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Wu Chun-mei
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 bully her siblings into doing her chores. Early on, Big Sister is resentful of any time that Adeline earns Father’s brief affection through her academic achievements, finding ways to make Adeline suffer for it and inspiring the other siblings to be similarly cruel. Although Big Sister is initially defiant of Niang’s mistreatment and leads the stepchildren’s short-lived resistance against her, Niang easily buys her off with favorable treatment and gifts. Big Sister flips on her siblings, spying on them for Niang and becoming similarly haughty and vicious, demonstrating herself to have virtually no moral character and effectively casting her as a younger version of Niang. When Big Sister is seventeen years old, Niang marries her off to a man twice her age. Though Big Sister seems happy about the arrangement, it disturbs Adeline and causes her to fear that the same fate will be thrust upon her. In this way, Big Sister represents an alternate fate for Adeline, the threat that comes with being a woman in Twentieth Century China. After the wedding, Big Sister departs and plays no further role in the story.
Big Sister (Lydia) Quotes in Chinese Cinderella
The Chinese Cinderella quotes below are all either spoken by Big Sister (Lydia) or refer to Big Sister (Lydia). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1: Top of the Class
Quotes
“But then Mama died giving birth to you. If you had not been born, Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck.”
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Chapter 5: Arrival in Shanghai
Quotes
As we climbed the stairs, Big Brother muttered, “To her, we are not separate people. Here we have become one single unit known as all of you. Seems like this is how it’s going to be from now on.”
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Chapter 9: Chinese New Year
Quotes
We began to question Third Brother’s sanity—had he imagined that Niang overheard us?—but he stuck to his story. “Perhaps,” he suggested darkly, “we’re being kept deliberately in a state of uncertainty because that’s what Niang most enjoys. The cat-and-mouse game.”
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Chapter 14: Class President
Quotes
“When you’ve reached my age, you know which children are weak and which are strong. Don’t ask her too many questions. Don’t criticize her or tear her down. I don’t want her to grow up like Big Sister. She is going to be different!”
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Big Sister (Lydia) Quotes in Chinese Cinderella
The Chinese Cinderella quotes below are all either spoken by Big Sister (Lydia) or refer to Big Sister (Lydia). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1: Top of the Class
Quotes
“But then Mama died giving birth to you. If you had not been born, Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck.”
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5: Arrival in Shanghai
Quotes
As we climbed the stairs, Big Brother muttered, “To her, we are not separate people. Here we have become one single unit known as all of you. Seems like this is how it’s going to be from now on.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9: Chinese New Year
Quotes
We began to question Third Brother’s sanity—had he imagined that Niang overheard us?—but he stuck to his story. “Perhaps,” he suggested darkly, “we’re being kept deliberately in a state of uncertainty because that’s what Niang most enjoys. The cat-and-mouse game.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14: Class President
Quotes
“When you’ve reached my age, you know which children are weak and which are strong. Don’t ask her too many questions. Don’t criticize her or tear her down. I don’t want her to grow up like Big Sister. She is going to be different!”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
