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.