Lost in translation (Part 9)

Hello all, this is already part 9 of the series Lost in translation, and I’d like to express my gratitude to those who have given me encouraging feedback to the previous post or in private. Thank you very much. Your support and kind words are the fuel that keeps me going.

This time there are two parts. First I will talk about Candy’s short reply to Albert’s letter — he had invited her and everyone in Pony’s Home to Chicago. She addressed him as “Albert-san” in the letter and started by thanking him, like this:

ありがとう……アルバートさん。(Thank you… Albert-san.)

Note that she used the simplest form of thank you, treating him as her equal. In fact, there is no more formality in her writing; the extra respectful phrases/terms she had used in her first letter to her Prince on the Hill had been dropped.

お手紙、涙でよごしてしまいました。
これからは決して『大おじ~~さま 』とは呼びません。もう、アルバートさんを耐えさせません！

She then revealed that her tears had (inadvertently) stained his letter, which hints that she had cried when reading it. Right after this, she declared she would not never address him as “Graaaandpa” again, which I’ve already discussed in Lost in translation (Part 2).

アルバートさんが、もっともっと近くなりました。
Albert-san has become closer and closer (to me).

The above is in a line by itself. This was the second letter in which he revealed things that she had never heard from him or others. While living together, he had learned a lot about her (as some of you have also mentioned), but she hardly knew much about his stories (due to his amnesia and later he had continued to keep his secrets from her).

The fact that Albert had finally confided in Candy must have touched her significantly. After all, she was probably the first one outside the trusted family circle / tight-lipped servants who learned about his private life and growing pain. Not to mention that she could read it directly from his letter to her, not from others like Georges, Archie, Aunt Elroy, etc.

Remember Candy’s unsent letter to Terry? She said Albert was veiled in mystery even though she had discovered his true identity. Now imagine how she felt while reading this lengthy letter from none other than her Prince on the Hill. Yes, he was opening up to her, no doubt about that.

シカゴで会えるのを楽しみにしています！

Just as he had expected, she accepted his invitation and was already looking forward to seeing him in Chicago.

泣き虫　キャンディより

Then she wrapped up by calling herself a crybaby. Unlike Terry, Albert almost always called her Candy, so why this nickname? One might say that because Albert mentioned her crying on Pony’s Hill when they had first met, and that had impressed him, but I wonder if she was writing this reply with tears in her eyes. I bet Candy was dying to meet with Albert in Chicago, not just because of the present he had prepared well in advance, of course. 💖💕

=o=o=o=

Earlier this year I watched the anime movie, Your Name (君の名は。). I liked it and found it very touching. If you haven’t watched it but don’t mind spoilers, you can read this article about its synopsis and the significance of Red String of Fate in the plot.

You might be wondering why I brought this up. 🙂 Those who are familiar with Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS) must have heard of the term “invisible thread”, and some of you might have read my old post Red String of Fate. Yes, I figure that was what Candy implied. 😉 Note that it’s singular, so there was only one such thread, not more than one (as shown in some spoilers). Maybe some of you can check the Italian version for us? 🤔

I also want to mention two more posts, Don’t judge a book… and Engulfed in his warmth, that preceded this post about the invisible thread. Candy recalled how Anohito had told her not to judge people by their appearance and then she began to talk about Albert’s unknown identity, how he gave her a marvelous sense of security, and the invisible thread (which she changed from past tense to present tense).

Right then on the same page (p. 197 in CCFS Volume 2, Japanese version), there was a blank line, and Candy started a new topic. She described the shadows that the slanting sun cast onto the carpet. Her mood (heart) was also darkened rapidly.

If you have read the comments in the previous post, you might have noticed that I had discovered the misleading translation in the Italian version regarding this short section. In case some of you could not find my explanations in the replies, I’d like to share my brief literal translation here once again (I’ve tried to avoid paraphrasing).

My mood was also rapidly darkened. The various (かずかず) tragic events (切ない出来事) that happened afterwards—
I cannot (the negative form of できる) continue gazing (見つづける) at the retrieved letters and newspaper clippings anymore, so I began to slowly put them back (収める) to the jewelry box.
The bundle of letters from Terry. And the clippings about his performances. I keep, intentionally, the positive critics and also those that are heart-breaking to read because (I think) they are all (about) Terry. 
And, the precious (大事) small (小さい) music box—

After that, there’s another blank line. Candy then closed her jewelry box and walked towards the study. I think later on p. 219 she reopened the jewelry box to retrieve the music box.

Interestingly, she used the verb 収める to refer to her action of putting the stuff back inside. This verb has many meanings, and one of them can be “restore things to its place”. For example, put the sword back to its sheath or put money in the safe.

As I mentioned in my comments, Candy used the negative form of できる, which can be interpreted quite differently depending on context, including the ones below and more:

• to be able to,
• to be ready, to be completed
• to be made, to be built
• to be good at, to be permitted (to do)

Note that it was the cause that Candy began to put the clippings and the letters back. In English, when we say we “cannot” do something, it doesn’t necessarily refer to our inability (physical / mental). In some cases it may mean we don’t feel like doing it or we will not do it.  I suppose the Italian translator believed it was her emotions that made her unable to read. However, Candy wasn’t even reading… the verb used was more like watching, gazing or staring.

Let me turn back to p. 186 of CCFS Volume 2, Japanese original version. Right after Annie’s short letter to Candy to inform her of Terry being the new Broadway star, Candy described her incredibly strong reactions to the news many years ago.

Overwhelmed by emotions, I was unable to even stand (also a negative form of できる), so despite myself (思わず), I ended up crouching down (しゃがみこむ) when looking at Terry’s picture on the news.
(My eyes) blurred by tears, I couldn’t see well. As I did not want my tears to spill over (こぼれ落ちる) and wet the picture, I reached out to separate it from the report. When I did that, it was like Terry was going away (遠ざかっていく), so I hurriedly (あわてて) held it tight.

— I take a thick envelope out from the jewelry box, and this particular newspaper clipping is inside. Ever since I first read it, for a long time I had carried it with me wherever I went, and for this reason it was rather worn out, but the picture of dashing (凜々しい) Terry is still clear (はっきり) now.

Before long, that is, the first paragraph on p. 187, Candy disclosed what had happened in the audition. The paragraph begins like this:

新聞には、”異例の大抜擢“とあったが、テリィならオーディション会場にふらりと現れただけで、すべてのひとの注目を集めたに違いない。
In the news article, though it said “Unprecedented (Extraordinary) exceptional promotion (selection)”,  when Terry showed up unexpectedly in the venue for audition, there is no doubt his mere appearance attracted attention from everyone.

This title was also shown in the clipping a couple of pages earlier. As you can see, this title is trying to catch people’s eyes by using big words. 🙂 The word for selection is often used when choosing among many for an important role.

If you search ふらり in the dictionary, this term can also mean “aimlessly” or “without purpose”. 😛 Terry definitely came with a purpose, don’t you think? Why was Terry’s presence unexpected? Perhaps he was so new / young, still unemployed, that nobody had seen or heard of him.

Contrary to Fay’s translation , the one who has no doubt (に違いない) about Terry’s charm during the audition wrote this in present tense. The sentences that come next, about his deep voice being not too high and not too low and his smile, are also written in present tense.

Concerning his smile, the sentence is incomplete; it stopped abruptly, which I don’t know why. It’s not easy to translate, but direct translation would be something like this:

Tough (masculine) (精悍) yet also delicate (繊細) like it melts (溶かす) anyone’s heart (どんな人の心), a suave (elegant) smile —

In Japanese どんな人 can literally mean “any kind of people” sometimes or “what sort of person” if used in a question. The adjective used for his smile is やさしい. It’s the same adjective that describes Anohito’s voice, but it is seriously overloaded with meanings, especially when Kanji is not used in both cases. If you click the link of やさしい, you will see that there are two sets of meanings, depending on which Kanji:

1. 易しい
2. 優しい

The meanings are (1) simple, plain, easy (2) graceful, nice, kind, affectionate, gentle, suave, friendly, affable, elegant, etc. Here we can safely rule out the first set of possibilities. While people might think it means his smile was tender or sweet, the adjectives like tender, kind, gentle, soft, affectionate or friendly don’t really match the words like tough or masculine (or Terry’s image / personality in general), right? Thus, I chose “suave (elegant)” instead. Does it make sense to you?

Apparently, about the audition, confidence and exaggeration were evident in the writing. At any rate, how could Candy be so sure about any of this without being there herself?

Furthermore, Candy should be aware Terry was not popular among his peers, even obnoxious to some people (like Archie). Later, as shown in the manga, Terry didn’t even get along well with his fellow co-workers in Stratford either. 🙁

Therefore, don’t you think this sounds like a reporter’s somewhat subjective writing, likely alluding to Terry’s acting skills during the audition? The same applies to his voice, which is undeniably a great natural asset to a stage actor. Maybe the journalist wanted to justify why Terry (inexperienced and without formal training) had been chosen to be a character in the new play?

I don’t know about the Italian version about this particular passage, but I’m inclined to think they weren’t really Candy’s own words, but rather, she plausibly paraphrased some sentences from the article. I might be wrong, but note that the next paragraph begins with “Eleanor Baker’s name wasn’t in this report”…

Hmmm…. 🤔 What do you think?

Candy then went on to talk about Terry, his name, his career and so on. After this, several letters were shown before Candy in her present brought up Room 0 and how Anohito told her not to judge people by their appearance, etc. Hence, Terry’s letters and clippings were not the only things Candy had taken out of the box (read my translation above again… she simply said she could not continue gazing at the retrieved letters). More likely than not, the tragic events that had happened around that time resurfaced in her mind, so she was plausibly just staring at the items in a daze.

Many of you are aware that Candy felt terrible not knowing it was Stear’s farewell to her at the train station, and because she talked about the clippings of Terry’s performances (even the negative reviews) matter-of-fact-ly but could not finish her sentence about the music box, my gut feeling tells me that it was her memory of Stear (when he presented his music box to her) that made her decide to put things back and close her jewelry box. Also, don’t forget Terry’s letters were bundled up, so it doesn’t look like Candy had started reading any of his letters.

Thus, I personally think the Italian translation is misleading. Come to think of it. If Anohito is Terry, it’s odd why Candy said she “could not continue looking at them anymore” (his letters and clippings were not the only things). What made her say that? Was she not ready? Not allowed? Unable to? Not willing to?

On the other hand, if Anohito is Albert, Candy’s action here reminds me of the resolve that she had made many years ago in her last letter to Albert — that she had not opened her diary (undoubtedly a deliberate decision on her side) but instead entrusted it to Albert. Consider the following. If you were Terry, how would you react to this? Would you consider Albert a rival / threat and get Candy’s diary back from him after reuniting with her (like some have speculated)? If not, why not?

Based on my vague memory, Candy has not mentioned her diary nor the badge in her thirties. Please correct me if I’m wrong. At any rate, I am not saying that my interpretation above must be the correct one, but I’d like to hear what you think. Nonetheless, I must say Candy might be nostalgic or emotional here in this particular passage but I don’t sense any indication of pain or turbulent feelings.

Now, I’d like to bring up several comments. Most of the comments for the previous post were brilliant and insightful, but recently some of you have experienced being blocked for unknown reasons. Many thanks to you for trying again to post your comments. Your persistence is much appreciated. Since I don’t want to cause more troubles or frustrations, I decided to discuss your comments here instead.

First, Interstellar, your reply is interesting and I’d like to list some references from CCFS regarding Prince on the Hill / Albert the vagabond. There are more, of course, and he is quite often associated with the adjective やさしい, which I translated “tender” below, but you can probably replace it with words like gentle, kind, sweet, etc.

光がこぼれるような少年の笑顔。はらりと額にかかった金髪も輝いている。今日の澄んだ空のような青い瞳がやさしそうで、(from their first encounter on p. 28 in CCFS Volume 1)

The boy’s smile seems beaming with light. His blond hair, gently falling from his forehead, is also glowing. His blue eyes, their color similar to the clear sky today, look tender.

澄んだ青い目が朝の湖のよう (from the waterfall rescue episode on pp.141-144 in CCFS Volume 1)

His clear blue eyes are like a morning lake.

風体とそぐわないやさしそうな口もと (from the London reunion episode on pp.308-309 in CCFS Volume 1)

His appearance does not match his tender looking lips (mouth or shape of mouth)

Many years later, when Albert chose to confess to Candy on a fine spring day, his blue eyes and blond hair likely matched Candy’s memory of Prince on the Hill perfectly, so she had not shown any doubt and immediately understood who he really was. She also mentioned more than once in her letters Albert looked much younger than his age. 🙂

About your other comment, Interstellar:

I can’t agree with you more, especially with regard to Candy’s infatuation, which was undeniably gone by the time Candy saw Terry again in Rockstown — she was helplessly preoccupied with her missing vagabond friend. This is one solid proof that Candy had changed, whether some fans would want to accept it or not. Like Avon said in her comment, “… this novel centres on the passage of time and on how people change and are affected by the passage of time. No one remains the same.”

See this magazine cover here (many thanks to Candy Albert for sharing 💖)? The small words near the bottom left corner are “Where (in the world) did Albert go? Anxiety crosses Candy’s chest / heart…”

Yet, unlike the manga, in CCFS Albert didn’t tell Candy that he had recovered his memory but only left her a large sum of money. For your interests, check my old posts Candy and Prince on the Hill (Part 4) (manga) and Candy and Prince on the Hill (Part 5) (CCFS). By the time she ran into Albert again in Lakewood as Granduncle William, her feelings must be bottled up. He wasn’t the same guy she thought he was. In fact, it’s not unlike the lyrics of the song, How can I not love you?, from the movie Anna and the King.

To those of you who strongly believe Terry’s brief letter to Candy (as T.G.) was sent some time after Susanna’s death: I urge you to take a step back and think again. Really, don’t you think this essentially makes him a cruel man? Do you honestly believe Candy was the most suitable woman for him? She barely knew him, after their separation in their teens. Here I’d like to bring up Avon’s another comment, which any Terry fans who care about his well-being should read. However, I meant to check if Albert indeed had many start-up businesses in London (back when Candy and the rests were studying at St. Paul’s). I remember he said something like he had started new businesses… let me check that later. 😉

Thank you so much for reading this lengthy post. It has taken me a long time indeed, so thanks for your patience. See you around. 🙂