Terry’s brief letter to Candy (Part 4)
First of all, I’d like to express my utmost appreciation to all of you for your encouraging feedback to my latest fanart. Not only that, I really enjoy chatting with you — the comments and discussions in my recent posts are the fuel that keeps me motivated and inspired. In particular, Lynn’s comment reminds me that it’s about time to talk about Terry’s ambiguous letter to Candy, again.
Few years ago I wrote a 3-part series about Terry’s brief letter to Candy (some readers simply call it a note). It is the very last letter in Section III of Candy Candy Final Story, which is enveloped with blank pages in the Japanese version. That is, a blank page follows Susanna’s obituary, then this letter, and then another blank page before the epilogue begins. I was told there was once a joke in a Japanese forum about this letter. These blank pages seem to imply whatever in between can be safely torn from the novel, because its existence or absence has not affected the story as a whole. 😅 Needless to say, many people disagree. In fact, some fans regard this note as the crucial clue to Anohito’s identity, primarily due to their assumption that it was written some time after Susanna’s death. However, please note that the letters in CCFS are not necessarily ordered chronologically. For example, Candy’s letter to Mr. Whitman might be written after her day trip to Lakewood with Albert. The other good example is Candy’s letter to Captain Vincent Brown after a certain Christmas, when she could freely spend her leisure time in Ardlay’s principal mansion in Chicago, admiring Rosemary’s portraits.
I agree with Lynn. If indeed Terry mailed this letter a year or so after Susanna’s funeral, it makes him look like a vulture or hyena. How could he be so cruel to say he had not changed? Yet, as I have explained in my series, the fact that Terry wrote “since then” (あれから) indicates that he expected Candy would understand what he had referred to without him saying it. She would not only know what but also when that incident had taken place, such as their breakup, his forced kiss, etc. It’s unlikely he would expect Candy to know when exactly Susanna had passed away. Some people argued it might be their “reunion” at Rockstown, but it’s unclear in CCFS if Terry had later found out from his mother about Candy’s presence in that roadside theatre.
The other day when I checked the manga I stumbled across the following page in Volume 7. Here I zoomed in to show what Terry thought: …もうあれから一年以上たってしまった……
If you don’t know the context, Terry decided to audition for the upcoming play, Romeo & Juliet, which triggered his memory of May Festival. Therefore, he thought, …it’s been more than a year already…
Doesn’t this sound familiar? I almost couldn’t believe my eyes, so I quickly checked his letter in CCFS. After asking Candy if she had changed, he wrote, …あれから一年たった。
For more details please read my series, in which I explained in depth why I’m convinced he had referred to their first and only kiss (yes, a stolen kiss). The timing in CCFS might not be the same as in the manga, but you got the idea. He might be thinking of Candy about a year after May’s festival, so roughly several months after he had left her in London. Of course, you don’t have to agree with me. 🙂
There’s another interesting fact of his letter that I may not have talked about before. In CCFS or in the manga, Terry liked using the pronoun おれ to refer to himself. The other male characters Albert, Anthony, Archie and Stear all used another pronoun ぼく, which Terry sometimes used as well. For example, in the manga, when Terry was talking to Robert Hathaway or in CCFS when he came up with an excuse not to dance with Eliza at the May festival.
In Japanese there are many first-person singular pronouns, some are neutral, formal or informal. The above two are casual but rarely used by women. If you do a Google search you will see many discussions comparing them. If I’m not mistaken, some people may be offended if a man uses おれ (like Terry), thinking he sounds arrogant, inappropriate or rude. For example, Terry would not use it when talking to Robert Hathaway. 😉 On the other hand, ぼく is also casual but a bit more polite or refined. Not sure if this is true, but I read somewhere that a Shitamachi (Old Tokyo) guy would use おれ but a Ginza guy would use ぼく 😀
In Susanna’s letter to Candy (CCFS), she apologized and thanked Candy with gratitude. She also quoted Terry’s promise to her, that he would stay by her side from now on. Here in CCFS he used ぼく when he was with Susanna. Perhaps he was humbled by her sacrifice? In the manga version, he spoke soft, tender words to her after the accident. Yet, I double checked the scene when Susanna confessed to Terry on the stage, telling him about sending Candy away in the Chicago hotel. Terry used おれ back then when talking to her.
After Susanna ran away in tears, Terry admitted to himself he was certain he did not dislike her (the negative form of きらい). Right after this he remembered Candy and believed his feelings for her would not change no matter what would happen (or so he thought). I can’t seem to find in the manga where Terry said he was attracted to Susanna. Yet, actions speak louder than words, don’t you think? 😉
On the other hand, with Candy, Terry almost always used おれ (both CCFS and the manga) to make him sound tough (or more manly), even at their first encounter on the ocean liner, so much so that Candy was very surprised when Georges revealed that he was the son of a noble. Candy exclaimed Terry was 生意気な口の悪いやつ (a bad guy who is rude and disrespectful) and even said that Anthony was more like a nobleman. 😉
Please don’t get me wrong. Using おれ does not necessarily make a guy sound rude, because it really depends on context. In fact, it’s a trend among young guys these days to use おれ with other male friends or love interests. It’s just that Terry typically used おれ with Candy, but in his brief letter, to my surprise, he wrote ぼく instead. Also, he did not say anything about his feelings. I once discussed this with another Candy Candy fan who knows Japanese. She joked that perhaps this was another Eliza’s prank? 😀 Seriously, he was either unaware he had actually changed after having worked at Stratford, or he wasn’t sure if someone else (other than Candy) would read his letter. 🤔
Lynn brought up another valid point. In CCFS it isn’t clear what Susanna’s injury was, only that she had a very serious accident and that she had to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. It’s my bad as I’ve always assumed that referred to her amputation. Yet, Nagita sensei had plausibly kept it vague so that her readers won’t be too shocked when Susanna would later suffer from some chronic disease for a long time before her demise.
This post is getting long, but last but not least, I’d like to bring up Lakewood’s comment. She said it was strange or outlandish why Candy or her friends did not discover Susanna’s accident prior to her departure. It’s a good question, and in CCFS from Annie’s letter to Candy, we learned the accident had happened during a dress rehearsal. It’s the same in the manga version, where one of the crew members mentioned the premiere was coming up. A few pages after that Candy was very happy because in three days she would be leaving for New York.
Do you know how frequently magazines or tabloids were published back then? Weekly? Bi-weekly? I honestly don’t know. How about the newspapers? Did Susanna’s accident make it to the headline? Maybe in the local newspapers only and there were other more important news in Chicago? Is it possible Stratford tried to cover it up? What do you think?
Anyway, thanks for reading. Take care and stay safe, my friends! 🙂
I can’t reply to your comment, Ms. Puddle. so I answer you here. Yes, of course you may use my comment too whenever you like. It would be an honor.
Thank you @Fay 👍😊
Hello, everyone.
Dear Ms Puddle, as mentioned above I love how you show us these nuances that easily get lost in between translations.
When you all talk about how Terry would look cold-blooded and self-centered if the letter was sent after Susanna’s death, it reminds me of one partner I had years ago, when we broke up he asked me to wait for him to “be ready” but later told me to get a life and move on, when I eventually did he got mad, and started talking offensive things about it me as if was supposed to wait for him endlessly.
Terry is a complex character with a lot of flaws, but he is not that type of guy, when he gave up on the idea of being the one to make Candy happy, he sincerely wished for her to find her happiness. He knew that she would do it with or without him.
I have seen Arechi’s posts, and it’s true they are the same people commenting over and over again. Were any of you in last week’s live? They had one of the revisors, the editor and two fans (one for each side). I really wasn’t pleased with the “debate” that they had, most of the time the Terryfan was the one talking, the Albertfan looked very frustrated and uncomfortable because everytime it was her turn to speak she was interrupted by the other lady. So I think at one point she just gave up lol
Carles, the editor, tried to stay neutral but IMO failed, he mentioned that by an editor’s pov, and narrative logic Albert is the obvious choice. He even talked about the “Three loves” essay, so now people are trying to make it look like Nagita changed her mind, completely ignoring her statements and twisting her words. The revisor was firm about her opinion, much to the dislike of some fans, that the ending has been clear for her since the manga.
They addressed the blank pages too and that they were oblivious to their meaning, and due to economic reasons, they would only add them in future editions if the author specifically asks for it.
The Terryfans are really getting mad, I have been tempted to answer some of their arguments but it is pointless, they start fighting for every little thing, even if Nagita one day reveals the answer, they are going to pass away without changing their opinion. 😞
Unrelated question but do you think if CCFS perfomed better than it did, in terms of sales, Nagita would have wrote another book?
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Hope you are all doing well! 😊
Thank you @FJ for reading my post and even sharing your story with us. I’m sorry that had happened to you, but ultimately, it was probably a blessing in disguise to have seen him in his true colors. Glad to hear you had moved on.
I agree with you about Terry. As I said before, I figure he sincerely wished Candy happiness when he made her promise him she would be happy without him.
About Arechi posts, thanks for giving us more information, but I think most Candy Candy fans, including those desperate ones, know that they are losing the battle.
I don’t know whether there would be another CC novel or sequel. I kinda doubt it though. 🙄
You take care too, @FJ!
Thank you for sharing your story and your thoughtful analysis with us @FJ. I agree with @Ms Puddle that you’re fortunate to be over and done with such a toxic guy.
Regarding Terry’s position, he seemed to have feelings for Susanna and this is made even more obvious in the anime and manga where Terry confesses to himself that he likes her. In the CCFS, Terry doesn’t let Susanna or his colleagues know that he was involved with Candy. The Terry-fans are trying to defend him by saying that he wasn’t obliged to do so and I agree with them that he wasn’t obliged at all. However, he did have a moral obligation to Candy to inform the tabloids and especially Susanna that he was bound to Candy. He wouldn’t have to specify or provide details to the press but simply state that there’s nothing going on between him and Susanna. Out of sheer respect for Candy, Terry owed her at least that.
Instead, Terry remained silent and easily gave up Candy for Susanna after her tragic accident. Some Terry fans claim that Candy should have fought for Terry but that would have been cheap of her. Candy is not Annie. In contrast to Annie, Candy has class and she would never stoop so low as to get into cat fights with other women over Terry or any other guy. If Terry wanted Candy, he would have chosen her and would not have thrown her under the bus for Susanna. What would have happened if he was married to Candy and they had children? Would he have thrown her aside again for Susanna? Just because he wasn’t married to Candy doesn’t mean that their relationship shouldn’t be regarded as significant. The Terry fans fail to understand that Candy did not fight for Terry because he had already left her and, unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time. By the time Candy had arrived in New York, Terry had already made his decision to leave Candy for Susanna. Candy was aware of this soon after and that’s the reason why she knew that any fight would be pointless. Her decision to leave New York elevated her classy character even more. Had she followed the perverse logic of some Terry fans and Annie, Candy would have reduced herself to a desperate fool devoid of self-respect.
Right on, @Myra!! You’ve nailed it. I couldn’t have agreed with you more about Candy’s resolve to break up with Terry, and this wasn’t the first time he had decided to leave her!
In London, Candy was desperate because she wanted to tell him her feelings. In New York, it was different, because he knew her feelings and yet he had chosen the other woman. As soon as Candy became aware of his decision, she would rather let him go. Unlike Annie or Eliza, Candy had self-respect.
Terry could have at least informed Susanna in private as early as the rumours started spreading. Instead, he remained silent, and as Susanna herself explained, she had no idea about the existence of a certain girl with freckles until after the performance in Chicago. No matter how Terry fans have defended their beloved hero, to me he had no excuse.
Yet, @Myra, I don’t see in the manga where he admitted that he was attracted to Susanna, as I mentioned in this post. 🙄
@Myra
Regarding your question on what if Terry were married to Candy and have kids together, and later might leave Candy over Susana? I’m surprised none of those Terryfans ever attacked me for posting Terry-Susana pictures on my page lately (example like this one shorturl.at/uKL34 ). I make those only to show that it’s Terry’s choice to stay with Susana rather than with Candy, not to annoy the fans. Sometimes it’s hard to resist temptation if he Terry finds something from Susana or any other woman that Candy can’t give him.
I’ve seen that pic on your Facebook page and it’s hilarious. You’ve worked on that meme quite well.😂
Joking aside, it’s obvious that Terry was attracted to Susanna and that’s why he had never told her about Candy. If his relationship with Candy was important to him, he wouldn’t have left her for Susanna nor for any other woman. He had feelings for Candy-no doubt-but they weren’t strong enough.
It’s sad that some opposite fans refuse to accept that Candy had moved on and didn’t want anything to do with her ex anymore. 🤨🤨
Been to Arechi page the other day, and read some unpleasant comments made by the opposite fans just because Albertfans are giving their support to the publisher, 🙄🙄 and even demanded that the editor or publisher should alter the story that Candy ends up with the person they obsessively like. I wish that editor would stick to Mizuki’s original content.
Anyways, I just want to tell you how much I enjoyed reading your analysis. Its like you’re giving me a clear summary of the ccfs. Please keep it up. 😊
Be well! 🥰🥰
Hello there! I’ve also glanced at those disgusting comments coming from some Terry fans but they’re really just a couple of them who keep on posting repeatedly to look as if there are many of them. They’ve also created some fake accounts with Albert’s pic on their profile but it’s all too obvious that they are troll accounts since they were created on exactly the same day. They even like their own comments because no one else will bother with them.😂
Don’t expect some of those fans to accept that Candy had moved on in her life because, in reality, those losers are projecting their own inability to live a psychologically healthy life onto a mere fictitious character called Candy. They’ve taken the CCFS all too personally and it’s disturbing to say the least. We all have our own favorite character from the CCFS but we don’t obsess over it. This is the reason why the greatest majority of CCFS fans who aren’t pro-Terry are mentally stable and don’t get hyper over whom Candy is paired with during the Interwar period. I would have preferred if Nagita had provided a clear narrative but I’m fine that she didn’t. It’s up to her, anyway. The story continues to remain enjoyable to read.
With regards to Arechi, they have made it clear that their translation is 100% faithful to the original Japanese text as published in 2010. They have neither added nor subtracted anything from the original text. The only change they have made to the structure of the book is having it bound into a single volume instead of two. They mentioned that they did this for financial reasons because they’ve been on a very tight budget and they’re not sure if this book will sell as much as they are anticipating. That being said, the Spanish translation is just like the Italian and the French translations with the only difference being that it’s a single volume book and that Nagita has dedicated a preface thanking her Spanish readers as she had written a preface for the Italian and the French translations thanking her Italian and French readers, respectively. The Terry fans have realized this and that’s why they have gone completely insane but it’s too late for them because the books have already been dispatched and come 28 May 2020, those books will soon be delivered to their recipients. Arechi only wants to make a change with regards to a minor translation error which has to do with Candy’s birthday but that’s it.😉
Hi @Anita, I didn’t realize I replied to you in the other thread. Anyway, may I quote your comment in a new post?
That would be an honor. Thank you very much, Ms Puddle.
My intention is to be as accurate and objective as humanely possible, apparently.
Arechi Manga has uploaded a video on their Facebook page where they have provided a book-trailer for the Spanish translation of the CCFS. The video displays Candy’s voice sensually calling out the three beloved men of her life: Anthony, Terry and Albert. The visuals accompanying her voice are three flowers which are designated to each of the aforesaid men: Rose for Anthony, Daffodil for Terry and Magnolia for Albert.
As you may have understood, the Terry-fans have not taken this well. They have been attacking the Arechi Manga comment section for hours on end by harassing the commentators in their well-known deranged and obsessive manner, both of which have become their signature style.
Some of those Terry-fans need to get a life and find a real partner who can satisfy them. Their insanity is getting tedious and they keep on proving how pathetic they really are.
Well said, Anita! Those Terry-trolls keep on debasing and humiliating themselves. Their level of self-awareness is so low that they haven’t understood what a laughing stock they’ve been reduced to. They have no dignity.
@Lynn… I agree with you. I hope they are not that bad when they deal with real people in their lives.
@Anita, thank you so much for the info and so glad you let me quote your comment 👍👏
Thank you for the information, Anita. I have also seen that trailer. It’s funny that although the daffodil does indeed represent Terry, as Terry fans have been claiming for so long, they still make a fuss (to put it mildly), obviously because the video presents Candy’s three loves in exactly the same order in which Nagita has mentioned them. Apparently the Spanish editors have understood the true meaning of the story, and Terry fans can’t accept that. The Spanish translation is the second blow they receive after the French edition last year, and it must be a bitter disappointment.
It’s common knowledge amongst everyone in the CC community that Anthony, Terry and Albert constitute Candy’s three loves. Deep down inside, even those die-hard Terry-fans are aware of this but they’ll never admit it publicly.
That’s why they’re frantically flooding the Arechi Manga FB page with their spam. Nobody else is bothering apart from the Terry-fans who are in panic mode. The Albert fans are actually quite chill because they have read the actual CCFS novel.
As for that video uploaded by Arechi Manga, it’s just a makeshift book-trailer some of the employees put together free-of-charge during the lockdown. Even though all three men are defined by a flower, neither Candy nor Keiko Nagita identify any of these men with a flower except for Anthony. When Candy thinks about Anthony, it’s almost always in tandem with roses. However, Candy has never linked Terry to daffodils. Whenever she describes Terry, she says that his scent is that of grass and the earth. Terry is a very sensual and physical character as opposed to Albert who is much taller and far more ethereal and cerebral. Whenever Candy thinks about Albert, she relates him to the crystal clear blue water and sky. Those Terry-fans who link Terry to water imagery are blatantly wrong. The earth and grass are linked to Terry and the water and sky (the color blue) are linked to Albert. This is based on textual evidence and there’s not a single CC fan who can change.
Agree with both of you, @Fay and @Anita. I disagree with the idea of using flowers to represent Candy’s three loves too, except for roses. I like how @Anita associated Terry with grass and the earth and Albert with water and sky. 👍
..who can change that.
I have also the same opinion. Only Anthony has been clearly linked to a flower, both in the manga and the novel. Even magnolias have nothing to do with Albert, except for the apartment with the same name which he shared with Candy. As for daffodils, there is not a single clue in the entire novel to relate them with Terry. His fans stubbornly cling to that idea which has even led them to write whole fan fictions devoted to Terry and daffodils.
Actually, one more clue about Anohito’s identity is the fact that Candy in her thirties takes care of the roses in her garden herself. We know how these flowers remind her of Anthony, and we also know how Terry felt about that boy who was Candy’s first love. Is it likely that he would allow her to keep cherishing his memory after all these years by personally cultivating his favorite flowers right under his nose?
That’s a crucial clue and I agree with you @Fay. There are quite a few crucial features in the CCFS which define Albert and not Terry. In almost all the clues pointing to anohito, one could find that both Terry and Albert match the description. However, there are three main features which do not fit Terry but only Albert based on the text itself.
First, anohito gives Candy a jewelry box as a gift. In the CCFS, we never have any mention of Terry bearing gifts to Candy but only Albert.
Second, anohito gives Candy the choice to do whatever she wants with her gift. This doesn’t sound like Terry at all. Terry is known to be forceful, absolute and acutely possessive without ever allowing freedom of expression. Terry is a foil to Albert, the latter being independent always focusing on being free and opening opportunities for as many alternatives as possible. When Albert had given the Romeo and Juliet costume to Candy, he gave her the opportunity to choose who she wants to be during the May Fest. When Albert encouraged Candy to study at St Paul’s, he wanted her to become educated and expand her horizons in any field she wishes in her life. While Terry is a man who confines and restricts his partner, Albert is a man who thrives in encouraging freedom of expression and personal liberties.
Third, we may be able to figure out who anohito is by his body posture at that very last sentence of the CCFS. Anohito is described as a man who opens his arms as Candy flings herself into them. This scene had happened again albeit under different circumstances in the streets of London where Candy threw herself into the arms of Albert. Never has she flung herself into the arms of Terry. Instead, Terry is the one who grabs her from behind and forces her on him. Even at the staircase scene in New York, Terry grabbed Candy from behind in a desperate embrace but they weren’t facing each other. Terry has never been described as someone who opens his arms to embrace someone but as a dark figure who recoils or keeps to himself. Albert, on the other hand, has been described in the CCFS as having his arms open wide and Candy ecstatically flinging herself into his embrace.
Of course, don’t expect the Terry-fans to ever accept all this textual evidence. They’re too busy clutching onto those withering daffodils.
Well said, @Fay and @Anita. I’m going to quote your comments too. May I?
Thank you @Ms Puddle for including my comment in your next post. If you need more information or textual references, please let me know.
Regarding that association between Terry and the earth and Albert with the water and sky, it’s not mine but Nagita’s. When Terry carries Candy on his horse during the May Festival, she says to herself that Terry has the scent of cut grass. Not once has he ever bore the scent of daffodils as the Terry-fans keep on ranting about. Furthermore, Albert’s blue eyes are always likened to the clear blue lakes and skies, as described by Candy herself quite a few times, including in her letter to Anthony.
I’ll get back to those daffodils.. The Terry-fans have been saying that Nagita has identified them with Terry but that’s not the case. Nagita mentioned in her latest interview that she’s also a fan of William Wordsworth as she is of William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. Her description of the daffodils comes from a renowned poem by Wordsworth called, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, commonly known as “Daffodils”:
tinyurl.com/yb9zgrd9
The problem with some of those fans is that they’re cherry-picking Nagita’s words and distorting the meaning to fulfill their own purposes and biases. Those daffodils are just as much related to Terry as William Wordsworth is to Albert (aka William Albert Ardlay). 🤣 Let’s not forget that Albert was also talking about wandering clouds in the Epilogue when he describes how he first met Candy. He describes escaping that party over there at the Ardlays estate and driving off to Pony’s Hill where he lied down on the grassy hill and looked up at the wandering clouds before Candy suddenly appeared and the rest is history..
Just to set the record straight, neither Shakespeare nor Wordsworth belong to a single character in the CCFS. Nagita uses all these literary influences for all the characters in her novel. No character is singled out as some fans want to believe.
Thank you @Anita for your permission and even more textual references.
Good point about the poem too. I’ll use that as well. 👍
That’s an intelligent analysis, Anita, and it eliminates that severely loose and weak argument coming from some Terry fans that Terry is identified with the daffodil. However, when they are cornered for textual evidence about those feeble claims, they predictably fail to provide any whatsoever. Instead, they start going off a tangent (as usual) by vaguely talkign about Romantic poetry and other topics which are irrelevant to the specific CCFS text.
Never has the author nor Candy ever linked Terry with daffodils. You will not find a single reference in the CCFS suggesting this. As Anita has already clarified, Nagita uses flower imagery because she loves flowers. According to the season and country, she describes the flowers endemic in that specific area. For example, daffodils are known to grow in the British countryside during spring. This has got nothing to do with Terry but with nature.
There’s a saying which goes that correlation doesn’t equal to causation and that saying is accurate. Yet, some of those Terry fans fail to even provide a correlation, let alone a causation when it comes to making their point.
Thank you @DanielleV.
As I have explained in my comment above, Keiko Nagita was not considering Terry when describing the daffodils but William Wordsworth’s poem “I Wander Lonely as a Cloud”. We can find some influences of this poem when Candy describes daffodils and when Albert describes the clouds in the sky, none of which bear any link to or identification with Terry.
In a similar way, Nagita has smacked down those claims wanting Terry to be the exclusive identifying factor when it comes to Shakespearean references. At the 2019 Paris interview, Nagita made it clear that Terry is not the only character influenced by her love for Shakespeare but all the CCFS characters are a product of her love for Shakespeare and for British literature, especially after the Renaissance.
It’s getting really tiresome trying to talk some sense into the Terry fandom which has stubbornly locked itself inside delusional and downright erroneous claims that Terry is identified with Shakespearean references and to daffodils. Since Keiko Nagita has already refuted those Terry fandom claims and there’s zero evidence to show that Terry is identified with daffodils, the case for them ends here because they have lost the argument and the plot.
If the Terry fandom is to accept that Terry is linked to daffodils, then they should also accept that Albert is linked to the color blue and to water imagery, especially when it comes to rivers and lakes. Candy constantly describes Albert’s blue eyes as beautiful as the clear blue lakes, rivers and clear blue skies. At least in this case, we actually have indisputable textual evidence which confirms Candy’s adulation of Albert’s blue eyes and linking them to the water and the sky. In her 30s, Candy describes the beautiful roses in her garden, she also describes the daffodils outside in the meadows and then she describes the beautiful river and beautiful blue sky.
The bottom-line is that the author and Candy offer a direct link between Anthony and roses. They offer no link between Terry and daffodils but there are plenty of references which link Albert to the color blue, to water imagery such as rivers and lakes as well as the beautiful sunlit sky.
You’re taking a very sensible approach to this daffodil debacle. I’ve got the book in Italian and French and nowhere does it mention that daffodils are connected in any way to Terry. I don’t agree with the notion that Albert is connected to flowers such as the magnolia either.
I did a bit of digging myself regarding daffodils and magnolias and the retrieved info is interesting. Daffodils or “narcissus” are ubiquitous around the world and it’s incorrect to assume that they’re endemic only in the UK. Daffodils can also be found in abundance in Continental Europe, North America, South America, Asia and South Africa. I’ve seen many daffodils during my trips to the Netherlands, France, Italy, Greece and Spain. Magnolias or “magnolia sieboldii”, on the other hand, are a rare and exotic species of flowers which are found mainly in Asia and South America. You won’t find them in the wild in the UK, Europe or North America. It would make sense, therefore, not to mention magnolias in the British countryside where Candy is residing during the Interbellum. Magnolia was only a name given to the home Candy and Albert had been living together for over 2 years. It’s not associated to any character in the CCFS. Whilst the daffodil is seasonal, the magnolia is tougher and lasts much longer. The resilience of the magnolia is far superior to that of the daffodil.
Neither Terry nor Albert are associated to flowers as Anthony is. The fans from both sides are making a mistake trying to identify those two characters with flowers. As you’ve effectively explained, Anthony and Candy are linked to roses. Your analysis about Terry being a sexual and earthly character is spot on. The pro-Terry fans try to link him to daffodils but that’s just their own fantasy. When Candy thinks of Terry, she imagines the cut grass (perhaps even grassy meadows) and she even says that he smells like that. And all the river references point out to Albert. If we’re going to attach symbolic images to Anthony, Terry and Albert, it’s going to be based on what Nagita says and it’s roses (Anthony), the grassy meadows (Terry) and the river Avon (Albert)-all three of which are situated outside of Candy’s house during the Interbellum. So, the answer to the anohito riddle cannot be found in such imagery since all three men are included. No matter how hard the pro-Terry fans try to spin-doctor the story to fit their own prejudices, they can’t eliminate Albert from the anohtio equation. Both Terry and Albert have an equal chance of being anohito and Nagita has retained this duality until the very end of her novel.
Thank you @DanielleV for sharing this with us. It’s a very interesting idea to compare daffodils and magnolias.
I don’t have a green thumb, and you can easily guess I’m not familiar with flowers in general. However, I do know that magnolia species are native to America and east / southeast Asia. It even has a special name in Chinese medicine to cure different kinds of nasal problems. Also, its Chinese nickname is 木蘭， pronounced as Mulan. You might have heard of the story of the Chinese girl who enlisted herself (pretended to be a man) on her father’s behalf?
Back to Anohito, you’re absolutely right. No matter how hard the pro-Terry fans strive to push Albert aside, he is the only man one who is always present in Candy’s life, from her childhood to her thirties. Why? She still mentioned him using present tense. 😉
I have no green thumb either. This is based on what I’ve studied a bit online about daffodils and magnolias. In terms of America, magnolias are found in South America and as you have mentioned, in East/Southeast Asia. It’s obvious that Nagita would not include magnolias in rural England because they have never sprouted over there. They’ve never sprouted in the USA or Canada either. The Terry fandom’s argument about the daffodils is based on an entirely incorrect premise. Just as their Shakespeare-only-for-Terry premise is wrong, so is this daffodil debacle.
I sure do know about Mulan and I find that story fascinating. There’s going to be a movie about Mulan released soon directed by Niki Caro. It looks cool.
Hi @DanielleV, I thought magnolias can be found in Northeast and Central America too. Oh well… It doesn’t really matter. 😉
FYI, Mulan is believed to be a legendary figure, and her last name is “Flower”. Thus, her full name is “Magnolia Flower” 🙂. But in Chinese the last name goes first. Despite the feminine name, she actually fought in the army for at least ten years or so.
Disney cartoon version is overly dramatized and I heard it wasn’t well received in China. Guess it was way too different?
You’re right. The sources I’ve been looking into also mention Central America (Panama, Honduras, Colombia) and Mexico which is the southernmost country of North America. There’s no mention of the United States or Canada, however.
Regarding Mulan, maybe critics in China found the Walt Disney version too “westernized”. This tends to happen with cultural appropriation in the arts.
Mexico is actually in the southern portion of North America.
I think I have to revise my geography knowledge. LoL
Hi, I’m also wondering where those fans came up with Terry being some sort of daffodil symbol. It’s ludicrous. I’ve got my CCFS in pdf stored on my laptop and I did a thorough search for all the times the word daffodil is used in both volumes and not a single time is this flower related to or identified with Terry. I agree with you that flowers are used by Keiko Nagita as a narrative device to navigate her readers with regards to the passage of time and which season it is.
Identifying Terry with daffodils is just as silly as believing that he’s the exclusive “owner” of Shakespearean references. I would suggest we just focus on what the legit writer of this novel says and what is actually written in this story.
The story itself shows that daffodils are not related to Terry but to spring and that all the main characters in this novel have names or surnames which have been inspired by Nagita’s long-term reading of Shakespeare and his contemporaries such as Christopher Marlowe.
Some of those fans have confused their fan-fiction with the actual novel.
Agree with you, @Myra and @Irana93.
Once a CC fan analyzed it this way: If Terry fans insist daffodils are associated with Terry like roses with Anthony, then they are essentially saying Terry also belonged to Candy’s past. He was history to her.
This comment section is awesome! The way you all scrutinize each and every CCFS controversial detail is so insightful. Because I’m also trying to look at both sides of the fandom, I like the ways in which you do the same and consider the fallacies made by both and not only one side of the fandom. I agree with you that Terry is not correlated to any flower imagery and neither is Albert. It’s only Anthony who is identified with the rose and so is Candy, apparently.
Speaking of fallacies, you should all head on over to the Arechi Manga page on FB or YouTube where there are 2 videos uploaded providing useful information having to do with translation issues and there’s also a segment where the translators respond to various queries from the public.
This is where it gets interesting..
One of the translators responds to a question having to do with the term “adoptive father” and “adoptive parent”. The translator explains that Albert must not be perceived as a father-figure or parent to Candy but as a replacement for Miss Pony and Sister Lane. This translator continues that Albert is just a guardian or a director to Candy and not in any way a father or parent. He could also be viewed as a form of tutor or mentor but never a parent as in the case of Annie and her legitimate adopted status. That sure is a wake-up call to all those fans who kept on screaming that Albert is a father-figure to Candy. These translators have proven them wrong.
Another interesting question has to do with the Japanese title or affix “san” and whether Candy addressed Albert in such a way due to formality. The translator explained that this term should always be perceived within a contextual framework and it does not necessarily mean formality because even couples use this term when addressing to each other. The translator considers that there was no formality between Candy and Albert and as time goes by, their letters become more and more intimate.
I’ll stop here because I would prefer if you also watch these videos carefully and find out for yourselves.
Bye for now!
Very interesting indeed, @Lynn! Im so glad to hear that. Thanks for sharing 🤗
This is promising! I actually met a couple from Japan long time ago. They called each other with the -san honorific title. 😉
Thanks for the heads up, Lynn. I’ve watched both the Arechi Manga vids and what caught my attention was the translator’s remark that the readers ought to respect the author’s decision of keeping the identity of “anohito” a mystery. She also specified that “anohito” could be Terry, Albert, or someone else never mentioned in the CCFS before. I’m quite sure that the Terry fans are not taking it too well knowing that the translators themselves are giving an equal chance for either Terry or Albert to be “anohito”. They’re even suggesting that it could be someone else apart from those two men and I could accept that alternative. Nagita has left everything possible in the ambiguous ending of her novel.
Thank you @Anita for sharing too. I was a bit surprised they suggested Anohito might not even be Albert or Terry, because I’ve always thought it was obvious who he was, but at least the translators did not say it’s someone never mentioned in the story. 😅
Some of those Terry-fans are still in denial albeit most of them have already accepted that anohito could be Terry or Albert. The translators have suggested that it could also be someone else and they didn’t specify whether that character was ever mentioned in the CCFS. Even though the translators of the Spanish CCFS have clarified their position that Albert is not a father-figure to Candy but only a guardian or tutor, some of those Terry-fans keep on regurgitating the same BS over and over again.
It’s not the first time they’ve turned a deaf ear to others’ arguments, @Anita. Any unbiased reader could tell Albert and Candy had romantic feelings for each other when reading their letters in the epilogue, and yet some people still find that incomprehensible or intangible.
I think the greatest blow to those fans was when the translators underpinned that anohito could be Terry or Albert. The Arechi Manga team is giving equal significance to both Terry and Albert and some of those fans can’t handle that because they wanted Albert out.
@Sarah, I have a feeling these people are unwilling to give up. They have believed Terry was Anohito for many years, ever since they knew about Susanna’s death in CCFS, as though her existence was the only obstacle between Candy and Terry.
Here’s a bit of an update regarding that Spanish translation. I’ve watched the latest video uploaded by the Arechi Manga editor and he’s claiming that there could be a romantic relationship between Candy and Albert but he’s uncertain whether that bore fruit. He makes the same claim about Candy and Terry as well. All in all, this editor is saying that there’s a fifty-fifty chance that anohito could be Terry or Albert. The Terry-fans are attacking him for his claim that Albert should not be perceived as a father-figure. They also aren’t pleased with his claim that there is some flirting going on between Candy and Albert in those letters of theirs as we can all read about in the Epilogue.
The Spanish editor also makes another interesting claim. He says that the three flowers-roses, daffodils and magnolias should not be linked to any of the three men (Anthony, Terry and Albert, respectively), but to various stages in Candy’s life. They should also be linked to seasons, apparently.
As usual, you also have those last remaining handful of Terry-fans who try to distort what the editor has said by claiming that the editor draws a connection between Terry and the daffodils. Yet, he never makes that connection in any way whatsoever. He just says that daffodils represent Candy’s teenage past in the British countryside during her studies at St Paul’s.
The editor ends his video by saying that the book retains the ambiguous ending of the original 2010 Japanese CCFS.
Let’s see what he’ll have to say in the second part of his video where he continues to answer various fans’ questions.
Unfortunately, the situation is like a war zone at the Arechi Manga social media pages. I think the Arechi Manga admin should seriously consider deactivating the comment sections under their posts entirely because all that awful fighting makes them look bad.
From what I’ve read and watched online, the pro-Terry people are enraged that the Arechi Manga translators and editor are not excluding Albert from being Anohito because they don’t consider him to be a father or brother to Candy. They refuse to call him an adoptive father. Instead, they call him a director or mentor to Candy. Many of the pro-Terry people are also angry that the editor doesn’t link daffodils to Terry but to Candy’s experience in the UK. They accuse the editor of being a sell-out and using the terry-Albert duality as a means to make more money out of the book sales.
On the other hand, the pro-Albert people are much calmer because they’re pleased that Albert is not excluded from being Anohito and that disgusting insult hurled against him as being “Woody Allen” has finally been destroyed by the Arechi Manga translators and editors.
I’ve stopped reading those toxic comment sections altogether. I just so straight to the announcements or videos uploaded by Arechi Manga and that’s it.
It’s best not taking into consideration what certain pro-Terry fans gossip about when it comes to the Spanish editor and translators. It’s best if all of you watch the videos on Arechi Manga’s YouTube page yourselves and completely ignore the comment section because each and every fan will say whatever is convenient to them. Even the editor has made it clear that he’s just expressing his opinion which is clearly not endorsed by Nagita.
Just to give you an example on how some of those fans distort the words of the editor, he mentioned at some point various authors and novels which may have influenced Keiko Nagita. He went off on a tangent and named dozens of books (Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice, Daddy Long Legs, etc). Then he briefly mentioned that the conflict between Candy and Terry could have been compared to that of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Immediately some ignorant and vacuous fans grabbed on the opportunity to claim that the Spanish editor identified Terry to Darcy. Talk about unlimited stupidity.. Terry is a similar to Darcy as chalk is to cheese.
Anyway, the man never made such a link. He just said that as we can find similarities from Daddy Long Legs in the CCFS, we could do the same with Pride and Prejudice and numerous other books. In a previous interview, the Spanish editor compared Terry to Laurie from Little Women. Apparently, the pro-Terry fans didn’t jump to grab those words of his because it didn’t suit them.
Well said, Anita!
I don’t know if you had watched the first part of the editor’s video which had stirred some commotion among the fans. He was alleged to have claimed that he couldn’t find any romantic elements between Candy and Albert. The Terry-fans were angry at him because he refused to see Albert as an adoptive father and the Albert-fans were angry at him for making such an assumption about his feelings for Candy. The reality is that he had never said that Candy and Albert had no romantic feelings for each other. Having watched the video myself, the editor simply mentions that he doesn’t see that raging-hormone intensity between Candy and Albert as he had seen it between Candy and Terry. However, he made it clear that Candy and Albert were no longer teenagers and adult relationships don’t have all that intensity as found in teenage flings. It’s also true that the editor does not regard Albert as an adoptive father but as a guardian or tutor to Candy.
In his latest video, the editor clarified that all the points he’s been raising are mere assumptions which should not be taken seriously but only viewed as his opinion. He also made it clear that he has no preference for either Terry or Albert and he’s glad if anohito is any of those two men. He also joked around saying that anohito could be Archie or Neil. He really doesn’t care because the crux of the story is not who Candy is sleeping with but her tenacity in overcoming challenges in her life. He also mentioned that he’s sick and tired of all the online fighting going on within the CC fandom. He finds it all appalling and I agree with him on that.
Hi, I have watched all the 5 videos uploaded on the Arechi Manga YT channel and the ones which are based on credible information reliant heavily upon facts and not opinion are those 2 videos belonging to the translators’ analysis. Both ladies appear to be knowledgeable in their field of study but most importantly, they’re impartial. I appreciate how they kept a distance from the two battlefields of the CC front.
Hello ladies I am quite busy at work recently and can’t keep up with you. However, I did manage to find time to watch a couple of videos. I truly appreciate the summaries and analyses from you all. At least I got a sense of what’s going on. 🤗
Don’t worry about it, Ms Puddle. We’re all on the same boat after the end of the lockdown. Take your time and focus on your job which is much more important than the CCFS. Just stay safe and take good care of yourself.
Thank you @DanielleV and you take care too 🤗
Thank you @AlbertLovesCandy for your encouraging words. Glad you have enjoyed my post. 🤗
I think enough have been said about those particular group of fans. The Spanish editor(s) will unlikely make changes to appease some fans. On one hand, they should adhere to the original novel as professionals, and on the other hand, the books are printed and bound by now. Those fans are indeed making unreasonable, if not outrageous, requests.
Hello, Anita & Ms Puddle:
Well said, you both!
It’s totally a waste of time trying to make sense into those delulus ( short cut for delusional fans in my foreign language lol ) even if Mizuki had made her final decision years ago. She may not mention the name of the owner of that outstretched arms at the last page of the novel, I’m still HAPPY because I totally know that she ended up with Albert based from the proofs, and also the way he and Candy wrote in the letters. Those were acts of courting Candy already, not a brother or father way. I believe that in the beginning of CCFS, when Candy was recollecting memories from the past.. she is indeed MARRIED to Albert already! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I feel bad for Albert. 😞😞 Few of them are using his name as Fan Pages only to unfriendly comment on those (Albertfans) who give positive feedback to Arechi page. I went there as both pages, but not to harass the delulus, but to thank the the publisher for giving us heads up about the book they’re about to release. I wish someone would offer to publish it in English as well. I will not give up on that.
Today, an Albertfan pm’ed my other Candy page today and asked me if I saw Arechi’s latest post which shows the rose, daffodil and magnolia, and added that those delulus have commented nothing but harassment, poor Arechi. I am too tired to read their comments because of my work, so I thought I’d drop by Arechi’s page to watch the video she spoke of, and ended up here to reply. It’s more refreshing lol. Yes, it’s best to distance myself from those kinds of fans, and keep myself busy with my own pages, and my work. They should be more worried about the crisis we have right now than the fictional characters. 🙄🙄🙄
Speaking of crisis.. during my 2-3 week self-quarantine, I had found the time to watch DLL ( Daddy Long Legs ) finally! I am pretty sure all of you have seen it, and observed what I had observed among those episodes, so I won’t need to pen down each detail. The three girls (Judy, Julia, Sallie) were the first I noticed, almost similar to Candy, Annie and Patty. Except, Annie wasn’t born rich like Julia. That story made me fall for Jervis.. 😍😍 too bad Mizuki didn’t added a wedding scene for Albert and Candy *sighs* Hope Mizuki would change her mind and give us an Albert-Candy sequel lol. I saw that some animes had many episodes. Some are over 500 or 700. I guess drama animes are meant for like 50-100 episodes only.. still.. I want to see more of Albert and Candy..
Hope to hear more from all of you! Let me know if there is news like someone’s gonna offer to publish CCFS into English version. Enjoy the weekend, everyone, and stay safe!!! 🙌🏼 🙌🏼 🙌🏼 🙌🏼 🙌🏼
#albertismeantforcandyperiod!
No need to worry about those Terry trolls. The Arechi Manga administrators have been notified that they’re fake accounts (those Terry trolls are so stupid that they had set up those fake accounts on the same day) and they have deleted most of their disgusting comments. Those trolls always return but it doesn’t matter anymore because the Arechi Manga administrators already know about this. You can always report those pages to both Facebook and Arechi Manga so they’ll know that they’re bogus accounts. If new Terry troll accounts appear, report them too.
For my part, I’m delighted that those Terry trolls are finally out in the open and demonstrating their filthy attitude. Usually rodents and other forms of vermin lurk in the dark but their despair has smoked them out into the light for everyone to witness what wretched little dregs they are.
Agree with you, @Myra.
Yet, it’s probably only a small group of fans who try to conceal their despair by publicly attacking others, thus humiliating themselves. I’m convinced most fans, even some pro-Terry ones, are reasonable and mentally healthy.
Exactly. That’s why I specified by referring to Terry-trolls and not Terry-fans, in general. There’s a difference.
Yes indeed, Myra. 👍
I don’t see what the fuss is all about. It’s just a Spanish translation just like the Italian and the French ones. It’s not as if it’ll bring anything ground-breaking. It’s just a book which is accessible to those who can speak Spanish. For those of us who have already read the Italian and French translations, we already know the story. It seems that some of those Terry-fans got too hyper and hopeful over this Spanish translation. They’ve been urging the editors to change the story but that is illegal because that would constitute a downright violation of copyright law and intellectual property belonging to Nagita.
This is the reason why many of the pro-Terry folk have taken to social media venting their spleen against Arechi Manga. Presumably, they had been expecting the Spanish CCFS to align with their fanfic rather than what Keiko Nagita had written. However, Arechi Manga is not responsible for creating pro-Terry fanfic but translating Keiko Nagita’s novel verbatim.
LOL… 😆😄
My sentiments exactly, @Sarah. I don’t understand why either. I have always assumed this is common sense. 🙄 Perhaps they have fallen into the self-deception trap ever since the CCFS was published in 2010. Now that many have read the Italian or French version, they refuse to accept the reality and rather continue to believe their own lies or indulge in denial?
It’s become a pattern with some of those Terry-fans. They never know when to stop and listen to reason. Have you seen the comment threads and how they keep on going on for eternity? Maybe in their limited brain capacity they believe that when people stop responding to them that they have won the argument. In reality, people just get bored with them and move on. These are middle-aged women in their majority but with the behavior of petulant kids who keep on nagging until they get their candy (pun intended).
Anyway, I have been meaning to ask you about something you had mentioned regarding the CCFS. Did you say that Albert had returned the badge to Candy? I thought he still had it and that he was planning to return it to her as she was planning to return her diary to him.
Until they get their candy… yes, lol 😂
@Sarah, yes, Candy decided to return her diary to Albert (for him to keep). She used, 託す, which means “entrust”, which shows that she trusted him.
Then she added, “Just like Albert who presented the badge to me as his gift, the badge which I had returned on one occasion.”
She used the past tense of 贈る, which means “presented, awarded, or bestowed”.
Thanks for your reply and for informing me, Ms Puddle. I didn’t know that he had given the badge back to her as a gift. There’s been a lot going on between those two.😉
You’re welcome, @Sarah 😊
This part is different from the old novel, in which Candy was the one who suggested to Albert in her letter that she should return the badge to him. In his reply he simply said she could keep it because he was fully aware the badge had been like an amulet to her all these years.
I actually like this change in CCFS. Because the badge represented his unique identity (Anthony told Candy the badge that belonged to the mysterious boy was different from his), his action was significant. Some fans even think the badge was a symbol of his heart.
Interestingly, Candy in her thirties did not mention her diary or the badge.
Hello @AlbertLovesCandy, speaking of Daddy Long Legs, I have only read the book. Some criticized Judy in the anime version looked too young, but oh well.
The original story is good enough for me, and there’s no wedding scene either. Yet it ends with Judy’s love letter to Master Jervie. 💌 She addressed him as “My Very Dearest Master-Jervie-Daddy-Long-Legs Pendleton-Smith”.
Doesn’t this look somewhat familiar? 😉
Hi MPH!
🤭 Oops, I forgot DLL had a novel, also not some scenes are from the novel or manga. I have read some classic novels that wrote by French women, and featured them into anime, and again just like Candy Candy, not everything is from the novel / manga. Perhaps one day, I will read the DLL novel via online when I’m off from work.
Eh? Why would some complain about Judy being young, she was supposed to be like 12-13 when she recommended to study in Lincoln Memorial High School. Thought her appearance was perfect for her age, then blossomed into a young woman as she turned 18 at the end of the series.
Oh yes, her new term for Jervie does remind me how Candy addressed Albert in one of her letters. That was so sweet. 🥰🥰 I never stopped reading their letters over and over lol. They may not bring life into anime version, but I can always imagine that they’re actually talking through those letters!
Mind if I make a suggestion? I have seen drawing versions of Albert and Candy in their wedding ceremony from other fans.. and how about you provide one with your own style? The formal attire you made for our favorite couple are actually very good! So I know you’ll come up with new design! You don’t have to do right away, only when you have the time, lol. 🙏🏻 🙏🏻
Hello there, just so you know, @albertlovescandy, in the novel Judy was entering university, so if I remember correctly she was 18.
About drawing, you’re not the only one asking for wedding scene, but I’m not sure. I’ll think about it. 😄
@MPH
Ah I see. Thanks for the clarification. When I first watched in anime last month, she was going to High School, then got accepted in the Univesity at the nearly end of the series. No wonder when I watched DLL movie ( I think it was musical and B and W, too lol ) some time ago, she was 18-19 in that version. Maybe I should start reading the original novel. Have you watched that movie? I think it was from 50’s or 60’s. Glad I got to watch DLL and to understand the fact that inspired Mizuki to make fanfic of her own called ‘Candy Candy’ lol. Anyway, I’m hoping she’d allow TOEI to feature her new CCFS into anime version someday, or perhaps make a movie just like Little Women version. 🙏🏻 🙏🏻
I’m sure you will. You have many fans lining up to witness your new adventure. 👍🏻 👍🏻
Regards, dear! 😊 😊 😊
You’re welcome, @AlbertLovesCandy. Yes you should read the novel. I actually shed some tears. 😅
Thank you for mentioning my comment. I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Ms Puddle. By the end of the week, I’ll get back to you with some further queries but I’ve got tons of workload so I would kindly ask you bear with me.
Stay safe and thanks again!
You’re welcome, @Lakewood. Take your time and no rush! Stay safe 🏡
Dear Ms Puddle,
What I appreciate the most from your blog is that you always try to use evidence to support your perspectives. Most of the CC blogs I’ve been looking into so far are too opinionated and indulge themselves in their own confirmation bias.
On the other hand, you always analyze both sides to the story and when it’s time for you to specify your opinion, you’re honest about it and separate it from the rest of your impartial analysis.
This is the reason why so many people respect you and are so willing to contribute to your fantastic website.
I’m new here but I’m planning to stick around and read more of your posts. I’m currently looking into your “Lost in Translation” series and it’s so professional and objective based on what I’ve been reading until now.
Cheers!
Hello @Leda, thank you for your kind words and encouragement! 🤗
Glad to hear you began to read my Lost in translation series. I hope you will like it and don’t find it too confusing 😉
They are not confusing at all but very informative. I enjoy reading about the CCFS in the original language it was written. However, I don’t know Japanese like you do so it’s great to get informed about this beautiful language from you.
Thank you @Leda for your encouraging feedback and I’ll do my best to keep up 💪
Hello again, Ms Puddle-These awesome posts of yours manage to shed a lot of light into the controversies surrounding Terry’s note to Candy. First off, there is no proof that this note had been written after Susanna’s death. Since the author herself has simply tossed this note into Section 3 without giving it a date, explanation or response, all arguments insisting that it has been written after Susanna had died are baseless. Some fans have to quit begging the question and accept that the author herself hasn’t endorsed any of their groundless claims.
You’re absolutely right, @Sarah. There’s no solid proof that Terry wrote this after Susanna’s demise, not to mention Terry’s claim, that he hadn’t changed, didn’t make much sense. If he had wanted to reunite with Candy, he should have written much more or at least with a bit more feelings.
What if Terry meant something else when he wrote “For me, nothing has changed..”? Perhaps he was completely despondent and fell even deeper into his depression by stating that nothing ever changes for him and that he’s always miserable living day in and day out in monotony. Besides, Nagita herself has described Terry as a man who is inherently unhappy.
Alternatively, Terry could have meant that nothing has changed in essence and that he’s still a fighter and will continue with his life regardless of the hurdles. If we were to adopt the theory that Terry’s letter had been written after Susanna’s death or after the Rockstown incident, maybe he just wanted to appease Candy’s concern and reassure her that despite the ups-and-downs in his life, he’s still moving on.
This letter of his doesn’t necessarily have to be an attempt for him to reunite with Candy. It could also be a means for which Terry wants to say goodbye to her and that she ought not to worry about him as they both have their own separate albeit fulfilling lives following completely different career trajectories.
There are so many possible explanations and multiple interpretations regarding Terry’s brief note to Candy but Terry-fans desperately cling onto a single theory which is inconclusive from its inception. These are the same people who mumble that Albert-fans shouldn’t place any value in the Epilogue which consists of over 10 lengthy letters exchanged between Candy and Albert, yet, they clench onto a mere scrap of paper with a couple of lines. Their ignorance is mind-boggling.
Exactly, @DanielleV. The epilogue at least shows replies from both sides. Was it Avon who said Candy might not have received this message from Terry? I have the same doubt too… 🙄
Who knows? Nagita placed that letter there so that the readers can do whatever they want with it. It’s a bit like that jewelry box anohito gave to Candy. He gave it to Candy so she can put whatever she wants in it.
Interesting idea, @DanielleV. I can’t help but wonder if Nagita sensei placed this letter in her novel in a way to bring out the obnoxious side of some crazy fans. 🙄
These are all good points, @Sarah 👏
Although I still doubt that it was sent after Susanna’s death, because at least several years had elapsed since his success as Hamlet. What could Terry refer to in his letter to Candy that had occurred (roughly more than a year ago) between the two of them?
There’s little likelihood that he might actually be referring to Susanna’s death, but that means he had expected Candy to follow their news very closely. This is unconvincing to me, unless he was way more self-centered than I thought. 😉
About Rockstown, I have a feeling he would have been terribly disappointed to find out Candy had not even approached him to say ‘hi’. His mother might have kept this secret from him forever. Well… just my two cents, of course.
Yet I agree this letter might be a goodbye letter, but perhaps some time after their breakup? If many years had gone by Candy might have married another man, and Terry should know better not to contact her. Unless, again, he had fully expected Candy to wait for him forever. 🤔 Don’t forget his last command to her at the New York hospital. He essentially urged her to find her own happiness.
Thank you for your feedback, Ms Puddle.
My intention is to examine all the possible explanations Terry’s note could have. Neither the Terry-fans nor the Albert-fans can pin-point an exact answer because everything about this letter is shrouded in a dense veil of vagueness and ambiguity. It could mean this..It could mean that.. Plain and simple.
I think those of us who aren’t fanatical with any of the CC characters but appreciate this story as a whole have provided greater justice to discussing about Terry’s idiosyncrasy and attitude than his own fanbase which just grabs one of the many interpretations most convenient to them and sweeps everything else under the rug.
Exactly! But come to think of it, that’s the difference between dogmatic fans and critical readers. Narrow-minded fans never bother to read between the lines and grasp the nuances of a text. They just care about force-feeding their prejudiced opinions onto others. This is the reason why nobody takes them seriously. All they do is beg for confirmation via their own small and restricted echo chambers.
Hi @Sarah and @DanielleV, I agree with both of you. This letter from Terry is ambiguous to say the least, and it only makes him look bad (cold-blooded, insensitive, self-centered, etc.) if his supporters insist it was sent after Susanna’s death.
Thanks for the shout out @Ms Puddle! 😊
This new post of yours is very insightful and you’ve provided such a thorough analysis of the language discrepancies in the CCFS, anime and manga. Knowing a few languages surely is an advantage. Your comparative approach is impressive.👍
Thank you @Lynn, and I’m the one who should thank you! 🤗 I found this page in the manga (what I used as the feature image) a while ago already but not motivated enough to write a long post lol…
I wish I had such diverse knowledge of languages as you do @Ms Puddle. The foreign languages I know aren’t too ‘foreign’ since they’re all European-based. I wanted to learn Japanese during my post-graduate studies but I just didn’t have the time.
@Lynn, it’s always nice to know a couple of languages, and I suppose you know a few too? Like you, I have the advantage because Chinese is my native tongue, so I learn Japanese at my own pace and still learning 😊
I’m a bilingual in English and German (British father and German mother) but I’m quite competent in French. I just don’t have a particularly good accent. I’m more comfortable reading and writing in French than speaking it.
By the way, hardly anyone in Germany or the UK knows about Candy. I got to know about that anime from my French friends I used to visit in the summer. Germans and Brits aren’t too keen on Candy’s tale because it’s labelled as too melodramatic.
Well… it’s melodramatic, @Lynn, not unlike Korean dramas lol, but perhaps because of that it’s popular in different countries around the world 😉
Thank you for sharing your insight with us, Ms Puddle.
There appears to be conflicting views about the blank pages and the Spanish editor disregards their significance. I don’t agree with him, however, because Keiko Nagita had explained in her interview last year in Paris that the blank pages signified her intention to write more about the scenes which ensued in the novel.
Nonetheless, Terry’s letter on its own and without any timeline cannot help anyone in forming an argument. That letter could mean anything because the writer has placed it in such a way where anyone can suggest whatever one wants.
Furthermore, you’re right about the lack of chronological sequence. There’s no linear time-frame for the readers to base their assumptions on since the letters in the epistolary section of the novel are scattered and don’t follow a specific timeline.
The bottom line is that this letter could mean anything and it could have been written anytime during Terry’s lifetime. We don’t even know if he had sent that letter or if Candy had ever received it. Everything about that letter is relative and ambiguous.
My partner was telling me that Nagita’s novel is a bit like Sudoku but even that mind-game has a specific mathematical and logical infrastructure where you can eventually find the solution if you’re keen enough. The same doesn’t apply to the CCFS because it’s not based on logic but on random interpretation since everything is so vague.
Hi Avon, I agree with you that no credible argument can be formed since Terry’s letter has no background information to support its relevance and importance. It’s as if Nagita just tossed it in there to give some scraps of hope to the Terry-fans and release herself from being incessantly pestered by them. She doesn’t want to disappoint any of the fans so she seems to have resorted to following the ambiguous route and leaving everything open to interpretation based on what each fan wants.
I wouldn’t blame Nagita for letting go and leaving the ending obscure. She’s already been through the toxic legal battles involving Igarashi’s greed; the last thing she needs right now is having a cesspool of acutely obsessed fans going after her. As she’s mentioned plenty of times, she’s put Candy’s story behind and moving on. Too bad some of her insane fans can’t do the same. Nevertheless, that’s not her problem but theirs.
Couldn’t agree more, Avon. It’s so ironic that a character such as Candy which is supposed to inspire so much positivity has unintentionally unleashed such an appalling series of negativity and petty fighting within the fandom.
@Avon, I kinda doubt Nagita sensei is truly moving on. Candy Candy is possibly her most successful story. 🤔
So true, @DanielleV. As I said before, it was just another a trick from Nagita sensei, not unlike Candy living near Avon River. 😉
Thank you @Avon for pointing out about the significance of these blank pages. I was told that there was no blank page in the Italian version either. Is this true?
A couple of friends and I think that this particular letter is a trick from the author to appease some fans, placing it right after Susanna’s obituary. Needless to say, some do take it too seriously, as though Candy would wait for Terry indefinitely. Yet Candy’s sad reactions to reading the obituary proved otherwise. She wasn’t really waiting for Terry to get rid of Susanna in any way. Her wish for their happiness, in her unsent letter, had been sincere.
What your partner said is so true, and although we might not know the answer with 100% certainty, we do have enough facts and evidence to deduce Anohito’s identity. 😊
Hello Ms Puddle,
I don’t recall any blank pages in either the Italian or the French translations of Nagita’s CCFS book. Have you come across any? The editor of the Spanish translation said that there are no blank pages in the Spanish CCFS book either because he believes they’re a waste of money and paper. Some fans weren’t too pleased with his statement. Lol
As for my partner, I’m sure he’s glad you agree with him but I continue to disagree because the game Sudoku is based on mathematical logic whereas Nagita’s story is ambiguous and based on how each fan wants to imagine the ending for oneself.
Yes @Avon that’s what I heard too, at least for the Italian version. That’s why I brought it up again in this post about those blank pages.
To me, the ending of CCFS can also be derived with logic, facts, and intuition. It’s not as vague as I initially thought it was. 😉
Enjoyed your article as always @Ms Puddle.
In response to your question about the circulation of newspapers and tabloids in the early 20th century, the situation back then wasn’t much different as it is, nowadays, when it comes to having the circulation of daily, weekly, or monthly papers. The same goes for magazines and gazettes. As you’ve explained, there were also papers which circulated every fortnight or on a bi-monthly basis.
I’ll have to agree with your contributors’ questions concerning Candy’s ignorance of Susanna’s accident. I sincerely doubt that the theater in New York would try to cover up the tragedy. They wouldn’t have been able to even if they tried because reporters and journalists would easily be able to acquire this information. Terry and Susanna were very famous and such a tragic event wouldn’t have slipped through the cracks. I also don’t think that it would have taken too long for the reporters to publish this news. Such a tragedy would have been in the headlines immediately or published the next day in the latest.
Perhaps the explanation is far simpler and it has to do with the fact that Nagita may have made a mistake. Such errors in narrative structure can happen even to the best of writers.
Thank you again for your awesome article and looking forward to discussing with you again.
Thank you @Michelle for your support and encouraging words. Yes, you might be right that it was simply a mistake. I won’t attempt to defend the author or the editors for their oversight 😉
Mistakes happen and that’s alright. Nagita is a human-being like each and every one of us. Humans are not infallible and are thus prone to making some errors every now and then.
Thank you and take care!
Excellent post, Ms Puddle. The linguistic nuances you’ve analyzed are intriguing and offer plenty of background story to Terry’s letter (or note, as said by a few) and what it could possibly denote.
I have another an additional question which has to do with Terry signing his brief letter with his initials (T.G.) instead of his full name. In the CCFS, he never appears to use those initials-not even in his letter to Candy when he left the school in London to go to America. He had signed that letter by writing his name.
It seems like Terry didn’t want anyone else to know who he is except for Candy. But why? What was he ashamed of? The only reasons I could think of which could somewhat explain Terry’s secrecy is if he had sent that brief letter to the school in London thinking that Candy was still there. Perhaps the announcement of World War I prompted his concern and he wanted to contact her to find out if she’s alright. Another possible explanation would be if he had sent that letter to her while Susanna was still alive. He may have thought that it would be inappropriate if he had signed that letter whilst engaged to Susanna. If he had sent that letter while Susanna was still alive, it would probably have been after his separation with Candy or after his humiliating appearance at Rockstown.
These are only theories. What do you think?
Thank you very much @Irana93 for reading my post soon after it was published. It’s very encouraging! 🤗
So glad you liked my analysis. About his signing using his initials, I also pointed out in Part 2 of my aforementioned series that it was strange, as though he tried to hide his identity, so yes, like you, I gathered he might be sending the letter to St. Paul’s Academy. Not because he was ashamed but because he didn’t want to get Candy into trouble of any sort.
He could also be sending it while being engaged with Susanna. I used to think he referred to the breakup too.
As you said, these are all theories, but the chance that he wrote this after Susanna’s death is quite low, IMHO.
Thank you so much for all your work. You’re such a great asset to the CC community. Intelligent and sensible minds like you are most needed in this severely divided community which has plunged into pointless screaming and shouting between the fans.
If the Terry fandom wants to continue to believe that Terry wrote that letter after Susanna’s death, all they’re doing is shooting themselves in the foot because they’re making Terry look like some apathetic fool. If he were an actual person and not an anime, he would have spat those fans in the face as he had done to Eliza for demeaning him like that. Terry may have his flaws but being a callous moron isn’t one of them.
Thank you @Irana93. I don’t deserve such praise but thanks again for your kind words 🤗
I couldn’t have said it better! The pro-Terry fans are really shooting themselves in the foot because they’d rather believe Terry is extremely self-centred and narcissistic. Yes, he might have his flaws but I think he was at least sincere when he told Candy to find her happiness or else he would not forgive her.
Your work is awesome, Ms Puddle, both your fanart and your posts. You have demonstrated far more respect for Terry than his own fans by giving him so much depth and understanding the actual text which describes his character.
We get a clear image of who Terry is after reading this book. On the one hand, he’s short-tempered, impulsive and often very violent, especially against women. On the other hand, he’s extremely sensitive, hard-working and conscientious. In his own mind he’s got his own moral codes which are controversial but he believes in them, nonetheless.
Terry would have been furious if he had ever heard someone trash Susanna they way many Terry fans do. He is definitely not in love with Susanna as he is with Candy but he still has a soft spot for her and that’s obviously noticeable in the book. He appears to respect Susanna and even the way he speaks to her is better than the way he speaks to and treats Candy. If he felt like this for Susanna after knowing her for a few months, imagine how attached he would have become when living with her for such a long time. It’s beyond any shadow of a doubt that her death cost him dearly. The Terry-fans think that once the doctor declared Susanna dead that Terry would go out celebrating and opening champagne bottles. Some of those Terry-fans are even worse vipers than Eliza and Neil for rejoicing the death of a paraplegic young woman. Disgusting.
One of the main reasons why I prefer the manga to the novel is because there is more character development involved whereas in the novel everything revolves around the ways Candy perceives the events.
For example, I liked the insight into George’s thoughts when on deck with Candy sailing to the UK. He felt guilty for having to lie to her about William Albert Ardlay and he had his own stream-of-consciousness when reminiscing about Anthony. These were intriguing scenes accompanied by Igarashi’s fantastic drawings.
In a similar way, there is a lot of insight into Terry’s thoughts and feelings when he grew to become an adult and aspiring actor in New York. Readers would also discover the growing attraction between him and Susanna when working together for such long hours during rehearsals.
In addition, we would get to understand how Albert felt during his amnesia and his angst when he recovered. There was an overflow of conflicting and complex emotions going on and he torn between his desire to be independent and his emotional attachment to Candy.
We get all this cool stuff going on in the manga but we only get Candy’s point-of-view in the novel. She wants to believe that Terry never felt anything for Susanna but she’s not a mind-reader to know that.
As readers of the novel, we stop knowing what’s going on in Terry’s mind after he left St Paul’s school. But we continue to know what’s going on in Albert’s mind thanks to the Epilogue where both Candy and Albert are the narrators of their story and writing about their feelings to each other through their emotional letters.
So true, @Anita. CCFS is not complete without the manga. Sigh…
@Anita, I forgot to add that the Prologue and the Epilogue are what made CCFS special to me. Otherwise it’s simply a revised version of the old novel.
The Prologue introduced the story by telling us the day Candy’s life changed significantly was the day Annie left Pony’s Home. We all know it was the day Candy met a mysterious boy, whom she called Prince on the Hill. The Epilogue began by Candy’s reaction to his confession. No matter how much pro-Terry fans scream or protest, the story plot has not changed.
Your compliment is deeply appreciated, @Irana93, and thanks again for being so encouraging.
Can’t agree with you more. Terry respected Susanna for her talent, and after the accident, he cared about her too. Like you said, if he could hear any of his supporters’ remarks about Susanna, he would have been extremely mad.
About Terry’s feelings for Susanna, I don’t know if he would eventually fall in love with her. He was short-tempered and impulsive but he could be the only one taking care of her when she was ill.
Come to think of it, the CCFS isn’t much different from the manga either. The story progresses more or less as it did in the manga. There are only some scenes which have been omitted but Nagita has already explained in her interviews that she had no other choice due to publishers’ demands. What is different is the scene where Albert confesses to Candy that he’s POTH. That scene in the CCFS is far more emotional between Candy and Albert.
I have a question for you. Is there any mention in the CCFS what happened to the three items which Candy held dearest to her? Those three items were a holy cross given by Ms Pony, Terry’s tie and Albert’s badge. Candy mentions that she had wanted to return her diary to Albert just as he wanted to give her back his badge. When did he get his badge back? Is it mentioned in the CCFS? I recall Albert joking around and asking for his badge back at Pony’s Hill but I don’t think Candy gave it to him at that moment. Did Candy give Albert his badge back to him because she may have got annoyed that he returned the diary to her? Are any of these three items in Candy’s jewelry box?
@Anita, I have the same question too, but as far as I know, Candy in her thirties didn’t mention these items. I can only guess what happened to them — Candy had returned the holy cross to Ms Pony before leaving US and possibly brought the tie to Terry during her visit to New York (prior to the breakup?).
Yet, what about the badge? Albert formally gave it back to her as his present. No she wasn’t annoyed, at least I don’t think so. She already had his badge when she decided to entrust her diary to him.
Perhaps Candy had returned the badge to Albert when she had come to Chicago for her birthday party? Or on the day he had come to take her to Lakewood?
I agree with all your comments because the common denominator is that there’s zero evidence whatsoever in the CCFS to place any significance to Terry’s letter. It’s entirely up to the reader to decide what to do with this letter but it’s fanfic, thereafter, and not CCFS-based material.
It’s hypocritical to have Terry fans insist that Albert fans always provide indisputable evidence to their claims but when demanded to so the same, the Terry fans begin to recoil and wail that we must use our imagination and “hope” (whatever that’s supposed to mean). What “hope”? Hope for world peace? Get real..
If the Terry fans want an open and honest discussion, they’ll have to hold up their end of the bargain and provide undeniable evidence as they would expect from Albert fans. No one should behave like an entitled brat because no one is superior to anyone else. We’re all on equal terms here. That’s what a balanced discussion is all about.
Yes exactly, @Lynn. The theories out there about Terry’s ambiguous letter are primarily speculations or fanfics, not to mention opinionated assumptions. Nothing concrete.
There’s no problem for people having an opinion provided it’s not conflated with a fact. Many of those Terry fans fail to understand the difference between fact and fiction.
Well said, @Lynn. Sometimes they can be judgemental too, which reminds me. A pro-Terry fan once said to me, “If Candy has indeed moved on to love another man, she is not as loyal as Patty.”
I supposed she’s expected Candy to remain single forever, even though Terry had promised to stay with Susanna from now on.
Of course this fan assumed the same had happened to Patty, because in CCFS we do not know whether she had new love interest after Stear.
Yet, this fan has apparently (or conveniently) forgotten that Terry was Candy’s second love after Anthony… 🤔
The inanity coming from some of those pro-Terry fans seems to be infinite. I’ve been reading some of their comments on social media and I am baffled with their ignorance. Their memory is selective and their line of reasoning is completely derailed by their loudmouth rants. If you try to reason with them, their feeble minds short-circuit and they begin to go haywire.
I had a good laugh, thanks @Lynn 😅