The Myths of Candy Candy Final Story (Part 4)

Thank you all for the enthusiastic comments and feedback to the previous post in this series, The Myths of Candy Candy Final Story (Part 3). I know some of you have expressed your wishes to learn more about the legal aspects of adoption back in early 20th century, but let’s give Alex some time. Just so you know, another lawyer has just joined us, and her pen name is Lakewood. You would find her self-introduction and some comments about adoption in the previous post. 🙂

In the meantime, let me present to you another topic Alex would like to discuss — the Shakespeare Corpus in the study of Candy’s house. Note that, apart from this collection, Candy mentioned there were other leather-bound books, including the English and French literature and books on medicine. Alex wanted to debunk the myth that any reference to Shakespeare points nowhere else but to Terry.

First, Alex indicated that Shakespeare has constituted an honourable mention and profound influence in Japanese culture, because “such elements of high quality drama have been intrinsic aspects of Japanese culture itself since time immemorial”. One example is the epic masterpiece (alluding to Shakespeare’s play-King Lear) called Ran, directed by the great Japanese director/film-maker, Akira Kurosawa.

Besides, according to Alex, Nagita herself was a theatre actress during her late adolescence. She worked for the Shiki Theatre Company, the name of which literally means “Four Seasons”. The theatre “focused on the importance of the passage of time and of change via the rapid flow of the four seasons. Seasons, time and change play a vital role in Nagita’s literary works,” said Alex.

Alex, who knows Shakespeare’s works very well, thinks that most CC/CCFS characters bear some form of resemblance or connection with Shakespeare and his characters, even Eliza. She’s most akin to Iago in Othello, especially when it “comes to that inexplicable and grass-root ‘evil’ in her disposition”. What about Candy? She could easily be Juliet but also Viola or Cesario in the Twelfth Night play (during her cross-dressing at the May festival). Terry could be Romeo, Macbeth, Hamlet or even Titus Andronicus (during his self-destructive phases).

Stear, because his name Alistair is Gaelic from the Ancient Greek derivation of Alexander, which stands for ‘the defender of humans/humanity’, Stear could with great ease be Richard II (Richard II play).

Susanna Marlowe could be Juliet too. She had the same last name as Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare’s bosom friend. According to Alex, many researchers have claimed that he was also Shakespeare’s co-writer in a few plays. Remember Susanna also worked as a playwright in CCFS? Not only that, both Susanna and Christopher Marlowe had suffered tragic ending in their active lives at a young age. Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death at the age of 29, and Susanna’s leg was amputated following her tragic accident when she was below the age of 20.

Robert Hathaway, the director and renowned Thespian of the Stratford Theatre troupe, derived his last name from Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare.

How about Albert? 🙂 Alex thinks that Albert could be Richard III (Richard III play-the ‘return of the king’) or Henry VIII (Henry VIII play). Not only that, she added that “Albert could be Shakespeare himself as he’s the one ‘directing‘ the cross-dressing session as well as coordinating the dynamics of the Terry-Candy bonding at St Paul’s as well as later on at Rockstown. If anyone is closer to Shakespeare himself (as an actor of multiple and diverse roles as well as a director), it sure is Albert!”

Nonetheless, even if we agree that the reference to Shakespeare volumes points to Terry and no one else, don’t forget that Candy provided more details about this library. The entire wall of the study was full of books, some being medical books and many must be English and French literature. Some might say that the medical books belong to nobody but Candy, but Alex believed they might allude to Albert too due to his extensive knowledge in medicine and biology.

Even then, some people might insist only Terry could have his Shakespeare books and Candy her medical  books, but what about the numerous volumes of English and French literature books? Remember, neither Terry nor Candy was as well-educated as Albert. 😛

Since Alex, being a lawyer herself, has received comprehensive and in-depth education in English and French literature as well as Latin and Ancient Greek, she believes those literature books should belong to Albert, due to his extensive academic education in law and business admin.

Alex explained, “As a legal scholar, Albert would have to excel in Latin, Ancient Greek philosophical, historical and political texts (Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides), as well as muster the art of rhetoric, oration and public speaking (as emphasized in British as well as French literature, especially with regards to the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Age of Reason). He would have to know his Shakespeare as well, and judging by his actions and practises, he certainly knew his Shakespeare all too well. 😉 ”

The information about Albert’s education is scattered throughout CCFS, and Alex figured nobody would argue that Albert, as the patriarch of such a powerful magnate clan, would receive anything less than the highest quality education. Based on his letters to Candy in the epilogue, we readers can envision what kind of strict training and private tutoring he must have endured at a very young age.

As a side note, Alex explained that even a simple well-off business guy with some basic education would still fit perfectly as Candy’s partner in South West rural England in the mid-1930s. She said that what mattered then was the money, not the education, when it came to the investors in mid-1930 Southern England, where it teemed with many North American business entrepreneurs, regardless of their educational background.

Nevertheless, there are a few examples in CCFS regarding the schooling and higher education of wealthy students in between the late 19th century and early 20th century.  The working-class and lower middle-class students were severely deprived of the higher education the upper middle-class and wealthy students were receiving. “Unfortunately, such social discrimination in accessing to high quality education exists even in our day and age,” said Alex.

Back to CCFS, we get an idea of what sorts of intensive private tutoring the Ardlay clan was receiving. Remember the summer holiday in Lakewood when Eliza joined Anthony and the others to study together? She mentioned ‘Physics Lessons’ and lessons in Latin, right? Sounds like Aunt Elroy wouldn’t allow the young generation to slack around all day even during their summer break.

Alex reckoned that “if the Lagans, Cornwells and Browns had been under such tight educational scrutiny and intensive training, one can construe with great ease what intensive and high quality education Albert had been receiving even prior to going to prestigious universities in England.”

In addition, in one of Albert’s letters to Candy in the epilogue, he explained what had pushed his limits, resulting in a runaway incident years ago. He told her how he had to constantly stay in his own room to study, even though the other children or teenagers (his peers) had far more freedom. Well, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. After all, Albert would be the future patriarch, and his education would constitute the highest quality possible (definitely far higher than the Lagans, Cornwells and Browns).  What’s more, Albert mentioned to Candy that his aunt, Madam Elroy, would always admire (albeit keeping her stern looks) his brilliance in music and intelligence.

In summary, there are plenty of references to the intensive, demanding and high quality education the young people in the Ardlay clan had been receiving since the very first day. Alex said that “Albert was highly regarded as an excellent student with an acutely receptive mind. He had already been undergoing intensive training in law and business administration even during his teens; apparently, this was because Albert was preparing for the examinations regarded for the aforementioned prestigious UK university entrance examinations (nowadays, we would term such exams as ‘A-levels’/SAT/GRE/GMAT, etc)… As a wealthy magnate patriarch, Albert was simply receiving the education fit for such a VIP.” Alex finished with a  😉

Those who are familiar with Albert’s correspondence to Candy in the epilogue would have known that he had received such intensive private tutoring was to prepare him to enter a UK university, in particular, one in England. Alex figured, based on the common knowledge via a historical and sociological framework, “Albert as a massively wealthy and powerful magnate would attend only a prestigious university in the UK being Cambridge or Oxford (perhaps Queen Mary University of London).” Even nowadays, wealthy folks like politicians, tycoons, financial technocrats, for example, attend prestigious universities, likely in either the USA or the UK.

To Alex, it makes perfect sense why Nagita decided to add three more years to the age difference between Candy and Albert. Alex reasoned that since Candy first met Albert as POTH (he was 17 years old), seven years had elapsed when she met Albert again in Lakewood. He was around 24 years old. Those 7 years are significant because they define the years Albert had been studying at a university. He might have studied medicine and law or law and business admin, 5-7 years (6-7 years In Cambridge and Oxford) would be required for attaining a joint major degree from a higher education institution.  Furthermore, the ways Albert (as Granduncle William) had been strongly encouraging Candy to attend a prestigious boarding school in the UK speaks volumes of his keen interest in higher education.

Therefore, Alex concluded that “no matter how hard one tries to ‘force-feed’ Terry as Candy’s partner in mid-1930s South West rural England, this ‘equation’ just can’t fit in the prescriptive setting (time and place) Nagita has firmly provided in her CCFS”.

No, this is not the end of the post yet. Alex has something more to say about Nagita and her character Albert. Have any of you heard of another novelised manga by Keiko Nagita called Milliam Blue Lake?

When Alex first told me about this book, the words Blue Lake struck me right away. Candy Candy fans should know how water bodies are often associated with Albert. 😉 You can probably imagine my reaction when Alex indicated that the main character of this novelized manga realized that she had fallen profoundly in love with a man she had always regarded as her brother.

Sounds very familiar, don’t you think? 😀

But later I found out the protagonist was called Milliam Blue. 😛 If you click the link above, the description is written in Indonesian, and the translation by the Google Translator is shown below:

“Milliam Blue, this sweet little girl turned out to be a picky kid! Her heart was so devastated to accept that fact at her 15th age, but there was a dash of relief in the deepest corner of her heart. She finds true love from a man she has always considered an older brother.”

But Reeka my friend, who understands Indonesian, gave me the correct translation as follows:

“Milliam Blue, a sweet cheerful girl who is actually an adopted daughter! Her heart was broken when she had to accept that fact at the age of 15, but there is a dash of relief in her deepest heart. She found her true love from someone she has been considering as a brother for so long.”

Is this a coincidence?! What do you think? 🙂

Alex further added there was yet another intriguing aspect about Keiko Nagita. “She (Nagita) always expresses her love for Anne of Green Gables and especially the scene where Anne had initially rejected Gilbert’s (how similar his name is phonetically to Albert, let alone how virtually identical Gilbert and Albert are in terms of beauty, gentle voice and calm demeanour) wedding proposal because she had regarded him as her brother. Further on, however, she realizes that she’s deeply in love with Gilbert albeit after many events had occurred… Keiko Nagita has many an occasion expressed her in-depth appreciation and affection for characters/personalities as Gilbert and Albert. In Japanese culture and idiosyncrasy, the Albert-archetype constitutes the insignia of the higher being referring to the intellectual warrior-the true and honourable Samurai.”

In CCFS, Albert is constantly described as a soft-spoken and noble gentleman even when he appeared as a vagabond to Candy. From her very first encounter with him as POTH and then later as a vagabond, (though she couldn’t recognize him), Candy would always be impressed; Albert’s voice and gestures never matched his vagabond-like appearance and attire. You can find the references in Volume One, where Candy was rescued from the waterfall and then again when she met Albert in London. Alex pointed out that Albert’s eloquence, articulate speech and gentle manners were inadvertently betraying his real identity. This is significant, because it signifies that his body language constituted non-verbal leakage of his true gentleman identity.

Thus, Alex wrapped up her analysis of the character Albert by saying that “he wasn’t simply a handsome man but an acutely elegant and graceful youth, mustering a formidable demeanour whether his body is adorned in rags or in silk attire. Nagita makes this crystal clear in the CCFS in both volumes. If you want specific sections, please let me know, although I don’t think it will be difficult to trace them as they’re numerous. Simply go where Albert is mentioned and what you’ll get is Nagita swooning over his swan-like elegance and grace.”

Here I want to attach a picture kindly shared by my friend known as CAA (Candy Albert Andrew). According to CAA, this is the last page of the manga, serialized in the Nakayoshi’s magazine version. As you can see, Candy opened her arms wide and high, running towards Albert. Later, Nagita (Mizuki) asked Igarashi to revise this to make Candy appear slightly more modest. 😉 Nonetheless, when running towards her Prince on the Hill, Candy looked ecstatic, no less. 😀  Those who have read CCFS last scene would understand why I have chosen to show this last page from the manga. ❤ Personally, I think there’s a reason why Nagita moved this ‘running happily towards a certain man’ scene from the confession on Pony’s Hill to the end of CCFS. 😛

p.s. Candy Albert Andrew informed me that I had misunderstood the reason for the revision. Mizuki wanted Igarashi to revise because Mizuki wanted to show that Candy was ready to hug her prince. Therefore, her arms are down and ready to embrace Albert, as shown in my earlier post.