This leads to conflict with Father's first four children, with power imbalance and manipulation rendering the conflict toothless.

Niang establishes her as the de facto head of the household by the time the family moves to Beijing, setting a clear separation between her natural born children and her adopted ones.

Father is very proud of his 'French' wife, showing her off to friends and treating her to her every whim. Niang is married to Adeline's father one year after the death of Adeline's mother, at the age of 17. Niang is the stepmother to Adeline and her four older siblings and the natural mother to 4th Younger Brother (Franklin) and Little Sister (Susan). Although her siblings and stepmother Niang often abuse her, Adeline attempts to overcome her problematic home life with her performance and community outside it. Her Aunt's support combined with her father's brief flashes of approval lead Adeline to pursue academic excellence, leading to her outstanding performance in school and indomitable drive. Her inadvertent role in her mother's passing causes animosity between her and her older siblings and contributes to her father's apathy towards her.Īdeline maintains a very close relationship with her Aunt Baba and both her grandparents, turning to them for reason and comfort throughout her early years. Adeline is an outcast in the eyes of much of her own family, since her birth brought upon the death of her mother. The book follows her childhood from the age of four to her departure to England in her early teens. Buy Study Guide Adeline (Jun-Ling/Wu Mei)Īdeline is the fifth youngest of the Yen family and the protagonist of the novel.

Adeline yen