Chinese Cinderella (Edexcel IGCSE English Language A)

Revision Note

Written by: Deb Orrock

Reviewed by: Kate Lee

Chinese Cinderella Analysis

Students studying the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language A qualification must study all ten of the non-fiction texts in Part 1 of the Edexcel IGCSE English Language Anthology in preparation for Paper 1. You will be given one of the ten texts in your exam, along with another unseen text, which are thematically linked. Section A, Question 4 will specifically be about the anthology text, and Question 5 will ask you to compare the anthology text with the unseen text.

The following guide to Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah contains:

Chinese Cinderella overview
Chinese Cinderella summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in Chinese Cinderella
How does Yen Mah present her ideas and opinions?

Chinese Cinderella overview

The Chinese Cinderella extract is taken from Adeline Yen Mah’s autobiography covering her life until the age of 14, when she left Hong Kong for England. Yen Mah grew up in a wealthy family during the 1950s in Hong Kong, but suffered rejection and abuse from her family. She was sent away to boarding school, and the extract is about one of the few occasions when she returned home, summoned by her distant and powerful father.

Chinese Cinderella summary

The extract begins with Yen Mah playing Monopoly at her boarding school, with the end of school still eight weeks away. However, her Father’s chauffeur arrives to take her home, which fills Yen Mah with dread. They arrive at an elegant villa which Yen Mah does not recognise, as the family had moved house while she was at school. When she enters, she is informed that her father wants to see her in his room, a place she had never been invited to before.

In her father’s room, she is relieved that he appears to be in a relaxed and happy mood. He shares a newspaper report, revealing that Yen Mah has won first prize in an international play-writing competition. Her father seems proud of her, as the first Chinese student from Hong Kong to have won the prize. Using this success, Yen Mah asks if she might go to England to study at university. She suggests literature, but her father instructs her that she will go to medical school. Yen Mah agrees, happy to be going to England.

Themes, ideas and perspectives in Chinese Cinderella

Paper 1, Question 4 will ask you to explore how the writer has used language and structure to present a theme or idea within their text. Paper 1, Question 5 will ask you to compare how the writer presents their ideas and perspectives with the unseen text.

What are the key themes in Chinese Cinderella?

Theme	Analysis
Family relationships	The writer clearly feels fearful and apprehensive at the thought of going home to her family: She describes emotively that she is “Full of foreboding” and “ran downstairs as in a nightmare” “During the short drive home, my heart was full of dread” This implies that she has a complex relationship with her family
	Yen Mah does not recognise her family’s villa, suggesting that they moved there while she was at boarding school but did not inform her: This underlines her lack of status and importance and her family’s callous disregard for her
	Yen Mah’s father clearly is the dominant figure in the family, as he “summoned” the writer to his room, and his chauffeur is given orders: Yen Mah is clearly wary of her father and his mood, suggesting that she has been ill-treated in the past She “breathed a small sigh of relief at first but became uneasy again”, and wonders “Dare I let my guard down?” It is his decision whether Yen Mah is allowed to go to England or not; a decision that was clearly not in question for Third Brother, suggesting that priority is given to the male members of the family

Pride and power	Prestige and honour are clearly important to her father; Yen Mah’s success gives her family greater status
	The writer’s father’s pride and kind words seem a direct result of the honour her prize confers on the family, feeding his own ego: He is proud of her because she had “given him face” in front of a “revered colleague” and a “prominent fellow businessman” But Yen Mah can exploit his pride and arrogance by “boldly” asking to go to university in England; this gives her a new power or influence

	Yen Mah is saved by the power of a story: She was a dedicated student, seeking out the competition and entering it This opens the door for her to escape her family She likens going to England to metaphorically “entering heaven” However, her father still has the power to dictate what she must do there, deciding that she should go to medical school rather than study literature The irony here is that we are reading a piece of literature written by Yen Mah herself

How does Yen Mah present her ideas and opinions?

Yen Mah uses a variety of language and structural techniques to present her ideas and perspective.

Technique	Analysis
Title	The title alludes to the fairytale of Cinderella, suggesting that the writer is a real-life version of the oppressed step-sister
First-person perspective	The first person perspective allows the reader to learn of Yen Mah’s inner thoughts and feelings, evoking feelings of pathos: This also emphasises the distance between her and her father, as he clearly knows so little about her
Rhetorical questions	The writer uses rhetorical questions to explore the unusual situation she finds herself in: “Why?...”, “Is this a giant ruse on his part to trick me?” and “Is it possible?” imply Yen Mah’s inherent acceptance of her position (someone without good fortune) Her surprise at her father’s kindness and her success in winning the competition also reveals her low self-esteem
Pathetic fallacy	The radio “warned of a possible typhoon the next day”, foreshadowing her turmoil: Yen Mah feels dread and anxiety at being summoned home
Symbolism	The game of Monopoly is a form of symbolism: At the beginning of the passage, she is “losing steadily” at this game of chance The game symbolically represents Yen Mah’s life, in which her luck could change for better or worse as she “threw the dice”
Simile	The writer compares the thought of leaving school to the throbbing of a “persistent toothache”: This suggests the worry about returning home is ever-present and painful
Allusion	There are religious allusions used in the passage: For example, her father’s sanctum is called the “Holy of Holies”, a reference to the most sacred place in the Temple of Jerusalem, accessible only to a Jewish high priest This likens her father to a powerful religious figure, someone she is obliged to obey Yen Mah also compares going to England “like entering heaven” and references a line from a Romantic poem by Wordsworth, which suggests that when the sun rises, we feel “bliss”: This conveys the overwhelming joy Yen Mah feels, juxtaposed with her earlier anxiety and dread