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Chapter 15: Boarding School in Tianjin
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Chinese Cinderella, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Physical and Emotional Abuse
Coming of Age and Self-Worth
The Power of Stories
Toxic Family
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
Adeline walks up the gangway of the ship that will sail for Hong Kong with Victor and Claudine. She is still nervous, since she has only known them for three days, but already Victor can make her laugh and they both set Adeline at ease. As they are unpacking in their cabins, Victor appears in the doorway wearing a life jacket, joking that the ship may sink at any moment. Claudine is somewhat alarmed by this joke, though Adeline and Aunt Reine laugh. Victor surprises Adeline by taking the life jacket off and teaching Claudine how to wear it and tighten the straps—an act that Adeline’s own brothers “would never have done.”
Aunt Reine, Victor, and Claudine together function to show Adeline what a healthy, functional family can look like and how pleasant and safe it can be. Victor, particularly, strongly contrasts against Adeline’s depictions of her brothers. Though Victor likes to tease Claudine, his teaching her how to use a life jacket demonstrates a level of care and protectiveness not even shown by Third Brother, who is the most decent of Adeline’s siblings.
Themes
The room shared by Adeline, Claudine, and Aunt Reine only has two beds until a ship steward finds a thin cot to lay on the floor. Adeline assumes that she will take the cot, but Aunt Reine interjects, saying that no one will be treated differently from anyone else in their family. Instead, they draw lots for the cot, with Aunt Reine herself drawing, too. Claudine draws the cot and sleeps on it without complaint for the whole voyage. Aunt Reine and her family treat Adeline as an equal among them for the entire trip, as if she is one of their own children. This is the first time in her life that Adeline is treated as an equal.
This is a landmark occasion for Adeline, being the first time that she has participated in a family without being actively discriminated against. Once more, Aunt Reine’s behavior is a stark contrast to, and thus a criticism of, Niang’s own behavior. Aunt Reine unknowingly demonstrates to Adeline that a proper, loving mother is self-sacrificing, as well as fair and kind and loving, without favoritism. This is particularly significant for Adeline, who never had the chance to meet her own mother and whose only model is Niang. This once again demonstrates the value of friends—or extended family—to keep one connected to normality in spite of their traumatic circumstances.
Themes
As the ship sails south, the air warms considerably and the seas are calm. Adeline, Victor, and Claudine spend many hours playing together on the deck or reading in the ship’s library, which is full of English novels and travel books, as well as a stack of games. Adeline is constantly struck by how kind Victor is to Claudine. Though he likes to joke with his sister, he is also “gentle and protective at the same time,” and quite sensitive to her feelings.
Once again, Victor models for Adeline what an older brother ought to be, which is entirely different from the ways her brothers have acted her entire life, demonstrating yet again the value of friends to model normal, healthy relationships. Victor’s protectiveness of Claudine is especially poignant, since Third Brother’s chief failing—although he is the only brother not to be consistently cruel to her—has been his unwillingness to stand up to his older brothers to protect Adeline.
Themes
Adeline is happy on the ship, traveling with the family. For lengthy periods of time, she feels that she truly is a member of their family and not the unwanted daughter of her own vicious parents and siblings. She daydreams about Aunt Reine adopting her and living with them forever, never having to see Niang again. “Then I…remember my true status and my heart [is] touched by ice.”
It is both tragic and telling that Adeline’s great wish is to simply be part of a normal family. Though Aunt Reine’s family seems saintly to her, they simply practice healthy relationships, a far cry from the family led by Father and Niang. This demonstrates the critical role that Aunt Reine’s family plays in keeping Adeline grounded and giving her a picture of what family should be.
Themes
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Though Adeline dreads it, they finally arrive in Hong Kong, but Father and Niang are not at the dock to meet them. Aunt Reine’s family and Adeline pile into a cab with their belongings and drive through the city, the children marveling at the sights and noticing that everything is written in English rather than French as it was in Tianjin. Victor talks excitedly about all the fun things they will do when they reach Adeline’s family’s home, not knowing that the friendly version of Niang Adeline had told him about does not exist.
Sadly, Adeline has felt the need to keep up the pretense of a safe and happy home life even to Aunt Reine’s family, whom she loves and trusts otherwise. This is once again demonstrative of the repression that such abusive control (as exerted by Niang and Father) encourages, preventing those who suffer from sharing their feelings or the reality of their situation, even with good friends.
Themes
The cab arrives at a Catholic school and the driver tells them that Adeline’s family lives in an apartment across the street. Father, Niang, Fourth Brother, Little Sister, and several maids appear in a flurry of activity. None of Adeline’s family acknowledges her, but Aunt Reine’s family does not notice in the commotion. Taking her suitcase into the apartment, Adeline finds Grandfather Ye Ye and runs to him. He is older now, she realizes, and there is something slightly different and unsettling, but Adeline cannot pinpoint what it may be.
It is notable that, in the way that Adeline feels compelled to keep up the illusion that her family is perfect and healthy, so too does Adeline’s family. While Aunt Reine’s family is present, Niang and Father will be extremely pleasant—though not necessarily to Adeline herself. This once again indicates the secrecy and false pretense that abuse seems to thrive on, harkening back to Father’s cruel admonition that “family ugliness should never be revealed in public.”
Themes
Ye Ye and Adeline rejoin the rest of the family in the living room, where Aunt Reine is revealing all of the diamonds she had smuggled out of Tianjin in the lining of her coat. Niang is thrilled, “clapping her hands like a child.” Aunt Reine remarks that better than Niang’s gems, her family has also smuggled their daughter away from the Communists which should be twice as much celebration. Neither Father nor Niang looks at Adeline or acknowledges her presence in any way.
Though not at all surprising, it is revealing of the shallowness of Niang’s character that a few diamonds make her as giddy and stupidly happy as a child, while the return of her own child provokes absolutely no reaction at all. Adeline notices this, as well, and it is safe to assume that it once again chips away at her own self-worth.
Themes
As the families are celebrating, Ye Ye tells Adeline that he has had a cot placed in his room and that she should move her things there while Niang is distracted. As Adeline unpacks her belongings into the room, she realizes that the undefinable quality she had heard earlier in Ye Ye’s voice was the sound of defeat. “Ye Ye had given up.”
Ye Ye’s defeat is a tragic representation of the power of a toxic family to completely subjugate the kindness of the people in it. Ye Ye is himself a living figure, but he has been entirely overpowered by Niang’s domineering cruelty, now passed on to her children.
Themes
The next day, Aunt Reine’s family walks from their hotel to Adeline’s family’s house for breakfast and to make plans for the day to go shopping together. Ye Ye insists that he stay home, since his neck is bothering him. Niang looks to Adeline and tells her that she will stay behind, as well, to massage Ye Ye’s neck for him. Although Victor is disappointed that Adeline will not be joining the rest of the group, Adeline is thrilled—Niang has acknowledged her for the first time since her arrival and has given her a job to do, causing Adeline to wonder if Niang has forgiven her. After the family leaves, Adeline reads the newspaper to Ye Ye, most of which describes the continued victories of the Communists over Chiang Kai-shek and his government.
Victor’s reaction to Niang’s leaving Adeline behind contrasts firmly against Adeline’s reaction. While Victor seems to recognize it as a disappointment and perhaps even a slight, Adeline is so starved for recognition from her parents that she is overjoyed simply to be recognized and given a task. This is revealing of the effects of child abuse, where a child so bereft of the love of their parents may interpret any extra attention, even negative attention, as a benefit and a mark of good standing, even a cause for false hope.
Themes
While she is reading, Ye Ye hears that Adeline’s grasp of Chinese is languishing and he orders her to copy down the words she struggled with. Adeline complains that she is tired of studying Chinese, especially since the nuns in Tianjin told her that English will be the most important language in the Twentieth Century. This pains Ye Ye’s heart and he reminds Adeline that, regardless of what she learns, she will always be Chinese and should protect its culture. Ye Ye also explains that since China is the oldest civilization on Earth, its legacy is the most useful for understanding how history progresses and what the future may hold. He then goes on to explain the relationships between various characters in the Chinese. For example, the Chinese word for “business” literally means “buy-sell” and contains the root word for “land,” indicating the manner in which land is the most valuable commodity in business since it is limited and it cannot be manufactured.
This once again brings up the tension between traditional Chinese culture and the modernizing influence of the West, made most apparent to Adeline by the nuns in Tianjin’s refusal to let her speak Mandarin. One of Ye Ye’s functions as a character and a figure in the author’s life is to pass on the wisdom of Chinese tradition and expound on the significance of its rich history. As noted earlier, this obviously had an impact on the author, as she committed much of her later years to preserving and promoting Chinese tradition. It is also worth noting that Ye Ye’s embrace of Chinese tradition is an affront to Niang’s character, who is preoccupied with presenting herself as fashionable, French, and modern.
Themes
Each day for the rest of the week, Niang takes Aunt Reine’s family on outings into the city, always inviting Ye Ye but never inviting Adeline. Ye Ye politely declines each day, and so he spends each day with his granddaughter alone in the house. To Adeline, the days feel wonderful, peaceful, and intimate, as they spend their time chatting, reading the newspaper, or playing Chinese checkers. She does not mind being left out of the family outings.
It is revealing that while Niang and the family are on outings, Adeline is happy with the simplicity of spending her time with Ye Ye doing very little. This is indicative of Adeline’s virtuous simplicity—although the rest of the family lives with Ye Ye everyday and ignores him, Adeline is able to see the gift of his presence and enjoy his company.
Themes
On Sunday, Niang organizes a long scenic drive for everyone to go on, and Ye Ye decides that he will come along. Adeline is not sure if she will be allowed to join this time and when Victor asks, Niang insists that there is no room in the car. Victor claims that Niang is being unfair leaving Adeline behind every day, and that today she will be home alone. Aunt Reine pointedly does not take a side. Niang angrily tells Victor that he can get in and leave Adeline or stay behind, as well. Victor nobly declares that he will stay with Adeline. Adeline is “overwhelmed” by his “chivalry” and gives him her origami book as a thank-you gift. Victor is stunned.
Despite Aunt Reine’s previous insistence on fairness and her self-sacrificing nature, she notably does not react to the unfairness of Niang’s treatment of Adeline, suggesting that Niang’s dominating presence even overpowers her older sister. Victor, perhaps because he is younger and does not know of Niang’s fury, shows far more courage than his mother, calling out Niang’s injustice. Once again, Victor models the way in which loving brothers should act for Adeline, demonstrating the way in which friends may offer a point of reference for the love and loyalty that has long been absent.
Themes
