I truly appreciate the ongoing support from the administrator of the Facebook page, William Albert Andrew (el príncipe de la colina). She has continuously provided various resources and her insights to inspire me to keep my blog alive. For example, almost right after I published my previous post, Candy and Prince on the Hill, she sent me the link to this set of manga cover images from her page because she figured the words on the book sleeves conveyed important messages. She was absolutely right! ❤ The words on the yellow and red sleeves brought a big smile to my face. 😀
Note that this is the original manga version of “Candy Candy”, published in only 2 large volumes as the Collectors’ Edition (愛藏版), by the publisher chuokoronsha in August, 1991.
First, even before we discuss the wordings on the sleeves, you can see the images of Prince on the Hill on Book 1 and Candy on Book 2. The sleeves mentioned Igarashi’s cosplay (コスチューム プレイ) albums 2 and 3 respectively.
Now, what are the words on the yellow sleeve next to Prince on the Hill?
何か大切なものを忘れかけている (Forgetting about something important)
あなたに贈る愛の物語 (A love story presented to you)
I gather it meant Prince on the Hill had forgotten his precious badge, leaving a clue to his true identity. 😉 The words on the red sleeve next to happy Candy are the famous words from Prince on the Hill to Candy on Pony’s Hill:
キャンディ、きみは ないてる顔より (Candy, compared to your crying face)
笑った顔のほうがかわいいよ (Your smiling face is prettier)
Actually, in the manga Prince on the Hill had only said the second line to “little girl” (he didn’t know her name), as shown in my earlier post, The day her life changed (Part 2). At the end of the manga he repeated the exact words as a hint for Candy. ❤❤
Anyway, the publisher of the manga collectors’ edition basically indicated that Candy Candy is a love story between Candy and Prince on the Hill. 😀 Yes, Candy had fallen in love with other young men in between, but at the end, she was back to her prince, as described in the epilogue of Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS). If you don’t believe me, please read Candy’s letters to Prince on the Hill with an open mind. The fact that Albert was willing to confess to be Prince on the Hill means that they were more than friends and definitely not family.
Here, let me continue where I left off in Part 1 of this series, Candy and Prince on the Hill. Just before Candy dropped the bomb, asking Albert if she should call him “father”, she brought up the following (CCFS Vol 2, p. 309):
なんでも分かちあおうーーーそう言ってくれたアルバートさんの言葉、忘れません。(I do not forget the words which Albert-san said to me, “let’s share everything…”)
In the manga, one day after regaining his past memory, Albert made this suggestion to Candy when sharing a sandwich with her. With teary eyes, she promised to share her troubles and concerns with him for as long as she lived (in CCFS this was changed to sharing her joy and grief). Most of us believe that she hadn’t yet understood the depth of the meaning behind his words back then. Later, after Albert unexpectedly vanished in Candy’s life, she recalled this sandwich sharing proposal and realized she could actually talk to him just about anything (as discussed in The day her life changed (Part 6)).
Now, in this letter, why do you think Candy brought up this “sharing” agreement that Albert had suggested to her long time ago? Not only that, she stressed that she didn’t forget. 🙄
If you combine with what I explained in my previous post, you might notice that Candy was essentially outlining different stages of her feelings for Albert: (1) the beginning days in the House of Magnolia (2) overall penniless but happy (3) the promise to share everything with each other (4) the thought of living with him is not bad at all
Do you see what I see? 😉 That her feelings for him had evolved over time? She was telling him in this letter that she had already liked him even before knowing his true identity? 🙂 You might want to read my old posts, Love grew into romance, Part 2 and Part 3.
When they started living together, he was a friend and her patient, amnesiac and lost. She was worried but willed herself to take care of him till his recovery. Although they barely made ends meet, they had been happy together. She probably referred to the time after being fired from the hospital. I don’t think Dr. Martin paid her well, and Albert only had a part-time job, washing dishes. Then, months after breaking up with Terry, Albert suddenly suggested Candy share everything with him for the rest of her life. She was greatly moved and promised him without hesitation. Lastly, although she still wished he would recover, she realized that it wasn’t bad to continue living with him as brother and sister. I suppose by then she was so used to having him by her side that she was uncertain if she wanted him to leave her.
By the way, the apartment shown in the anime version was quite unrealistic. They couldn’t possibly afford a two-bedroom apartment, which means that they were confined in a tiny place as illustrated in the manga version, day in and day out, for likely more than two years. Thus, they must have got along extremely well, or else Candy wouldn’t have treasured and enjoyed Albert’s companionship this much, even contemplating to continue living with him. Sigh. ❤
In any case, as mentioned before, some time had elapsed since Candy’s discovery of Albert’s full name, and many things had happened, including Archie and Annie’s engagement, the reconstruction of the Pony’s Home, etc. We know that Candy addressed Albert as Granduncle William sometimes, even treating him like an old man, so why did Candy ask Albert out of the blue if she must call him “father” in this letter? 😕
Some of you said that it was Candy’s way to probe Albert’s feelings for her, which I totally agree. 😀 Great minds think alike again, my friends! ❤ Apparently, Candy wanted to delve into the truth of Albert’s feelings and who she really was to him, because no matter how she looked at it, their legal relationship had remained a predicament.
Come to think of it, soon after Albert’s confession, Candy had explicitly demanded him to take a holiday for her birthday, but he couldn’t take a day off. Yet, he had written pages and pages to her, explaining in detail why he had appeared on Pony’s Hill so long ago, dressed in Scottish kilt. His lengthy reply to her question made her shed lots of tears, and she felt that they had grown much closer as a result. Moreover, in his letter he honestly admitted of having conflicting emotions (Part 2). Therefore, I strongly believe she had high hopes something would happen when she arrived at Chicago with others.
Indeed, Albert had given Candy plenty of birthday presents, but as I have explained before, she had desired his presence more than anything else. In addition, she was possibly hoping for some sort of love confirmation from him, say he would tell her that she was more than just a friend to him?
Hence, imagine her immense disappointment when Candy hadn’t had a chance to talk to Albert before leaving Chicago. 😮 🙁 Perhaps she even began to doubt if she had jumped to conclusions. The fact that he had confessed to be her prince might not necessarily mean he had romantic feelings for her. 🙁 The nagging doubts had probably driven her crazy, and that resulted in asking the provocative “father” question.
After that question, Candy left a blank line to open a new paragraph, asking,
そう、アルバートさんの記憶はいつ戻ったのでしょうか？(So, when did Albert-san’s memory come back?)
This is the second time she asked him about his recovery. First time, she wanted to know if he had already recovered when she had shown him the precious silver badge and told him about Prince on the Hill back in the apartment. This time, I have a feeling she was dying to know if he had already recovered before suggesting sharing the sandwich with her. The timing was highly crucial to her. I suppose she had finally comprehended the significance of his sandwich proposal, and that’s why she wrote that she didn’t forget it was him who had suggested this. 😉
Then, before Candy ended her letter, she penned an interesting statement about Africa.
アフリカでの話も今度聞かせてね……って、いつになるのやら……。
Since the highlighted words above, って, is used to quote something, the way she wrote suggests that she quoted her own words, “also tell me the story in Africa this time”. Occasionally, people quoted their own words to remind someone or get attention from somebody (like a child telling his mother, “I said, ‘I am hungry’, mom…”)
You see what I mean? In Candy’s case, she wrote “also… this time”, so very likely she had asked Albert about Africa upon her arrival at Chicago, but he couldn’t afford the leisure and time for story telling. What’s more, Candy ended this sentence with a strong hint of uncertainty, wondering when this would take place. That is, when Albert would really find time to give her his full attention.
Therefore, I have the impression Candy was getting impatient. On the other hand, have you wondered why Candy hadn’t yet asked Albert about Africa? 😮 After all, she had long known that he had recovered. For one thing, he was terribly busy as the patriarch and a businessman, and she had moved back to Pony’s Home. For another, I figure this has something to do with her anger towards him ever since her discovery of their legal relationship. For your interest, please read my earlier post, Why angry, for so long? 🙂
All in all, Candy was sharing her “sandwich”, letting her prince know again and again of her disappointment and frustration that he hadn’t spent enough time with her ever since his confession on the hill, not even during her stay in Chicago. She couldn’t talk to him about casual things, like his experience in Africa (which he had to allocate way more than a few minutes), let alone deep and personal matters.
Finally, she signed her letter with
あなたの美しき養女より (from your beautiful adopted daughter)
Note that she used the ancient version of the adjective, beautiful (the bolded words). This matches with the ancient honorific she had used for “father” (父上さま) in her teasing question earlier. She restated their legal relationship here by addressing herself as his adopted daughter. You see? Candy was being honest with her prince but teasingly playful at the same time. 😉 Besides, I feel that she was fishing compliments from him. Do you think she wanted to know if she looked beautiful to him? 😉 😛
Can’t you see how much Candy missed Albert by now? 🙄 Yes, despite being so preoccupied with work, he did write prompt and long replies to her, and yet she preferred his company, so much so that she deliberately refrained from writing another long letter to him after this, as discussed in my early post, I wish you were here… 😉 😛
It’s incredible I have to write two long posts just for the last two paragraphs of this letter! 😆 Anyway, I’ll continue to talk about the parallels between Daddy-Long-Legs and Candy Candy in Part 3. I’d like to hear your thoughts, and have a nice weekend, my friends! ❤❤❤