Lost in translation (Part 14)
When I published Lost in translation (Part 13), I didn’t antiipate adding yet another post for this series, because it was supposed to have ended in Lost in translation (Part 12).
However, some of you have brought a passage near the beginning of Section 2 to my attention (attached here), and it was about Candy not wanting to leave Anohito’s side. You can find the long discussions in the comments section of the previous post, Forget-me-not Chapter 10. Those who have been involved in the aforementioned discussion might have read parts of this already, but please bear with me, because you might be surprised.
First and foremost, I’m not a spokesperson for the author of Candy Candy, Keiko Nagita sensei, or the publisher/editors/translators of Candy Candy Final Story, nor am I trying to defend any of them. What I present below is solely my personal interpretation of this particular passage based on my understanding of the Japanese language (which is not my native tongue).
I haven’t read the official translations, but I did check Fay’s English translation based on the French version, and I must say I was disappointed. Not only nuances are lost, but the emphasis was shifted. Many of you have read the Italian, French or Spanish versions, so you can compare your versions to my translation / interpretation below.
Anyway, let me get straight to the point. In the highlighted passage, Candy in her 30s says,
Now the orphanage is also overflowing with orphans, just the same as before. I want to help Miss Pony and the other teacher(s) more, but now, I don’t want to leave the side of Anohito, who is, above all else, longing/desirous to be always close to me.
It sounds funny in English because I tried to translate word for word without paraphrasing. The important nuance that is lost in translation is Anohito’s desiring Candy and Candy alone, not anyone else. To him, above all he longed to be close to her forever (in Japanese いつも can also mean forever, all the time, etc.). That’s the focus of this paragraph, and Candy reciprocated his devotion.
Take a step back and imagine when a man says the above to a woman… Don’t you think it was Anohito’s love declaration to Candy, if not his marriage proposal? (Spoiler alert: I’m going to reuse this in my fanfic “Forget-me-not”.) It goes without saying that although Candy had the intention to help Miss Pony and Sister Lane, she left the orphanage for Anohito years ago and moved to Chicago, New York, or wherever.
This highlighted text is written in the present tense, so it means Candy in her 30s and Anohito are still very much in love. I suppose this is what the author wanted to convey. Candy at this stage would not be able to help her teachers for long (as a visitor), but note that she indicated she wanted to help more (which can be translated as some more, even more, longer, further, etc.). It doesn’t necessarily mean that Candy was not helping (for example, she or Anohito might have hired helpers). More importantly, there’s not a trace of yearning, sadness, regret or sorrow in this entire paragraph. Candy’s tone is completely calm, a stark contrast to the tone in the beginning of the prologue.
Thus, it never occurred to me that this was Candy’s explanation or justification why she had not visited Miss Pony while she had been ill. If it had been, Candy would have said something like “I wanted to visit Miss Pony but I rather stay with Anohito blah blah blah…”, not to mention this is out of character and contradictory to her wish to nurse Miss Pony (in the prologue). Speaking of which, when Candy mentioned that and Miss Pony’s illness or recovery, Candy wrote in the past tense.
No wonder many of you complained that the narrative is flat. It is not the original text that you’re reading after all. Now you understand why I was disappointed with the official translation of this beautiful passage. It was unfortunate some of you are convinced Candy did not visit Miss Pony simply because of Anohito, or her love and devotion to him have made you sick. Admittedly, the novel has its flaws, but I strongly doubt the author would defame her beloved Candy or Anohito that way. I have a feeling this is the author’s oversight for not providing a reason for Candy’s not visiting, even though Miss Pony obviously expected that she would see Candy again.
It’s this time of the year when bluebells and forget-me-nots can be seen everywhere, which reminds me of the touching scene in the CCFS Epilogue when Albert took Candy to where Anthony had fallen off his horse. To tell you the truth, this month marks the 9th anniversary of my blog, and when I started I wanted to share my love for the story and the main characters with the other fans. Regrettably, as much as I enjoy this hobby, it’s becoming more and more difficult for me to keep it up. I appreciate all of you for your valuable contributions over the years and continued support to my fan works, but the ongoing negative comments about CCFS, the author and/or Candy the heroine have significantly dampened my spirits. To regain my muse, I’ve decided to go on hiatus and continue writing “Forget-me-not” or drawing on my own until I’m ready to publish again.
This is my farewell gift to you all. Until then.
Ciao! Non lasciarti abbattere dai commenti, stai facendo un lavoro davvero superbo, sia con le fanfiction che con le traduzioni, senza dimenticare i tuoi meravigliosi disegni! Quindi coraggio io attendo sempre con ansia i tuoi aggiornamenti! Purtroppo Nagita, pur amando di certo i suoi personaggi, ha lasciato fin troppi punti oscuri e liberi a molteplici interpretazioni: se a ciò aggiungiamo le diverse traduzioni, il senso originario si perde inevitabilmente. Devo confessarti che anche a me ha scosso un po’ leggere di Candy che non vuole abbandonare il fianco di colui che più di tutti ha bisogno di lei: la prima cosa a cui ho pensato, però, è stata una causa di forza maggiore come la guerra, come ho già avuto modo di dirti. Io spero sempre che l’autrice un bel giorno chiarisca alcuni di questi punti, perché è un peccato che i fan abbiano confusione, dubbi e incertezze che non lasciano ai personaggi il valore che meritano. Un abbraccio da una tua grande fan!
Hi! I would also like to express my appreciation and gratitude for all your hard work regarding this community. By all means, take your time and no rush is necessary when producing your fanfic material. Hopefully, Alex will offer to provide her excellent and highly educated analysis of the CCFS. The fact that she’s neutral to this whole ridiculous ‘anohito’ controversy makes her insight even more valuable. I’ve been re-reading her “Myths of Candy Candy” series on your blog and her vast knowledge in history and literature never ceases to amaze me. It would be amazing if you and Alex collaborate again.
Well said, @Michelle! It would be great if Alex could work with Ms. Puddle in this blog. Her series of “Myths of Candy Candy” is indeed highly commendable. Hopefully she will offer her knowledge to this blog sometime in the future.
Fingers crossed, Fay! This entire blog is awesome and Alex’s contributions are fascinating. I’ve currently been re-reading this part (Part III) of Alex’s analysis and I consider it to be one of her finest. To clarify, all her work on this blog is of great but I find this specific part of the series to be the highlight, IMO.
https://mspuddleshaven.com/2017/11/13/the-myths-of-candy-candy-final-story-part-3/
Is Alex a woman? I thought she was a man.. Love her work on this forum, nonetheless. She’s an academic, right?
Yeah, she’s a woman alright and she’s in academia teaching history, classics (Latin and Ancient Greek) and if I correctly recall, Renaissance literature, hence, her in-depth knowledge of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Just to make it clear though, Alex has issued a disclaimer that she’s neutral to the arguments surrounding the identity of Anohito. At least this is what she had said when publishing her work on this blog.
Thanks for the information! By reading her work, it’s very easy to understand that Alex is acutely intelligent and erudite. Her work is widely respected in the CCFS community and her complete distance from the petty and vicious dogfights within the fandom make her even more respectable and commendable.
Agreed!
Pleased to be of help. The links are easy to find and Ms Puddle has done a fantastic job in organizing all this material as well as welcoming Alex’s remarkable analysis. I’m a history buff and it’s always with great pleasure to read such analyses which offer a plethora of historical references and background.
Those are excellent suggestions, @Michelle and @Fay! If this fine with @Ms Puddle and @Alex, it would be most forthcoming if those two collaborate again on subsequent research in the various versions of Candy Candy, in particular, the novel and, if possible, the older versions as well as the most recent.
Those are excellent suggestions, @Michelle and @Fay! If this is fine with @Ms Puddle and @Alex, it would be most forthcoming if those two collaborate again on subsequent research in the various versions of Candy Candy, in particular, the novel and, if possible, the older versions as well as the most recent.
Thank you! I’m glad you share my suggestions. There is such a wealth of material on this blog and many thanks to Ms Puddle for sharing!
Thank you, @Ms. Puddle, for these clarifications on that controversial part of CCFS. It is indeed a pity that the exact meaning is somehow lost in the translation, which may be due to the fact that Japanese is an intricate language and rather difficult to be interpreted. In any case, even the original text doesn’t give the reader to understand that Anohito would ever forbid Candy to go and see Miss Pony. Whether it be Albert or Terry, it’s not likely that he would force her to stay by his side, as much as he would be longing for that. The paragraph you have shared with us clearly expresses Anohito’s wish to keep Candy close to him and as you say, it is evident that Candy shares that wish.
Of course Nagita has left many things unclarified in her novel, even for the Japanese readers, but I have to agree with you that she would never put her heroine in such a negative light as to suggest she would be such a shallow and selfish person.
I can very well understand you have been affected by the negative comments either about Candy as a character or about the novel as a whole. We know the novel is far from perfect, as Nagita has admitted herself, and we also know she might have done a better job of it when she decided to write the new version. Therefore, the disappointment of the fans is justified. However, nothing can justify the attempts to disintegrate Candy’s character or to completely discard the novel because of its faults. This is no high literature, as everybody knows, and it can be more easily defined as a novel for children and young adults at most, but still it is what Nagita has given us, whether we approve of it or not, and that’s all there is to it. You have created this blog as a hobby, but you have dedicated much of your spare time in studying CC novels, manga and anime, and sharing your material with other fans, and that fact alone must be respected. Take your time to rest and work on your new story, and thank you for your valuable contribution to the CC community all these years.
No worries about not being to post often, Ms Puddle. Besides, you had already specified several months ago that your fanfiction and other CC/CCFS-related material would proceed at a snail’s pace due to your real-life obligations. This is the reason why your latest fanfiction has been taking circa a year long and perhaps even more. That’s perfectly understandable since we all have a real life and various errands to attend to. Significance lies in the actual world we live in and no matter how enjoyable fanfiction and Candy Candy are, they are just fiction and nothing more than that. It seems that some fans are taking all this far more seriously than the author herself. LOL
Have a great summer!
“No worries about not being *able* to post often..”. [typo]
Dear Ms Puddle,
I would like to thank you for your contributions. Looking forward to the continuation of your fanfiction and fanart after the summer.
Kind Regards,
Avon
Most kind of you to provide such an extensive clarification and to address our queries based on your own personal interpretation. This is most appreciated within the CC community.
As elucidated during our previous discussions, the official translated versions of the CCFS (or CCHD in Spanish) do not constitute mere fanfic or random fan-oriented interpretations; instead, the translations provided by Kappalab (Italian), PIKA (French) and Spanish (Arechi Manga) are 100% official and thus 100% accredited and endorsed by Keiko Nagita in tandem with her team of agents as well as publicists. With that being said, it is crystal clear that both the original Japanese text as well as the officially translated publications are equivalently legit and credible since they have received their comprehensive approval by the author herself, Keiko Nagita.
Apparently, there will be issues of translation discrepancies because each and every language is unique. Besides, that’s the beauty and charm of cultural diversity which often provides ample examples of linguistic nuances. Such linguistic and translation variations prevail in most aspects of literature as well as in politics and diplomacy.
Yet, the issue at hand here is not within the realm of translation alone but involving severe flaws in the novel itself and that is evident in both the original and the translated texts. Do not forget that Nagita herself made a clear-cut statement in the author’s note of the CCFS that her work is imperfect and she actually feels awkward that it’s so overpriced given the fact that its quality is below par. Nagita herself has openly admitted that her novel is flawed and incomplete but she just wants her readers to know that Candy is “happy” in the end and that’s it.
While the fans desperately want to bring Nagita to their side, whether it be the Terry-fans or the Albert-fans, it has been confirmed over and over again by the author herself that she refuses to take any side. She constantly proves this via her actions and decisions by appealing to both the Terry-fans and the Albert-fans. The utter ambiguity and vagueness of the CCFS till the very end confirms and re-affirms Nagita’s statement that Candy’s lover could be Albert or Terry or anybody else the reader wants. Plain and simple.
Furthermore, the author has also specified that there are many loose ends and moot points in her novel and that could explain why certain aspects of her narrative and storyline lack in meaning and coherency. Again, these are the words of the author herself and that’s what matters and that’s what truly counts. For reasons of her own, the author has decided to toss this story aside because she really wasn’t planning on writing anything more about Candy, anyway. As mentioned by Nagita, she only wanted to provide a bit of info (in response to her fans’ incessant and long-term pleas) that Candy is alright in her 30s and happy in the warm and loving arms of her lover, whomever he may be. Nagita has thanked her readers but she’s also made it clear that she’s over and done with this story of Candy, at least this is the statement she appears to adhere to as of date. What may happen in the future, nobody knows apart from Nagita and her own circle of personal relations and next-of-kin.
With that being said, it’s a pleasure to know that you’re planning to take some time off. Enjoy rest and relaxation during your summer vacation and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
Thanks again and stay safe.
Well said, @DreamCatcher! Your comments are always insightful and, above all, impartial. Even though each reader of this novel has his or her own preferences, what’s important is that we maintain an objective analysis of the given material.
Thanks @DreamCatcher! Your classy and intelligent commentary is an asset to this community because your focus is on well-researched textual evidence and not wishful thinking or any other form of bias.
Couldn’t agree with you more, @DreamCatcher. Unfortunately, the CCFS is based on sloppy writing and it’s riddled with innumerable inconsistencies and obscurities. Even Nagita has had the self-knowledge to admit this and we could at least give her credit for that. The readers have been warned by the author herself of what to expect, or rather, not to expect much. 😉
I’ll also add that I find your queries to be valid. You have presented insightful and constructive criticism in regard to the CCFS.
Many people share your thoughts and you will find loads of online forums on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter where people express their perspectives about the problematic features of this quasi-novel and how they prefer the anime and manga. Yet, even those two versions of Nagita’s story about Candy have become rather dated, especially to the younger generations.
This happens not only in the case of Candy Candy but in so many forms of literature and art. Works of art or literature which were once deemed “all-time-classics” have been “cancelled” in our modern times by so many people. Notable examples are “Gone with the Wind”, “Little House on the Prairie”, “The Secret Garden”, and so many others.
Times change and so do people along with their mindsets. It’s inevitable whether one likes change or not. It would be wise, therefore, for certain people to be open-minded and welcome the development of critical thinking instead of remaining stagnant in self-indulgent echo-chambers.
Good point, @Avon! Criticism exists in all forms of human life and it should be encouraged, at least in democratic societies. For instance, some my favourite authors are Douglas Noel Adams and Terry Pratchett (naming but only a few). No matter how much I appreciate their literary genius, there is so much to draw a critique upon when it comes to their work. The same goes for Keiko Nagita and Yumiko Igarashi. Nobody’s perfect and it’s healthy to pinpoint flawed aspects of one’s work. The same goes with relationships. No matter how much you love someone, it takes courage and self-awareness to be able to admit the flaws of your loved ones and most importantly, the flaws of your own self. I love my family and my partner unconditionally, but that doesn’t mean I won’t express my opinion when it comes to flawed aspects of their character and vice versa. The same goes for my social environment and my job. Criticism is vital in all forms of our existence and it will always be there to remind us of its power whether we like it or not. Provided that criticism is deployed via a civil and rational way, it should always be met with a warm welcome as its purpose is constructive.
Meant to say ‘some of my favourite authors…”
It’s interesting that you mentioned Douglas Adams. His notable book, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is one of my favourite! I also enjoy Terry Pratchett’s sardonic humour but I haven’t read as many of his books as I had intended to. Perhaps during the summer.😎
Thanks for the heads up, Ms Puddle. Have a lovely summer holiday!
Thank you for your latest post and artwork! I have read all three official translations of the CCFS and based on your reports, there seems to be quite a few alterations in meaning. This may explain the confusion within the Candy Candy community. Perhaps verbatim translation is not possible because certain words and phrases cannot be translated accurately 100%.
Hi @Ms Puddle!
Pleased to read your explanation about the various translations. As discussed previously, there will always be differences which may change the meaning significantly.
Take care and enjoy your summer.
Hello Ms Puddle and thank you for the clarifications regarding the original novel and its translations.
Btw, I have sent you a message on your FB page (it’s a dm). Please read it asap. Thank you!