Happy new year, everyone!
As promised, I will respond to sweetpoupee’s comment and her subsequent one, not because I feel pressured to explain myself or respond to every single comment. In fact, I admire her for undertaking the time-consuming task of translating the entire Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS) herself from Japanese to English. (I assume she’s also the commenter with the nickname ‘aeLakewood’. If not, aeLakewood please correct me.) That being said, I haven’t yet visited her website, but I must admit I did raise my eyebrows when reading her aforementioned comments. I thought maybe I should write a post that hopefully others will find useful.
This gives me the opportunity to re-introduce the eye-opening Myths series, which were mainly contributed by Alex. They are highly recommended, and Candy Candy fans should see that the majority of materials / historical references are fascinating to say the least:
The Myths of Candy Candy Final Story (Part 1)
The Myths of Candy Candy Final Story (Part 2)
The Myths of Candy Candy Final Story (Part 3)
The Myths of Candy Candy Final Story (Part 4)
If you think it’s too much to read, you can try Avon’s summary (Avon I didn’t ask you this time because you said I could quote you anytime. Thank you my friend!). As a matter of fact, later in 2018 my friend aya-さん deemed the series significant enough that she decided to translate them to Japanese:
Candy Candy Final Story の嘘と真実 (1)
Candy Candy Final Story の嘘と真実 (2)
Candy Candy Final Story の嘘と真実 (3)
Candy Candy Final Story の嘘と真実 (4)
After reading the above series, if you insist River Avon or Shakespeare are strong clues, then so be it. I don’t want to engage in any meaningless discussion. 😀 Besides, the so-called daffodils clue is terribly insubstantial when compared to other hints that are in Albert’s favour, one of them being Don’t judge a book…
About not being able to find evidence of Albert in the present time, which I must disagree by the way, one of you (was it Myra?) pointed out that Terry was not mentioned in the present time either. At any rate, whoever deduced that Albert might have died have jumped to conclusions, even when combined with the fact that the Lakewood premises had been sold. I’m not an expert in genetics or history, but I can at least quote Albert’s own words concerning his family:
僕の母方の家系は、早死にする女性が多い。母もそうだった。
He indicated that many women in his mother’s (maternal) family died early, and the same happened to his late mother. Sadly, she had complications after giving birth, which was probably common back then I suppose. However, Rosemary had lived long enough for Anthony to remember her well, even his young uncle (the boy beside his late mother) and her use of withering of flowers as an analogy of death. Consider that Anthony could appreciate the depth of the meanings, I figure he was a school-age kid if not even older.
Picture from Korean Manga version
About Albert’s late father, it’s an entirely different story. The fact that he passed away in his prime was seemingly shocking to his peers. His death was likely not due to weakness or any inherent diseases, but he, possibly a workaholic, might have contracted a nasty illness that sent him to his deathbed. Yes, it was unfortunate for young Albert to experience painful loss one after another, but I think Nagita didn’t create such a tragedy to prepare her main character to die young. On the contrary, I figure Albert was very much alive when Candy was in her thirties.
I could bring up three references in CCFS in which Candy mentioned Albert in present tense. First, you can read my post Argh he’s driving me crazy. Candy used the adjective 憎らしい, and if you read various meanings in the dictionary you would be surprised what a strong word it is. However, one can imagine Candy’s face or tone when she uttered such an exasperated expression. For my Chinese readers I think the following could be the equivalents:
他真的討厭得難以形容! / 佢真係乞人憎到我唔識講!
If he was already dead, for whatever reason like accident or illness, Candy would have been devastated (remember she was nearly depressed when Mr. McGregor passed away). In CCFS every time she talked about Stear she was upset or nostalgic. Thus, how could Candy manage to say such a thing about Albert? After all, she said he held a special place in her heart!
In another post Candy and Prince on the Hill (Part 7), I discussed their reunion scene in Lakewood when Candy discovered Albert’s true identity. He could simply distract her from her frustration by dropping a bombshell — that he’d like her to look older such that others wouldn’t think she was his little sister.
Again, another casual remark from Candy in present tense about Albert “being skillful at making her confused”.
Finally, it’s the Red String of Fate. It’s not as obvious as the above two but Candy implied that “an invisible thread still ties her and Albert together” (yes in present tense she said she understood what it means).
The other comment from sweetpoupee is about Anohito being needy. Do you think the fact that he wanted her always by his side made Candy feel guilty? Well, she was a married woman — yes I’m inclined to say she was married. A lady with inferiority complex like her would not have accepted the family heirloom, the luxurious damascene jewelry box, if she and Anohito were merely living together as partners. Remember she was initially reluctant but Anohito convinced her to keep it? Anyway, you don’t have to agree with me; it’s not an important point for this post. In any case, Candy might have been worried sick but she didn’t feel guilty of staying in UK because the feeling was mutual — she said she didn’t want to leave Anohito either. Besides, he must have his reasons of keeping Candy with him.
Talking about the damascene jewelry box, I’d like to quote Sarah’s insightful comment. Thank you Sarah for providing references in CCFS text too. However, I’d like to mention that the ticket to New York is singular in Japanese text. Although the term one-way ticket wasn’t used, it was understood as such, because Candy said “the ticket to New York prepared for me”. In other words, Terry had invited her to Broadway and paid for the transportation.