Chinese Cinderella Character Analysis

Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang

Adeline is the narrator and protagonist of the memoir, which describes her coming-of-age in an abusive home. Born the fifth child of a wealthy businessman in Tianjin, China, Adeline is blamed for the death of… read analysis of Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang

Niang (Jeanne Prosperi)

Niang is Father’s second wife and Adeline’s abusive stepmother. She is the memoir’s primary antagonist. Niang is a half-French, half-Chinese, and her European heritage contributes to her extreme vanity. She despises the five… read analysis of Niang (Jeanne Prosperi)

Father (Joseph Yen)

Father is a wealthy businessman, husband of Niang, and father of Adeline and her siblings. Father is depicted as largely negligent of his own children, concerned more with his success as a businessman and… read analysis of Father (Joseph Yen)

Grandfather Ye Ye

Ye Ye is the father of Adeline’s Father and Aunt Baba, husband of Grandmother Nai Nai, and thus the grandfather of all of the children. He lives with the family and is dependent… read analysis of Grandfather Ye Ye

Grandmother Nai Nai

Nai Nai is the wife of Ye Ye, mother of Adeline’s Father, and grandmother of all of the children. She lives with the family and is dependent on them to live. Nai Nai… read analysis of Grandmother Nai Nai

Aunt Baba

Aunt Baba is the sister of Adeline’s Father, the daughter of Ye Ye, and the aunt of all of the children. Aunt Baba is unmarried, and so she lives with the family and… read analysis of Aunt Baba

Third Brother (James)

Third Brother is the youngest son of Father’s first marriage, he is the stepson of Niang, and the second youngest of the stepchildren. Third Brother is the only sibling that Adeline has a… read analysis of Third Brother (James)

Wu Chun-mei

Wu Chun-mei is the daughter of a wealthy merchant family and becomes Adeline’s best friend during her years in Shanghai. Chun-mei is a remarkable athlete, initially catching Adeline’s interest with her prowess in any… read analysis of Wu Chun-mei

Big Sister (Lydia)

Big Sister is the first daughter of Father’s first marriage, stepdaughter of Niang, and eldest of the stepchildren. Big Sister is cruel and manipulative, using her debilitated left arm as an excuse to… read analysis of Big Sister (Lydia)

Big Brother (Gregory)

Big Brother is eldest son of Father’s first marriage, stepson of Niang, and second eldest of the stepchildren. Though he is occasionally kind to Adeline, Big Brother is most often depicted as… read analysis of Big Brother (Gregory)

Second Brother (Edgar)

Second Brother is the third child of Father’s first marriage, stepson of Niang, and middle of the stepchildren. Though it is never fully revealed why, Second Brother is the cruelest sibling towards Adeline… read analysis of Second Brother (Edgar)

Fourth Brother (Franklin)

Fourth Brother is the first child of Father’s second marriage, and he is Niang’s eldest and favorite child. As one of Niang’s biological children, he is favored above the stepchildren and given every… read analysis of Fourth Brother (Franklin)

Little Sister (Susan)

Little Sister is the second child of Father’s second marriage, the youngest of Niang’s biological children, and youngest of all the children in the household. For much of the memoir, Little Sister is… read analysis of Little Sister (Susan)

Aunt Reine

Aunt Reine is Niang’s older sister, mother of Claudine and Victor, and Adeline’s aunt. Aunt Reine and her family rescues Adeline from Tianjin and the Communists by taking her with them aboard… read analysis of Aunt Reine

Victor

Victor is the older brother of Claudine, son of Aunt Reine, and cousin of Adeline. Victor is the model brother to Claudine, being chivalrous, protective, and sensitive to her feelings, even though… read analysis of Victor

Claudine

Claudine is the younger sister of Victor, daughter of Aunt Reine, and younger cousin of Adeline. Like her brother, Claudine helps to demonstrate what a healthy family can look like and shares… read analysis of Claudine

Rachel Yu

Rachel is a close friend of Adeline during the years spent at the boarding school in Hong Kong. Rachel is kind and considerate, but Adeline is reticent to tell Rachel of her suffering, in part… read analysis of Rachel Yu

Mary Suen

Mary is a close friend of Adeline during the years spent at boarding school. Mary is kind and considerate, visiting Adeline every day in the hospital when she is stricken with pneumonia one summer. Even… read analysis of Mary Suen

Mother Marie

Mother Marie is the nun who spends the most time with Adeline when she is abandoned by her parents at the boarding school in Tianjin. Although Mother Maria initially is harsh and makes fun of… read analysis of Mother Marie

Minor Characters

Miss Chien

Miss Chien is a nanny hired by Niang when the family lives in Hong Kong, but whose real purpose seems to be to spy on the stepchildren. Although Big Sister initially despises Miss Chien as much as the other children, she befriends her once Niang buys her off.

Monica Lim

Monica is Adeline’s rival at the boarding school in Hong Kong. In contrast to Adeline, Monica is stylish, elegant, and doted upon by her parents and the nuns who run the school. Though Monica is several years older, Adeline begins to surpass her in academics, earning Monica’s callous resentment.

Grand Aunt

Grand Aunt is Father’s sister who gifts the jade pendant to Big Sister for her wedding.