Why Terry is Anohito
Clue #2: Susanna is Dead
Clue #2: Susanna is Dead
Why Terry is Anohito
The biggest surprise in CCFS, and what has to be the biggest clue that Terry is Candy’s Anohito, is the news that Susanna Marlowe is dead. In Part 3 of CCFS, an adult Candy was alone in her home in Avon. She took out a pearl inlay jewelry box in which she kept her letters, including the one and only letter written to her by Susanna Marlowe after Candy and Terry’s Big Break-Up. As Candy reminisced about the pains Susanna had caused her, we learned Susanna’s obituary stated that:
(1) She died eight years after Candy and Terry separated;
(2) During those eight years, she lived with Terry, fighting against some kind of disease, and they never married despite being engaged.
Say what???
!!!
Ding Dong the Witch is Dead
The biggest surprise in CCFS, and what has to be the biggest clue that Terry is Candy’s Anohito, is the news that Susanna Marlowe is dead. In Part 3 of CCFS, an adult Candy was alone in her home in Avon. She took out a pearl inlay jewelry box in which she kept her letters, including the one and only letter written to her by Susanna Marlowe after Candy and Terry’s Big Break-Up. As Candy reminisced about the pains Susanna had caused her, we learned Susanna’s obituary stated that:
(1) She died eight years after Candy and Terry separated;
(2) During those eight years, she lived with Terry, fighting against some kind of disease, and they never married despite being engaged.
Say what???
!!!
Terry Never Stopped Loving Candy
If Nagita didn’t mean for Terry to come back into Candy’s life and be Anohito, why open this door? Not only that, Nagita specifically wrote that he and Susanna never married. There is simply no good explanation for this new development if anyone else is meant to be Anohito. Further, these new details imply that (i) Terry never fell in love with Susanna, and (ii) he lived with her only to take care of her because she was was sick and was fighting against some kind of disease. (We hope it was Ebola.)
In CCFS, Nagita made Terry a free man once again, with nothing that could hinder him from being a perfect suitor for Candy. Not only that, we’re given no doubt that Terry never stopped loving Candy. (After Susannas death, Terry also wrote a letter to Candy stating that for him, “nothing has changed”. We’ll get to that very important letter in our next segment.) By expressly stating that Terry never married Susanna, Nagita showed us clearly that Terry’s heart never wavered. His mind and body never belonged to Susanna. Even Susanna herself admitted this. In her only letter to Candy, which in CCFS was placed immediately before the mention of her obituary, Susanna told Candy that she knew what Terry had in his heart, but even then, she could not accept losing him. She chose to keep him in her life despite knowing that Terry’s soul was going after Candy.
"Everybody is happy"
This an be true only if Albert and Candy were never in love
"Everybody is happy"
This can be true only if Albert and Candy were never in love
At the Livre Paris Book Fair in 2019, Nagita told Sophie, the webmistress of the biggest French Candy Candy website, that “Terry is happy,” and “Everybody is happy.” Nagita revealed this during the VIP tea at the Ladurée held for book bloggers and French CC fans.
For everyone to be happy, Terry would have to be united with Candy, because CCFS revealed to us that he never married Susanna. If he was happy with her, he would have married her.
It follows then that Albert and Candy were never in love, and their “romance” was nothing but the figment of some fans’ imaginations.
Why do we say this? Because, as we established above, Terry could only be happy if he was back with Candy. And given the new twists and developments in CCFS pointing to Terry and Candy being back together, the only way an Albert-Candy romance could’ve even existed was if Candy had dumped Albert as soon as Terry became available again. That would be awful for Albert. In such scenario, his “romance” with Candy would mean he was nothing more than a rebound. A stand-in until the real thing came along. He would have to suffer his own heartbreak in order for Candy and Terry to be happy. How then could “everybody” be happy if this was the case?
Therefore, the only way that “everyone is happy” would be that Albert was never in love with Candy, and he never experienced any heartbreak because of her.
Why bother freeing Terry if he isn't Anohito?
Lastly, if Nagita did not mean for Terry to return to Candy, then why bother including this new development in CCFS? What would be the point? Why not make “everybody’s happy” by having him fall in love with Susanna over time, and show us adult Candy had moved on with her life?
For all the reasons stated above, the new development that Susanna is dead should be enough to tell us conclusively without a doubt that Terry is Anohito.
Candy´s Retrospection:
“From the water comes a fresh wind that relieves the tension of my troubled thoughts. I feel inside my chest the sweet scent of daffodils that came from the garden. They are in full bloom and I owed them the golden tones that seem filtered through the trees.”
— CCFS Vol I-Retrospection.
In Wordsworth’s poem and in Nagita´s novel, daffodils leaked as golden light through the trees. I think Nagita was inspired by Wordsworth on how she described the daffodils in the novel. The result is really beautiful.
In this retrospection, Candy breathed the scent of daffodils to calm her emotions when she remembered Anthony´s death.
Her inner conversation with him continued after she breathed the fragrance of the daffodils, to tell him afterward that she was happy because she was living with the person she loved:
“Candy, do you still go on living with that smile?” He asked me with that serene expression.
— Of course Anthony. Because I live with the person I love . . .
— CCFS. Vol. I-Retrospection.
The connection with daffodils is different from the days at the Saint Paul School for her. Now, Candy and Terry can breathe together the scent of daffodils. I want to think that was what Nagita wanted to tell us.
I believe daffodil is the symbol of Candy and Terry’s relationship, blooming since the days of Saint Paul’s School. Daffodils have a sweet scent in the forest of the School, and it is Terry who was lying down smelling them.
In contrast, earlier in the novel, the daffodils were buds:
“Running through the grass, dotted with daffodil buds, Candy thought . . .”
— CCFS Vol I.
At that moment, Candy and Terry’s relationship was like a flower “bud”. Only Terry felt the scent of daffodils while he smiled as he watched Candy walk away.
The idea of a bud appeared too when Candy remembered her kiss with Terry:
“The window returned to her the blurred image of her face, and Candy brought her fingers softly to her lips, those same lips Terry had kissed. In that reflection, her mouth seemed a small and surreal flower that just began to bloom.”
— CCSF Vol II.
In her present, daffodils were in full bloom between the trees in Candy´s garden. There were so many that they seemed to emit a golden light like Wordsworth’s poem evokes. It was Candy who inhaled the sweet scent from her terrace, diving into her thoughts.
I think Candy and Terry´s relationship was in the state of full bloom in their present. Candy now breathed the scent Terry felt for the first time, when that love was only a “bud” between them…
The appearance of daffodils is unique and only occurred in one scene with Terry, and only Terry said “daffodils”.
Even when Candy met with Archie and Stair in the woods, they didn’t seem aware of those buds. Daffodils were not mentioned in that scene.
I believe that for Nagita, the evocation of daffodils only for Terry was something she wanted to communicate to us.
The contrast is so beautiful. In the case of Anthony, his relationship with the roses was made with constant repetitions. In contrast, the daffodils were only sensed by Candy and Terry in the Candy Candy Final Story—A feeling that can only become one that blooms after it sprouted, is something beautiful to think about.
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9 Comments
De donde sacan que pasó tanto tiempo entre la separación y la carta de Terry?
¡Hola Catherine! No se sabe con exactitud cuántos años vivieron Terry y Susanna juntos siendo Terry el cuidador de Susanna, ya que ella es una mujer discapacitada en el CCFS, incapaz de caminar. Con la ayuda de Terry recupera la confianza en sí misma y se labra una carrera, lo que es muy alentador saber. Ahora, la línea de tiempo de la historia de Candy es un tema candente entre los fans de la historia. Algunos fans dicen que Terry y Susanna vivieron juntos 3 años y este número aumenta según la línea de tiempo que se considere mejor. Los fans japoneses, en su mayoría, afirman que Terry y Susanna vivieron juntos aproximadamente 8 años.
La carta de Terry no puede situarse en ningún otro lugar de la historia, aparte de un año y medio después de la muerte de Susanna. Por eso es importante que Terry lo mencione dentro de su carta. Si no, ¿qué importancia tiene que Terry lo mencione, o que espere incluso un año después de la separación con Candy para escribirle? No tiene sentido.
Pero cuando Susanna murió, el período de luto es de un año. Ese era el tiempo aceptado en la sociedad para las personas que estaban cerca del difunto, antes de que pudieran comenzar una vida más normativa de nuevo, con la asistencia a eventos sociales, etc. Terry, siendo el hombre noble que es en CCFS, habría esperado a que pasara ese tiempo también. Ese año también le daría el tiempo para llorar la pérdida de esta mujer que cambió su vida radicalmente. También tendría ese tiempo para pensar y reflexionar sobre su vida pero también para reencontrarse con sus recuerdos con Candy. Como ocurre con la vida, un cambio no se produce de la noche a la mañana, sino que lleva tiempo dentro de la mente y el corazón para materializarse en acción. Terry dice también que estuvo dudando y esperando otros seis meses. El tiempo de separación fue grande y es natural que dudara, temiendo que Candy pudiera haber seguido adelante… Es muy natural que este joven se preocupe por si molesta a Candy.
Si se coloca la carta en cualquier otro lugar de la historia, es una carta sin ningún significado, tan significativa como escribir una lista de la compra. Pero la misma carta cuando se coloca después de la muerte de Susanna, se convierte en algo explosivo. El momento en que Hamlet (Terry) vuelve a casa y a su antigua vida, retomando con Candy desde donde lo habían dejado.
Thank you very much for your great and funny comments. I’ve just finished reading the book and I wanted to make sure Terry and Candy get together for ever. Now I’m sure… Thank God!!
Nagita said that throughout the CCFS she constantly pited Terry. So, I believe that she “killed” Susanna in order for Terry to be free from his unwanted engagement with her. Nagita pitied the fact that Terry was literally trapped in a complicated situation, he had to stay with a woman whom he did not love, but he stayed with her because he felt that this was his duty. He couldn’t leave her because she, in fact, sacrificed her health for him and the thought that a woman was paralised for his sake made him feel both bad and obliged to take care of her. With Susanna’s death, Terry is now free to go on with his life and pursue his acting career. If Candy was 19 when she broke off with Terry then after 8 years she will be a more mature young 27-year-old woman. We cannot be sure that she will still love Terry the same way she liked him 8 and more years ago. And the fact that they did not see each other for a very long time, I think that played an important part in their relationship. In these 8 years, Candy was free to go on with her life too. I think she would continue helping Ms Pony and Sister Lane in the orphanage, perhaps she would also look for a nurse job in a hospital. She had many reasons to be happy; Annie and Archie got married and Patty became a teacher. She could also hang out with Albert and ask for his help if she had troubles with the Ardlays. Candy is an optimistic and strong person, she would find ways to have fun and be happy with her friends.
When it comes to Terry’s words “Nothing has changed for me” this can only mean one thing; that his feelings for Candy haven’t changed! It’s amazing that even after all these years he still held her dear to his heart and didn’t forget about her. I believe that a man loves deeper and stronger than a woman does (I’m talking about mature and decent men that can love honestly). So, in that case, I believe that Candy played a very important role in Terry’s life, she literally changed his life, she was his medicine and she was his key to optimism. She was the one that reunited him and his mother and that made Terry really happy. Not having Terry beside her, initially, would make her feel sad, but working as a nurse, interacting with kids, staying at Pony’s, hanging out with her friends and reuniting with Albert afterwards would make her forget her pain even superficially. She is not one of those people that will let an unhappy event ruin their whole life. So, I think that Candy meant a lot more to Terry than what Terry meant to Candy. (don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that Candy didn’t love and didn’t held Terry dear, I’m just saying that it would be easier for Candy, considering her cheerful personality, to gradually let go of the past and remember Terry as a nostalgic recollection).
Terrylia, Candy n’a jamais cessé d’aimer Terry. S’il n’y avait pas eu l’accident de Suzanne, Terry et Candy seraient marié depuis longtemps. Ce n’est pas pour rien que Terry lui a envoyé un aller simple pour New-York et Candy le savait mais l’accident a changé leur projet
I love this “clue”. I really can’t and don’t understand where and how the thought of having Albert as a love interest came about. Candy was always respectful towards Albert, and he always treated her like a child while deeply and truly caring for her like a good father would. She relied on him, looked after him when he had amnesia, and even lived with him without showing any signs of romantic attraction to a point Terry wasn’t even worried in one of his older letters to Candy. Terry had considered him as someone to look up to, not a competition to win Candy’s heart. Terry and Candy had even admitted that they were kids and Albert was an adult. That divide definitely was maintained all the way in every form of the story. One thing is that, it didn’t help to portray Albert as looking youngish and attractive in the manga and the anime, but it still doesn’t persuede me to think that anything romantic had developed between him and Candy because of Albert knowing all the details of Terry and Candy’s relationship from her diary, and he’s not the type to ignore that and make a move to take Candy for himself. He probably knows better than either of them that Terry can return to Candy some/ any day even without having Suzanna die. I also have a hard time hating Suzanna anymore because she did potentially save Terry’s life. Otherwise, the story could not have continued. Her love for Terry spawned from an infatuation unlike with Candy, but her love was pure enough that she was willing to scarifice her own life to save Terry. I am able to give her some credit after all these years. I have to admit I did hate her a lot as a child. ;p It’s also great that the author didn’t have Terry leave Suzanna while she was still alive. He was keeping his promise to look after her, and Candy would not have approved otherwise either. With that said, killing Suzanna off was the only way to get Terry and Candy reunite for good. I am so so happy because this has taken 30+ years and another 10 because I had just found about the CCFS novel. I was kinda busy raising a child… LOL. It’s like a big item on my bucket list has been crossed out. I’m now cured of that very old heartache. I think that the author made it vague so that we would want to read and find out for ourselves. Otherwise, if it was said outwardly, we’d all just know after having just one person read the second book. That’s no fun… maybe it wasn’t necessarily for us to be confused about who the anohito is. She just wanted for us to imagine all the events that happened after the Terry’s last letter since she couldn’t fit it all in the two volumes of books.
Así es, poéticamente quiso hablarnos de ese romance, pero no esperó que las fans de Albert fueran a crear ese universo alterno y ella para darle más misterio (y vender más libros) siguió el juego quedándose callada el nombre de Anohito.
hola i want to know if candy candy and her friends were real people in real life!?
Hi Jackeline, the answer is no. To our knowledge, Candy and her friends are fictional characters created by the author Keiko Nagita.