Adri Character Analysis in Cinder

Adri is Cinder’s stepmother, Garan’s widow, and Pearl and Peony’s mother. Adri is exceptionally cruel and abusive toward Cinder, particularly because Cinder is a cyborg (human/robot hybrid) and Adri therefore views her as subhuman. Because Adri is Cinder’s legal guardian, she forces Cinder to work and then takes all the money Cinder earns. She makes it clear that she never wanted Cinder, and she blames Cinder for causing Garan’s death because she believes that Garan caught letumosis when he traveled to Europe to adopt her. Adri also blames Cinder when Peony catches letumosis, and as a result, she volunteers Cinder for cyborg letumosis research. She does this—even though she knows that no one survives the letumosis testing—because she receives a stipend for Cinder’s sacrifice. At the end of the book, Adri takes away Cinder’s new prosthetic foot after discovering that Cinder spent a lot of money on it; she also sells many of Cinder’s possessions, including Iko, to pay for Peony’s funeral. In this way, the book shows that Adri’s cruelty stems from her power as the head of the family. Rather than caring for Cinder, her greed causes her to care only for herself, destroying any chance of a happy family unit and almost killing Cinder in the process.

Adri Quotes in Cinder

The Cinder quotes below are all either spoken by Adri or refer to Adri. 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:

Irritation hardened in Cinder’s gut. She might have pointed out that Pearl and Peony could have been given ready-made rather than custom dresses in order to budget for Cinder’s as well. She might have pointed out that they would only wear their dresses one time too. She might have pointed out that, as she was the one doing the work, the money should have been hers to spend as she saw fit. But all arguments would come to nothing. Legally, Cinder belonged to Adri as much as the household android and so too did her money, her few possessions, even the new foot she’d just attached. Adri loved to remind her of that.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Adri, Peony, Iko, Pearl

Related Symbols: Cinder’s Mechanical Foot

Page Number and Citation: 24

Explanation and Analysis:

“I’m not sure I would label it a ‘survivor,’” said Iko, her sensor darkening with disgust. “It looks more like a rotting pumpkin.”

Cinder shut the hood with a bang, sending an impressive dust cloud over the android. “What was that about having a fantastic imagination? With some attention and a good cleaning, it could be restored to its former glory.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Iko (speaker), Adri, Peony

Page Number and Citation: 47

Explanation and Analysis:

And maybe she’d been right to do it. Maybe it was Cinder’s duty as a cyborg to sacrifice herself so all the normal humans could be cured. Maybe it did make sense to use the ones who had already been tampered with. But Cinder knew she would never forgive Adri for it. The woman was supposed to be the one to protect her, to help her. If Adri and Pearl were her only family left, she would be better off alone.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Adri, Peony

Page Number and Citation: 131

Explanation and Analysis:

Levana knew he had been searching for Princess Selene. She would kill him. She would take over the Commonwealth. She would wage war on…on the whole planet.

She grasped her head as the world spun around her.

She had to warn him. She couldn’t let him make the announcement.

She could send him a comm, but what were the chances he was checking them during the ball?

The ball.

Cinder peered down at her drab clothes. Her empty ankle. Peony’s dress. The old foot that Iko had saved. The silk gloves. Her head bobbed before she knew what she was agreeing to, and she used the shelves to pull herself to standing. “I’ll go,” she muttered, “I’ll find him.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Adri, Peony, Iko

Related Symbols: Cinder’s Mechanical Foot

Page Number and Citation: 323

Explanation and Analysis:

On the fifth step, she heard the bolts snap. The wires tore loose, like tendons stretched to the max. She felt the loss of power at the base of her calf, sending a blinding warning signal up to her brain.

She fell, screaming, and tried to block her fall with her left hand. A shock of pain jolted up her shoulder and into her spine. Metal clattered against stone as she crashed down to the gravel pathway. […]

His eyes drunk her in—a gleam of metal fingers, the wires sparking at the end of her battered metal leg. His jaw fell, and he looked momentarily as if he might be sick.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Adri

Related Symbols: Cinder’s Mechanical Foot

Page Number and Citation: 365-366

Explanation and Analysis:

Adri Character Timeline in Cinder

The timeline below shows where the character Adri appears in Cinder. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Resourcefulness, Kindness, and Perseverance Theme Icon

...begins attaching her new foot—she’s thrilled that Iko found it, though she knows her stepmother Adri would kill her if she found out Cinder spent 600 univs on a foot. Suddenly,... (full context)

...apartment building with the ID chip embedded her wrist and descends to the basement, where Adri lets her work. She sets Nainsi down and then rides the elevator to the 18th... (full context)

Cinder tells Adri that she’ll get cleaned up and ready for her dress fitting. When Adri says that... (full context)

...ago, and hundreds of thousands of people have fallen ill and died since. This includes Adri’s husband Garan, who adopted Cinder from Europe when she was 11 years old. Cinder has... (full context)

Stereotypes and Discrimination Theme Icon

...but it’s really a reminder that cyborgs aren’t like everyone else. Still, Cinder knows that Adri won’t volunteer her for testing, because Cinder is the only one in the family who... (full context)

...tells Iko that there’s no way she can attend—she doesn’t have money for clothes, and Adri has no real intention of letting her go. Plus, even if she went, no one... (full context)

...Peony comes into the basement in her dress, and Cinder compliments her. Peony complains that Adri isn’t getting a dress for Cinder, but Cinder tries to assure her that she doesn’t... (full context)

...knowing that Peony is already dying. When Cinder arrives home, med-droids are already there, and Adri and Pearl have already tested negative for letumosis. After Adri instructs Iko to dispose of... (full context)

Adri then informs Cinder that she never wanted to adopt—Garan was the one who took Cinder... (full context)

...time she wants to. She also asks for payment, but in a separate account that Adri can’t access—and Peony has to be the first person to get an antidote. Dr. Erland... (full context)

...home to fix Nainsi and to protect Iko, but she resolves to get away from Adri. When Cinder arrives at the apartment, Adri and Pearl are stunned to see her alive.... (full context)

...she can buy a dress and go to the ball. Cinder, however, points out that Adri probably won’t let her go anyway. Just then, Cinder notices Peony’s dress in a corner... (full context)

...begs Cinder to take her home, but Cinder can’t. She assures Peony that Pearl and Adri are healthy and informs Peony that she (Cinder) is immune. She’s working with the letumosis... (full context)

...him to drink. As Cinder leaves, a voice comes over the speaker, informing Cinder that Adri has labeled her a runaway cyborg—their orders are to apprehend her by force and return... (full context)

When Cinder returns home, she’s furious that Adri had her arrested like a common criminal. Adri asks what Cinder was doing at the... (full context)

Adri tells Cinder that she isn’t a part of this family—she’s not even human, she can’t... (full context)

Cinder leaves, furious, but she can’t do anything about it. She legally belongs to Adri. She just needs time—a week or two until the car is ready. In the bedroom,... (full context)

On the day of the ball, Cinder sits in her booth as Adri and Pearl shop for some last-minute accessories in the market. Cinder doesn’t take any business,... (full context)

Just then, Adri comes in and commands Cinder to wash their hover during Prince Kai’s coronation. As Cinder... (full context)

After Adri and Pearl leave for the ball, Cinder returns to the apartment to pack. She tucks... (full context)

Before Cinder reaches Kai, Adri confronts Cinder about Peony’s dress, and Pearl glares at her for stealing her boots. Adri... (full context)

...the dance as she tries not to limp on her small foot. Cinder apologizes for Adri’s behavior, and Kai grows serious, asking her why she didn’t tell him. For a moment,... (full context)