Lost in translation (Part 11)
Hello, my friends! It’s been a long while. 🙂 Your patience is greatly appreciated. This time I will continue writing about the highlights in the letters in the epilogue of Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS).
Remember Candy’s emotional but brief reply to Albert’s lengthy letter in Lost in translation (Part 9)? One would expect to see another letter from Albert after hers, but the one that follows is another long letter from her to him, which begins like this,
アルバートさんへ
アルバートさん！アルバートさん！アルバートさん！
え？そんなに大声で何度も呼ばなくても聞こえているって？
でも、うれしくて、うれしくて、何度だって呼ばずにはいられないの……
アルバートさん、ありがとう！
Dear Albert-san,
Albert-san! Albert-san! Albert-san!
Eh? You’re saying you can hear me even if I don’t repeatedly call (your name) in such a loud voice?
But I am so happy, so happy that I can’t help but call (your name) many times over…
Albert-san, thank you!
I find this beginning cute; Candy justified her excitement, as if she could see his face or hear his response to her cries. 🙂 Too bad in the Italian version it shows three “Mr. Albert!” instead of “Albert!” Don’t you think this is odd or out of place? That’s why I was relieved to read the post that the French translator indicated the formality would be dropped when Candy and Albert started living together (read it from Pika Facebook page but sorry I can’t find the exact post).
When we continue to read this letter, we learn that Albert had not only lavished many presents upon the birthday girl but also refurnished a bedroom just for her (in mint green with handmade wooden furniture). She added that
今まで通り、客用寝室で充分だったのに。
これでは、シカゴのお屋敷にしょっちゅう戻りたくなります。
And yet, as always, the guest room was enough.
With this, I start to feel like coming back to the Chicago mansion often.
Do you think Candy could sense why Albert had dedicated a bedroom just for her? Did he want her to come back more often? Like she said, she could always use one of the guest rooms, but then she was supposedly a family member. Doesn’t this make you wonder why she had decided to live in the country side? Yes, we know she wanted to help her foster mothers, but was this the only reason?
Anyway, clearly overjoyed and touched, she went on to describe her joy of reuniting with the horses, Caesar and Cleopatra, which she used to take care at the Lagans. She then concluded
もう、アルバートさんたら！ほんとに、わたしを泣かせてばっかり！
Note that もう is used as an interjection, and たら, when used after someone’s name, indicates an expression of emotion. My humble attempt to translate this is shown below. Just imagine Candy saying these words, being deeply moved.
Sigh, Albert-san! Really, you can always make me cry!
I wish I didn’t have to point out the obvious, but to avoid any misunderstanding, here Candy was far from being upset. In fact, this implies Albert knew her better than many others.
久しぶりにアーチーやアニー、パティとも会えました。
Near the end of the letter, she finally mentioned Archie, Annie and Patty. Candy said they hadn’t seen one another for a long while. However, that was it, because immediately after that Candy wrote about her spell:
魔法がうすれていたのか、またアルバートさんとは少ししか話せませんでしたね。
Here のか is a sentence ending particle, which serves to lament reflections on the preceding statement — about her spell beginning to fade/recede. Also, また can have many meanings, depending on context. My pick is “again” or “once again”, because Candy wrote she could not talk with Albert much. If you remember her first letter to her prince, she said he had vanished instantly after his confession. Since he had invited her to come all the way to Chicago, it’s only natural she had lots of expectations. Not to mention she had already told him in writing that her birthday wish was to spend time with him and talk to him a lot, right?
No wonder she was disappointed. She had come to Chicago mainly because of Albert, not because of her friends. For your interest, I’ve discussed parts of this letter in Candy and Prince on the Hill already. Yet, one point is worth mentioning again. Candy recalled the days in the House of Magnolia. It was uneasy but peaceful (calm). Despite having little to spend, she added that they had been happy living together as brother and sister.
あの不安でも穏やかだったマグノリア莊での毎日を思い出します。
You might have heard about Candy’s three loves (Anthony being the innocent love, Terry the intense one, and Albert the destined and peaceful/calm love) in the interview with Keiko Nagita before. The interview was published in a bimonthly magazine, “Jidou-bungei”, 1980, also published in the book “Interviews with manga authors” by Osamu Takeuchi / Tomohiko Murakami, in 1989:
«けれど、テリイと別れることは初めから決っていたのだ。キャンディには三つの愛を考えていた。アンソニーとの淡いはかない初恋、テリイとの激しい恋、そしてアルバートさんとの運命的な穏やかな愛。»
The adjective the author used to describe Albert’s love can also mean gentle, placid, serene, kind, etc. You get the idea. Maybe it is a surprise to some people (those who said Albert was boring); here in Candy’s own words (using the same adjective), she undoubtedly found that kind of life with Albert enjoyable. 😉
For details of the rest of this Candy’s letter, please read the aforementioned post. Now, let me change the topic and talk about the portraits of Albert in CCFS, as I have promised Fay many weeks ago. You can find her question here. Candy mentioned two portraits of Albert, one drawn by herself and the other by Dr. Martin. Hence, the question was, which of the two portraits had Albert chosen to display? Also, why and where was it hung?
Before I continue, let me ask you a simple question. If you were Albert, would both drawings carry the same sentimental values to you? If you answered ‘yes’, then I’m afraid you don’t really understand what had motivated both to draw the amnesiac patient with blond hair, Albert.
As discussed in my Candy and Prince on the Hill (Part 5), Candy was desperate to find Albert after he had disappeared in her life, so much so that she wanted to track him down by sketching a picture of him. Unfortunately, she wasn’t artistic enough. Witnessing his nurse in such a state of anxiety, Dr. Martin drew a picture for her so she could use it for searching. Thus, both drawings served the same purpose — to find Candy’s missing friend. You see? The kind doctor wanted to offer her a helping hand, and that also explains why she could readily get a “holiday” from Happy Clinic and head down to Rockstown with Dr. Martin’s drawing shortly after she had received a parcel from Albert (shown in the manga).
Lucky for Albert, Candy had not destroyed her original picture, which she called “the sketch (of a face) that completely bears no resemblance” (“全く似ていない似顔絵”, highlighted below in the excerpt).
On P. 239 Volume 2 of CCFS,
その後、わたしが描いたその“全く似ていない似顔絵”をひどく気に入ったウィリアム大おじさまは、仕事場に飾ってしまった。あのジョルジュさえ、値段のつけられない名作かも……と真面目に評したそうだ。
To paraphrase the above,
Afterwards, Granuncle William terribly fancied my sketch that completely bears no resemblance, and he ended up decorating his workplace with it. Even Georges said that this might be a priceless masterpiece… I heard he had remarked with a serious face.
I wish Nagita had revealed a lot more in CCFS when and how Candy later showed Albert these two drawings. Did he discover one of them by accident? If so, which one? Did Candy show him on her own accord or did he make a request?
Consider the following. When she showed him the drawing(s) she could not avoid the story behind them, which means she might have to provide the details of her trip to Rockstown. In this case, would she be comfortable enough to describe the astonishing moment of seeing Terry again? How about her actions that speak volumes of her feelings for the Broadway actor? What caused her to leave the roadside theatre without talking to him?
At any rate, can you imagine how Albert reacted at the sight of her poor sketch? Would he also disclose how and why he had devised a plan to lead her to Terry in Rockstown?
I have a strong feeling that all this took place after Candy’s last letter to Albert, the one she had ended with love and gratitude, in which she told him her decision to entrust her precious diary to him. She essentially declared her resolve not to dwell in her past (her once deep feelings for Terry) anymore. The return of her diary signified her effort in turning a new page in her relationship with her prince, and it makes sense the two could freely talk about Rockstown and/or Terry without feeling awkward.
What do you think?
Regardless, in CCFS Candy recalled Granduncle William had liked her drawing terribly and decided to hang it up in his office as a decoration. Thus, some time had elapsed since her discovery of his true identity. Candy told us readers that even Georges appraised her childish picture as invaluable; his words literally means “it’s a masterpiece which one cannot set a value”. Since she heard the loyal assistant had commented with a serious face, she wasn’t there herself; someone, who was highly likely Albert, quoted Georges’ subtle remark to her, which implies that Albert had agreed with him. The remark might appear simple and funny on the surface, but the more you think about it the more intriguing it becomes. Like Dr. Martin, Georges was apparently aware of what was going on between the young man and the orphan girl. Of course the sketch was priceless to his boss, and not only that, the president (a bachelor still?) was proud to show it off to others (those who later came into his office might see Candy’s wonderful drawing).
I will try to wrap up this series in my next post. Thank you so much for reading. Please stay tuned. 🙂
Hello Ms Puddle,
Really enjoyed reading your new post. TBH, I can’t fathom why certain folks misconstrue Candy’s drawing of Albert and what it meant to him.. It’s more than obvious that when George commented on her infantile drawing of Albert as “a masterpiece”, he was deploying subtle humour. His intention wasn’t to mock Candy but to gently tease Albert. George is an acutely intelligent person and he was definitely well aware of the romantic relationship growing between Candy and Albert.
At least Keiko Nagita has clarified that there is an indisputable romantic relationship between Candy and Albert, hence, dispelling those rumours of him simply being a “father-figure” or being “friend-zoned”.
To change the subject a bit, my partner and I have been watching some episodes of a well-known TV series which dates back in the early 90s called “Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman”. Have you heard of it? It was massively popular in the 90s. The reason why I’m mentioning this is because my partner and I were having a discussion regarding certain TV tropes and “archetypal” characters frequently (if not ubiquitously) found in films or books, specifically referring to the Terry-type and Albert-type characters. For example, the Terry-type is the snarky, sarcastic albeit sensitive and deeply wounded person, whereas the Albert-type is the strong-willed, dignified, noble but also introvert and secluded person who avoids love for fear of getting hurt (or getting hurt again).
If you’re aware of the aforementioned TV series, you’ll probably notice that Albert is most similar to Byron Sully, who’s later the love interest of Dr Quinn. However, the two of them have initially friend-zoned each other and it takes one hell of a load of time for the two of them to finally admit what they feel for each other. Sully looks very much like Terry in terms of his darker hair but his love for nature, seclusion and especially kind heart are most akin to Albert’s character. There’s another dude, however, who could look very much like Albert (very tall, blonde, Nordic-features) but his character is exactly like Terry’s; he’s that dude who owns the saloon, Hank Lawson. The ways in which he taunts and teases Dr Quinn reminds me of the ways in which Terry always drove Candy nuts. There’s obvious tension between them but it never becomes romantic as in the case of Terry and Candy.
It’s interesting that those two male characters are so different and yet so alike in their demeanor as well as character. I think that their common denominator is their rebellious character and the ways in which they’re afraid to demonstrate and express their love interest. A similar situation occurs in Candy’s story as well because both Terry and Albert are afraid to admit their innermost feelings.
In terms of physical appearance though, the actor who cast as Sully would have made an excellent Terry and the actor who cast as Lawson would have an excellent Albert, IMO.
Anyway, I just wanted to add that snippet of information as food for thought.
See you around and thanks again for your fascinating blog,
Interstellar
Hi, I remember that series. It’s one of my favourite. It used to be popular here in Greece too. It was shown on television a bit later than the anime CC. I used to watch both of these series after school. I agree with you about Sully and Albert being alike in character. They both love nature and animals. They’re also tremendously protective when it comes to those they care about. As for Hank, he was intimidating and menacing but not physically abusive as Terry was. He had a temper but he never laid a hand on women as Terry did. He threw a lot of punches but at other men and never at women. He’s also far more complicated than Terry. Beth Sullivan is the main writer of that series and I believe that she did a much better job in character development than Nagita did for her own characters. Glad you brought up that series. It was a fantastic one. One of the best on television.
Myra
Hello Myra, thanks for sharing too, and this Sully’s character, because of his long brownish hair and love of nature / animals, reminds me of Albert the vagabond in the manga.
About story development, Nagita had restrictions back then when writing Candy Candy mainly for girls under 17. That being said, I agree that she could have done more when writing CCFS. After all, a lot of her readers have already grown up 😉
Thank you Interstellar for your encouraging words. Like you, I thought it was obvious which picture Albert picked to decorate his office. Also, the fact that he quoted Georges’ words speak volumes too. How would Georges know what this drawing was about without his boss telling the story behind it?
Yes I can’t agree with you more about Keiko Nagita with regard to her clarification. It was a relief she finally confirmed what we have said all along, that Candy and Albert were more than friends and their strong feelings were mutual. She didn’t write it explicitly because she employed the more engaging technique “to show, not tell” her story so as to trigger the readers’ imagination. For example, Candy’s last letter to Albert was primarily descriptions of their day trip but we can tell that she was overwhelmed with emotions. Yet, by the time she could write a mental letter to Anthony afterwards, she was happy and hopeful of her future with Albert.
No I haven’t watched “Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman”, but based on what I heard and read from you and Myra, it sounds very interesting indeed, especially the similarities between the two male characters and Albert and Terry. Thank you so much for sharing, Interstellar! 🤗