Chinese Cinderella Quotes

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all,” a quote from the Disney movie, Mulan, proclaimed. Mulan’s father once told her that quote, and it inspired her to be different. Adeline and Mulan both fought for their rights and freedom while being a girl. In the novel, Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah, Adeline compares herself to Mulan, the female warrior. She had to fight wars, requiring courage, just as Mulan did.
Adeline described about herself, “I was the female warrior Mulan.” The author, Adeline, once thought to herself, “Then they all ran out, leaving me quite alone with my silver medal, staring at my empty bowl.” (Yen Mah 11) Everyone appreciated Mulan until they discovered that she was a female, not the male they thought she was. She proved that women can be just as good as men. Adeline’s siblings were happy and proud of her until her father had complimented her. Then they stole her dinner, some dragon fruits. Girls were all unequally treated back then. Adeline’s father told her, “Continue studying hard and bring honor

to our Yen family name so we can be proud of you.” (Yen Mah 11) Mulan and Adeline both want to impress and bring honor to their families, especially their father. They are both underestimated girls who have good smarts that will help them succeed in life. The girls have to fight to stay strong and stand up for themselves as they are mistreated.
Adeline fought many emotional wars including depression, sadness, loneliness, and low self-esteem. The author once stated, “I never got to say goodbye (...) Niang wanted me to pack my bag immediately because I was being taken away.” (Yen Mah 157) Young Adeline fought wars of depression because she was always alone and unwanted throughout her early life. She becomes separated from her family, pets, and friends. Although most of her life is sad because of her separations, she hardly shows her emotions in front of people. Adeline also states that, “On Christmas day, I ate dinner all by myself in the vast refectory (...) Nothing! I don’t think any of my features are good (...) Everything is ugly. I loathe myself.” (Yen Mah 133 & 188) Adeline is often lonely because she has no one to comfort her or simply talk to. She has a very low self-esteem because she has no one to encourage her, and therefore she hates herself and doesn’t believe in that there is anything good in her. She doesn’t appreciate herself the way she should.
In order to make it through all these tough times in her life, Adeline had to have a lot of courage, just like Mulan.

Adeline Yen Mah told, “I started to weep (...) For the last few months, I had taken the blows as they came, with stoical fortitude.” (Yen Mah 137) After everything that Adelina has suffered through, she has barely cried and has instead remained calm. She kept all her feelings to herself. Most people, after being through the situations that Adeline had, would have anxiety problems. The author claimed, “When father questioned me, I could not lie. He ordered me to lie facedown on my bed and he whipped me.” (Yen Mah 104) Adeline has always stayed strong in front of Niang and Father, even after all the terrible things that they have done to her, including whipping and hitting her. She knows that she is an unwanted child, and she learned to deal with the fact that she’s a girl, just as Mulan

did.
Overall, Adeline Yen Mah has been a very strong girl throughout all of her childhood. She’s much like Mulan in many various ways, including how she continues to stay courageous and strong while fighting her wars of emotions. I agree with Disney when he said, “The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” This means a lot to Mulan and Adeline because it proves the point of their stories, that being different and unique is good. That’s what will help people to succeed in life.