Terry’s brief letter to Candy (Part 3)
It’s May 7th, Candy’s birthday! 😀 Regrettably, I don’t have time this year to do anything special to celebrate, but I did change my profile picture on my Facebook page, using parts of my drawing for Evelyn. 😀 Yet, let me share some good news with you all. locksleyu has recently published his unofficial translation (from Japanese to English) of the first part of Chapter 1 of Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS) on his blog. For your interest, he has also translated the prologue some time ago.
Now, concerning this famous letter in CCFS, I’ve already explained in Part 1 why Terry would have been a cold-hearted guy if he had indeed claimed that Susanna’s death had not affected him whatsoever. 🤔Then in Part 2, I explained why this letter could have been written long before their breakup. For example, Terry might remember the ‘anniversary’ of their first kiss (May festival), so he thought of writing a letter to Candy some time after he had settled down in New York as an actor in Stratford but before the great war. What’s more, due to the complete lack of emotions, the uncertainty of his letter reaching Candy, and his signature as T.G., I have reasons to believe he had attempted to send it to her at St. Paul’s Academy.
The questions are: (1) Had Candy received this letter at all? (2) If so, when? 🙂
Reeka and some other ladies have brilliant insights and imagination of when and how Candy might receive this particular letter under what circumstances, so I urge you to read their marvelous comments to Part 2 when you have a chance. 😊
You might ask me, “So, what do you think?” 😀
First, if I’m not mistaken, Candy had not uttered a single word about this letter in her present nor in any of her letters to others, including her unsent letters to Terry, one written after knowing that Terry had paid a visit to Pony’s Home on a winter day and the other written to congratulate Terry on his success as Hamlet. Both letters were written at Pony’s Home without being sent, and Candy didn’t say anything about having received a brief letter from him while being apart. Therefore, I don’t think he had addressed to Pony’s Home, or else Candy’s foster mothers would have mentioned it to her.
Some people even suspected that Candy had never received the letter. 🤔 I won’t rule out this possibility. However, because there are other letters in CCFS that Candy didn’t comment either, I suppose she had received this letter from Terry, but not until long after the discovery that Albert was her Prince on the Hill.
Why? I have a feeling that Candy was totally unaware of this letter from Terry when going to Lakewood with her Prince on the Hill. She didn’t bring it up when she was writing a very long letter to Albert and a mental letter to Anthony after the day trip.
In fact, my speculation is that Candy didn’t get Terry’s letter from St Paul’s Academy till some time after knowing that Susanna had passed away. This brief letter was displayed right after her obituary in CCFS for a reason after all. It might be a hint or a trick from Mizuki, depending on which angle you look at it. 🙄😌
My point is, it doesn’t really matter when and how exactly Candy got Terry’s letter because chronologically, their breakup took place afterwards. Thus, it wouldn’t alter the fact that they had made the decision to go separate paths on a snowy night in New York. That very night, Candy had to face the painful reality that Terry was no longer a free man; he owed another woman his life. Regardless of his letter content, he had changed a lot due to Susanna’s sacrifice for him. He had even chosen her over Candy, the girl who should be strong enough to survive without him. As a result, Candy bid farewell to him, as shown in the manga scene here. (Many thanks to Reeka for taking this picture for my post! 💖❤)
Since then, Candy had completely changed! No longer a girl who chased after Terry, she had remained firm in her resolve not to see or talk to him again. She didn’t waver even when she ran into him by chance in Rockstown. If you read her reply to Miss Eleanor Baker carefully, Candy was more disappointed (if not vexed) than sad that Terry had ended up like that. Despite feeling confused back then, Candy didn’t have any regrets of leaving the roadside theatre without talking to him.
Come to think of it, in her thirties, Candy didn’t tell us if this brief letter from Terry was really in her damascene jewelry box. Remember that Candy did talk about his previous letters to her all bundled up and she’d rather not look at them yet? Elsewhere in CCFS (in her unsent letter to him) she even complained that she wished to get romantic letters from him but he had only teased her, always addressing her as Tarzan Freckles. Not once did she mention about him trying to reach her by writing a letter, in which he actually called her ‘Candy’, not her nickname.
Besides, not everything shown in CCFS Part III was retrieved from inside the jewelry box. For example, Candy mentioned Susanna’s obituary because she had memorized it, but I don’t think Candy had actually kept it with her.
In light of all this, getting this letter from Terry written so long ago wouldn’t make much of an impact in Candy’s life. This is similar to getting the invitation from Terry’s mom; it didn’t cause Candy to change her mind. Because she was totally aware that Terry belonged to Susanna, and with the support from Albert, Candy had undoubtedly moved on for a considerably long time. She herself admitted all that in her unsent letter to Terry.
On the other hand, if indeed this letter implied Terry’s reunion with Candy, she in her present time would have said something like “opening this letter was the turning point…” or “my patience all these years paid off at long last…” 🙄
Even if not, the epilogue should be about the times she spent with Terry or Terry taking concrete steps to make amends or woo Candy, don’t you think? 🙄 At the very least, there should be hints that either Candy or Terry would make an attempt to contact each other.
Yet, the epilogue had nothing to do with Terry. Instead, it’s mainly the correspondence between Candy and her Prince on the Hill, who opened up himself to her. Even when Terry’s name was directly mentioned (only once in 40+ pages), it was about Candy’s diary (her past), which she determined not to revisit. Need I say more? 😝😜
Thus, contrary to popular belief, this brief letter from Terry is not that significant at all. Its existence doesn’t make much of a difference to the story plot nor the two main characters. All in all, CCFS began with a heartbreaking incident, Annie’s departure, which led Candy to her prince, and CCFS ends with Candy being in love with her prince. ❤ ❤ ❤ By then, he was the man who had captured her heart and occupied her mind and thoughts. Her mental letter to Anthony is a solid proof.
Before I conclude this short series, I can’t help showing you a screenshot from a magazine article that I read about an interview of Adele. She compared her partner (who is at least 14 years older) to her ex boyfriends who had inspired some of her biggest hits (click the thumbnail to see the original picture):
“… There’s a big difference. My man is a man. All the other boys I’ve been with, they’re boys… I’m done now. I’ve found it.” (read her words in the bottom right corner)
Me too so I’m impressed, because you understand me. My English isn’t good. jajajajajajajaja
I’m so glad we can “talk” using Google translator😆😉😁
In Spanish there is no official translation of the famous CCFS , the translation I read was made directly from the Japanese , here is the link http://candycandyfinalstory.site90.net/Candy-Candy-Final-Story-Pag-3/
Well my analysis, thanks to this wonderful work that inspired me is this:
“”How are you? … It has been a year. “Which year will refer. This entry is loaded, in my opinion, much nostalgia, uncertainty, ignorance. But while it is a greeting without effusiveness, How are you? It is something like a greeting without further. Then it was a year, I wonder one year, one year without you, a year that I met you, to leave you, avoid you.
“I was planning on getting back in touch with you.” Only planning! When you plan, you still are not sure what you do, so you have to analyze all possible scenarios, alternatives, such as starting, perhaps overcome your means, have an investment capital. It must have been a very difficult decision that had to plan a strategy, an alternative option and write these lines.
“… After he spent a year but another half a year has gone by my indecision.” They refer to the same year? Undecided! What, who or why? Perhaps that is why had to plan to get in touch with Candy.
I will put this in the mail. Will this letter or perhaps something attached?
Nothing has changed in me. This is where it gets complicated. Humans are changing, we move in different directions, we acquire new concepts, ideas, beliefs, convictions, loves, loyalties, friendships, work. Even just we do not see this sky that has accompanied us since childhood. For example, since a year I’ve changed a lot. But if I stood 15 years ago, my change has been greater and different. I must admit that there is an essence that has not changed in me. I think Terry refers to its essence.
I do not know if this letter will come or not, but I wanted to make sure I knew. This phrase is contradictory, Terry does not know whether the letter will come but want to make sure that Candy … Well, What Terry wants to know Candy? What has not changed: it’s been a year, year and a half planned to contact her, which hi is indecisive, He does not know whether the letter will reach you, which will put it in the mail. On the other hand, if Terry is not sure that your letter will get to you How do you intend to ensure that Candy know?
If I received a letter like that, from my lover I would feel very sad and depressed.
Regards.
Hola Martha! Muchas gracias por escribir en Inglés! Entiendo lo que ha dicho, así que estoy impresionado 😍😘
Anyway, enough of using Google translator. 😆 I totally agree with you, that if I get such a letter from my boyfriend or lover, I would be very sad and depressed… possibly mad. 😂
As you said, at least an entire year had gone by without trying to get in touch… plus some time of indecision. This is unacceptable to me.
Another reader, Yue Chan, responded to this post on Twitter, saying that Terry left Candy behind in London… it was a farewell. In his brief note he didn’t promise her anything… like he would come back to see her or write to her, etc.
Nothing. If my guess in Part 2 was right, that Terry wrote this letter to Candy when he settled down in New York as an actor working for Stratford, then he might feel bad for “abandoning” her in London.
That explains his hesitance or indecision? I don’t know.
Yes, you’re so right, mi amiga, that nobody can say that he or she hasn’t changed at all in a year. It’s impossible! However, as you said, Terry probably meant in essence he hadn’t changed.
Oh well… sigh! 😌