's present, Nai Nai is portrayed as a sensible and strong woman, capable even with the handicap imposed on her. The traditional matriarch of the Yen family, the family structure falls apart with her death. Without her support, Ye Ye is no longer able to hold his position at the top of the chain, and Niang takes over the household. Nai Nai's death is a turning point in the novel, from a time of tranquil freedom to an oppressive atmosphere and a segregated home. Big Brother (Gregory) Anyway, moving on that rant. I, for the most part, while I didn’t love it, I still managed to find it interesting and there were some fairly interesting moments. I would note that I do think some parts of the story could probably have been told better instead of being glossed over, especially as they clearly were important for Adeline. Her writing style is ok, I suppose would be the best way to put it. It’s not bad, but I didn’t find it to be amazing. Mair, Victor H. "The First Recorded Cinderella Story". In: Hawai‘i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture. Edited by Victor H. Mair, Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt and Paul R. Goldin. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005. pp. 363-367. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824852351-061

Ye Ye dies that year and Adeline attends his funeral. She is the only member of the family who cries at the loss. Niang also announces that Father will no longer pay for Adeline’s schooling after this term. Adeline falls into a heavy, anxious depression for several weeks. In the midst of this, however, Father’s chauffer takes her to discuss something with Father. She is initially fearful, but when she speaks with Father, he reveals that she has won the playwriting competition and brought Hong Kong and him great honor. As a reward, Father agrees to send Adeline to study in England with Third Brother, where she will study medicine.Third Brother is the youngest of the three brothers born out of Father's first marriage. While he is very close to his two older brothers and is involved in their hijinks, he is portrayed as exceptionally compassionate towards Adeline. Adeline loves her brother for this and often sees him as the most reliable of the bunch. However, she feels betrayed by his conspiracy in the urine-orange juice prank on the day Adeline won a major academic award. Although Third Brother is the closest to Adeline, their relationship is not exceptionally intimate. Fourth Brother (Franklin) That's how I feel about this book. The author paints a seethingly negative portrayl of her entire family. Ok, maybe this was true to some extent (though I have a VERY hard time believing that everyone in her life was THAT intentionally malicious). But I could not help but believe that if her other family members had the chance to speak and publish a book of their own, having both perspectives to the story would provide a much more accurate picutre. Ye Ye expresses a level of insight that has been apparent within him for the entirety of the novel but never outwardly expressed until this instance. The quote expresses finality: regardless of all the effort or sweat that Adeline pours onto her goals, there are some inescapable truths that come with her birth. Perseverance is an admirable trait that Adeline exhibits throughout the novel, leading the reader to believe that anything can be overcome with faith and hard work. Ye Ye shows us that diligence doesn't destroy all barriers but rather that some must be first accepted to be overcome. Find sources: "Ye Xian"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( May 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)