In my previous post, “True Love and Obstacles”, I mentioned that in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS), Candy wrote to Albert that she asked him to keep her precious diary (filled with her own words about her deep feelings for Terry back in London) for her and even told him that she was happy by saying, “yes, Albert-san, herein lies my happiness; in now.”
Soon after that she ended that letter “with love and gratitude”. In CCFS, this is her last letter to Albert. The way she ended her last letter to Albert in the old Candy Candy novel was different. Back in the old novel, she simply ended her letter “with love”. Either way, Candy did use the word “love” to end her letter.
So what does that mean?
First and foremost, no one can deny that Candy had strong affection for Albert. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have begged him to live with her when he was amnesiac. She wanted to take care of him until his recovery. Her reasons were that she genuinely liked him as a big brother and wanted to pay back his kindness for her (he had saved her life near the waterfall and had consoled her a couple of times in the past when she had been feeling down).
Hence, the question is whether Candy’s affection changed to romantic love for Albert. In other words, did Candy fall in love with Albert, as a man?
Well, sometimes people can’t tell if they have truly fallen in love. It becomes even more confusing if a person finds his/her affection for his/her close friend grows to a certain point where it’s no longer mere friendship. In Candy’s case, some people argued that her strong feelings for Albert were extensions of her fraternal love she had felt for him in the beginning. That is, she loved him all right, but only as a brother and nothing more.
However, I personally think that their platonic relationship might have blossomed into a romantic one. Below are some observations from the manga:
1. After Albert had vanished in Candy’s life, she missed him so much, even shedding tears when she went to bed at nights (not just once! Please read my previous posts about “Rockstown Incident” for more details). In the past, he had come and gone in her life many times, and although she had occasionally thought of him, never once had she missed him that emotionally. After cohabiting with him for slightly more than a year, her longing for him was intense, and it lasted for months. Therefore, her feelings for him had definitely changed.
2. Candy had very good friends, like Archie, Patty and Annie. She didn’t need to see them every day, and they remained close friends. However, her yearning to see Albert again was palpable, and she even drew a picture of him because she wanted to find him. This implies that Albert was very special to Candy, and she thought about him constantly, day and night. That was why she took the risk to go all the way to a remote town, Rockstown, just because there was a chance that he could be there.
3. Once Candy found Albert in Lakewood and discovered his true identity, she was initially very shocked, but afterwards, she spent a long time with Albert alone, even spending the night with him in the lodge (of course Albert was still a gentleman plus there were lots of animals around). At any rate, it is obvious that they were having a wonderful time together (just the two of them). Both enjoyed each other’s company, a lot.
4. After Albert had successfully helped Candy annul her forced engagement with Neil, Albert asked Candy to leave the party first and he would join her later. In short, Albert wanted a rendezvous with Candy, and without second thought she gladly accepted his “invitation”. Once again, it shows that they liked to be alone with each other.
Note that falling in love often involves extreme emotions like joy, sorrow, happiness, and even depression. Candy seemed to have experienced all these after Albert had disappeared in her life and later reunited with him.
So what do you think?
For your interest, I was inspired by this post:
“Platonic Love or Romantic Love: Ways to Tell” – http://neurolove.me/post/20818706300/platonic-love-or-romantic-love-ways-to-tell
For your interest, please read my other observations in the old Candy Candy novel or CCFS.