Chinese Cinderella

Chinese Cinderella

by

Adeline Yen Mah

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Chinese Cinderella makes teaching easy.
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 is financially dependent on them, meaning that she is not in the position to defy Niang or Father when they are cruel and abusive. Although Aunt Baba was close friends with Adeline’s mother and was grieved by her death, she does not share the family’s resentment of Adeline. Rather, she is the most consistently loving and supportive figure in Adeline’s life. When Adeline brings home her report cards and certificates that declare her to be a top student, Aunt Baba cherishes them so much that she keeps them locked in her personal safe next to her jewelry. Although Aunt Baba cannot compensate for the missing love from Adeline’s parents, her support does soften the blow. Aunt Baba is the first person to tell Adeline that she is precious and smart enough to become anything she wants to be in life, as long as she is able to escape the trauma and negative messages of her childhood. This spurs Adeline’s eventual development towards realizing her own self-worth. Unfortunately, Father and Niang despise Aunt Baba’s love for Adeline—which contrasts with their own hatred of her—and view Aunt Baba as a “bad influence” on their daughter. The parents successfully separate Adeline and Aunt Baba and intercept any letters they try to send each other for several years, effectively ending Aunt Baba’s involvement halfway through the memoir, when Adeline is sent to boarding school in Tianjin.

Aunt Baba Quotes in Chinese Cinderella

The Chinese Cinderella quotes below are all either spoken by Aunt Baba or refer to Aunt Baba. 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:
Physical and Emotional Abuse Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9: Chinese New Year Quotes

I was no longer the lonely little girl bullied by her siblings. Instead, I was the female warrior Mulan, who would rescue her aunt and Ye Ye from harm.

Related Characters: Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang (speaker), Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Grandfather Ye Ye, Aunt Baba
Page Number: 53
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: Grandfather Ye Ye (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Aunt Baba, Big Sister (Lydia)
Page Number: 110
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Chinese Cinderella LitChart as a printable PDF.
Chinese Cinderella PDF

Aunt Baba Quotes in Chinese Cinderella

The Chinese Cinderella quotes below are all either spoken by Aunt Baba or refer to Aunt Baba. 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:
Physical and Emotional Abuse Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9: Chinese New Year Quotes

I was no longer the lonely little girl bullied by her siblings. Instead, I was the female warrior Mulan, who would rescue her aunt and Ye Ye from harm.

Related Characters: Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang (speaker), Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Grandfather Ye Ye, Aunt Baba
Page Number: 53
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: Grandfather Ye Ye (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Aunt Baba, Big Sister (Lydia)
Page Number: 110
Explanation and Analysis: