Anohito in CCFS

Myth #4: Daddy Long Legs "Proves" Albert-Candy Romance

Context is Everything

It has come to our attention that some Alfans blogs on the internet that emphasize how CCFS is a remake of Jean Webster’s novel Daddy Long-Legs to support Albert’s character as Anohito.

At Livre Paris during March 2019, Nagita Sensei had said in interviews that some western stories inspired her. As a young girl, she used to read western novels such as Little Women, Daddy Long Legs, Anne of Green Gables, Les Thybaults, but she also loved theatre, including Racine, Moliere, Shakespeare. 

We have read these iconic and timeless novels in their original and integral versions to understand better Nagita’s sources of inspirations and to witness how, according these Alfan blogs, Candy Candy is just a mere copy of Daddy Long Legs, in particular.

"Daddy Long Legs" by Jean Webster

Set in the United States and written by Jean Webster in 1912 , it is an epistolary novel in which the protagonist, an orphan named Jerusha “Judy” Abbott, left the orphanage and was sent to study at the college thanks to the generosity of a mysterious benefactor she had never seen before. One day she managed to catch a glimpse of the shadow of his tall figure and she decided to nickname him Daddy Long Legs.

The mysterious man was a trustee of the orphanage, and since he believed Judy would become a very good writer, he agreed to support her by paying her tuition and giving her a monthly allowance. In exchange, he asked Judy to write him a letter every month about her improvements. She must address the letters to his secretary, Mr. John Smith, but she would never receive an answer back from him, as he wished to stay anonymous.

The entire novel focused on Judy’s educational and social growth: her studies, her friendships with Sallie McBride, Julia Pendleton, Leonora Fenton and Jervis Pendleton. Judy eventually met and fell in love with Julia’s uncle, unaware that he was the mysterious benefactor she called Daddy Long Legs.

CCFS and Daddy Long Legs

The first thing we found in common between the plots between Candy Candy and Daddy Long Legs are the functional roles of the main protagonist Judy/Candy (the orphan) and Mr. Pendleton/Mr. Ardley (the benefactor).

The main difference about the functional role of the benefactor is that Mr. Pendleton was a simple benefactor not legally related to the orphan. In contrast, Mr. Ardley was legally related to Candy by legal adoption. In fact, after the adoption, she became an Ardley family member by law.

Others interesting points are the general characterizations of Judy, Candy, Jervis, and Albert. Let’s take a look at them:

Judy:

Judy was 17 years old when she left the orphanage to go to college thanks to the generous help of Daddy Long-Legs. As a future writer, she was very creative and  talkative. She was willing to study and overtake the gaps in her poor cultural background. She was positive and very independent, often disobeying her benefactor’s orders and disputing his ideas. She didn’t want to be attached to her orphanage as she never mentioned it during her college years. She was definitely a young woman who did not look back but to look forward.

Candy 

Candy was a little orphan girl when, at 6 years old, she met a mysterious guy dressed in a Scottish outfit. She called the guy the Prince of the Hill. She was a tomboy and a very active girl. She was very friendly and generous; she was very attached to her orphanage and to her two “mothers”, Miss Pony and Sister Lane. Candy was raised as a fervent Catholic. She was very independent, strong and altruist, and for that she decided to become a nurse by her own means. Candy was also nostalgic about the people who loved and she often looked back at her memories. She didn’t forget easily and she was portrayed crying several times, showing her good and genuine heart.

Mr. Jervis Pendleton

Jervis was the mysterious benefactor, Daddy Long-Legs, who enabled Judy to go to college by paying her tuition fees. But in the story, he was also Judy friend and Julia’s uncle. It was in this capacity that Judy met him. Time after time, encounter after encounter, she fell in love with him. Jervis was rich, tall, very discreet, laconic, and unapproachable. He used to live on a farm, and as a young boy, he was very active. He was good at camping, cooking and reading books, and he was a theatre lover. In relations to Judy, he was portrayed as a jealous, controlling man, but very amiable at the same time.

Mr. William Albert Ardley

Albert was the man who adopted Candy legally, allowing her to become effectively an Ardley. He was also the mysterious Prince of the Hill, whom Candy met when she was six. Albert was a free spirit. He loved wandering into nature and traveling abroad. He was an animal lover, a very generous and naive man. He was very altruistic and good hearted. He was portrayed as a compassionate human being and genuine man. His characterization was linked to nature, animals, geography and generosity. As head of the Ardley’s clan, he was also portrayed as a very hard working business man.

As you can see, every character had its own characterization and personality. But apart from the functional roles, we do not find a lot of similarities. Especially, the roles between Jervis as the benefactor and Mr. Ardley as the legal guardian are distinctly different. They also have strongly different personality traits as expressed each of the novels.

CCFS - Daddy Long Legs: Similarities

While reading Daddy Long Legs, we have found some interesting similarities and we are glad to share.

Magnolia

We have a Magnolia location in Daddy Long Legs. Here, Judy declined a trip to Europe offered by her benefactor, and instead chose to spend her summer teaching a girl.

Does Magnolia remind you anything?

It was the same name as the Magnolia Apartments Candy shared with an amnesiac Albert. However, this was just a name of a place and has no substantive effect on either Candy or Albert’s functional roles.

Pg.72, Daddy Long Legs, Alma junior Editions

“Dear Daddy long legs, 

Mercy! Isn’t New York big? Worcester is nothing to it. Do you mean to tell me that you actually live in all that confusion? I don’t believe that I shall recover for months from the bewildering effect of two days of it… 

But aren’t the streets entertaining? And the people? And the shops? I never saw such lovely things as there are in the windows. It makes you want to devote your life to wearing clothes.”

Judy was visiting New York for the first time with Julia Pendleton. She was astonished at how chaotic and big the Big Apple was. She noticed the streets, the people, and the shop. This passage reminds us of Candy in Terry’s car in New York, and her enthusiasm watching the people on the streets and their fashion.

Also, the reason Judy was in New York with Julia was because Jervis invited her to watch the Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

Pg. 73  Daddy Long Legs, Alma junior Editions

“And after we’d finished our shopping, we met Master Jervis at Sherry’s… 

And after luncheon we went to the theatre-it was dazzling, marvelous, unbelievable…

Isn’t Shakespeare wonderful?

Hamlet is so much better on stage than when we analyze it in class…

Again, do you find anything familiar? Jervis invited Judy just like Terry invited Candy to New York to watch a Shakespeare’s play. We have the same pattern, but not the same story and meaning. Anyway, it is interesting to witness how the scene was written and depicted in both novels.

Pg. 96  Daddy Long Legs, Alma junior Editions

“We climbed Sky Hill Monday afternoon. That’s a mountain near here. Not an awful high mountain…

We stayed up for the sunset and built a fire and cooked our supper. Master Jervis did the cooking. He said he knew how better than me-and he did, too, because he’s used to camping. Then we came down by moonlight and, when we reached the wood trail where it was dark…it was such fun! He laughed and joked all the way and talked about interesting things. He’s read all the books I’ve read, and a lot of others besides.”

Another evocative passage! Judy and Jervis climbed Sky Hill together where they had a picnic and talked a lot. Jervis was good at cooking because he was used to camping. But he was also an avid reader as Judy said that he had read all the books she knew and more.

One hill, two characters….sounds familiar? We have this picture attributed to both Candy Candy’s male characters. So let’s see what this means.

Mr Albert met Candy on Pony Hill and revealed himself on the same hill he revealed himself as the Prince. Albert can cook and camp too, due to his travel experiences in the wild nature.

Terry used to meet Candy at the Pretend Pony Hill at Saint Paul’s. They danced there during May Festival and Candy expressed the desire to have a picnic some day with him (as shown by the beautiful art book picture by Yumiko Igarashi ).

Alfans Wild Claims What Albert Should be Anohito Beause of Daddy Long Legs

We have taken a look at the main facts of CCFS and Daddy Long Legs. The novels have some similarities in the themes chosen by each author such as the functional roles of the main characters, the location’s names, the theatre, Shakespeare’s play, the revelation of the benefactor/legal guardian.

These facts are indeed written in both novels.

Nevertheless, some Alfan blogs point out that the CCFS epistolary Epilogue, based on the tones and syntactic constructions Candy used, is an exact copy of those Judy used in every letter she wrote, and in particular in her last letter to Jervis after he revealed himself as Daddy Long Legs. According to the Alfans, this is the proof that Nagita modeled Candy’s last letter to Albert following Judy’s, and therefore it means Candy’s letter was a love declaration.

So let’s take a look at Judy’s last letter to Jervis:

Pg. 149-150 Daddy Long-Legs, Alma junior Editions.

“My very dearest Master-Jervie-Daddy-Long-Legs- Pendleton-Smith,

Did you sleep last night? I didn’t. Not a single wink. I was too amazed and excited and bewildered and happy. I don’t believe I ever shall sleep again-or eat either. But I hope you slept-you must, you know, because then you will get well faster Andean come to me.”

Judy had just discovered the real identity of her mysterious benefactor. Jervis had revealed himself as Daddy Long-Legs and Judy was now free to express her feelings to him.

According Alfans, we find the same words used by Judy in Candy’s last letter to Albert when she gave her diary back to Albert, following which she said:

From the Italian CCFS, pg. 234:

…It’s me who doesn’t have any kind of words to express my gratitude.

Yes Mr Albert: now I have reached my happiness.

Oh…I don’t believe that I will be able to sleep tonight but I hope Little Bert can make wonderful dreams!

With love and gratitude,

Candy

So, on the surface, if we take both excerpts and put them next to each other on a black page, they seem to express the same concept.

However, these excerpts need to be contextualized. Without context any meaning can be easily altered for any purpose. And when we try to contextualize the meanings behind the two letters, we can see the differences.

First, Judy wrote to Jervis soon after she discovered that he and Daddy Long-Legs were the same person. She started her last letter with all the names she used to call Jervis to remark on his identities.

She couldn’t sleep because she was too excited to find out that Master Jervis was her benefactor. This was pretty normal because Judy HAS FALLEN IN LOVE WITH JERVIS, and in the novel, this was very transparent to readers since the same Judy stated this clearly.

In contrast, Candy had already known Albert’s identity for a while. She could not sleep as she was full of gratitude because she met Albert, the man who adopted her and took care of her.

She was happy because she was able to meet him, a very special person who changed her life forever. The exact words of excitement and sweet dreams were at the end in Candy’s letter rather than at the beginning. She closed the letter calling Albert Little Bert, as Albert’s sister used to call him, and expressing again all his gratitude to him.

With Love and Gratitude, Candy

So, how Judy did close her long last letter to Jervis?

Pg.153 Daddy Long-Legs, Alma junior Editions.

“ I’m missing you dreadfully, Jervis dear, but it’s a happy kind of missing: we’ll be together soon. We belong to each other now really and truly, no make-believe. Doesn’t it seems queer for me to belong to someone at last? If seems very, very sweet.

And I shall never let you be sorry for a single instant.

Yours, for ever and ever, Judy

P.S. This is the first love letter I ever wrote. Isn’t it funny that I know how?

THE END.

Judy finally declared her love to Jervis fully. She let her feelings go out from her heart and wrote the most sentimental words. She said it was the first love letter she had written and she knew how to do it!

Now, can we say that Candy’s last letter to Albert ends the same way as Judy’s one? Where can we find the love words and tone of declaration like Judy’s? 

Nagita had said that CCFS is a western story, not a Japanese one. In her last letter to Albert, Candy said clearly she was happy to have him by her side as her rock and adoptive father.

So do not let the Alfans blogs’ misinterpretations fool you with crazy theories based of some excerpts posted without context!!!

Always, always contextualize what you read!

How the Letters were Signed: Daddy Long Legs vs. CCFS

Here, we have gathered together the most significant greetings that closed Judy’s letters and Candy’s letters in the CCFS Epilogue to show you how different the tones are before and after the benefactor/legal guardian reveled his identity.

JUDY’S GREETINGS BEFORE JERVIS REVEALED HIMSELF AS DADDY LONG LEGS: From Daddy Long Legs, Alma Junior Editions.

  1. Yours with love, Judy
  2. Yours forever Judy
  3. Your always Judy
  4. Affectionately, Judy
  5. Yours, with fraternal love, Judy
  6. Yours most gratefully, Judy
  7. In a very contented frame of mind, Judy.

JUDY’S LAST GREETINGS AFTER JERVIS’ REVELATION AS DADDY LONG LEGS

Yours, for ever and ever, Judy

PS: This the first love letter I ever wrote. Isn’t it funny that I know how?

CANDY’S EPILOGUE GREETINGS AFTER ALBERT REVEALS HIMSELF AS THE PRINCE OF THE HILL.

From the Italian CCFS:

  1. Your beautiful adoptive daughter;
  2. Yours, perhaps stingy with words
  3. With love and gratitude.

Conclusion

At Livre Paris on March 2019, Nagita expressly said that she was inspired by western literature in developing CCFS themes.

By reading and analyzing the Daddy Long-Legs novel, we have showed what themes and tones she borrowed to make her own original story. Because Nagita is a Japanese writer, It is not a surprise that she applied some western linguistic patterns and inspirational themes to write about a foreign girl in a foreign country she did not know well at that time,  the USA.

That, however, does not mean at all that CCFS was a remake of Daddy Long-Legs. The two plots have similarities only in the functional roles of the characters and other nominal facts. The similarities do not extend to the stories’ plots or the characters’ personalities.

Even the way the letters were signed show how Candy remained with the theme of gratitude towards Albert. She showed no sentimental tones of love after he reveled himself as the Prince of the Hill, unlike Judy who fully switched from her formal/fraternal/affection way of speaking to a pure love declaration to Jervis. 

Thanks for reading.

Share with Terry fans:

*All guest comments and replies will be posted upon Admin approval.