This episode's analysis is divided into two parts. This post is the second part. Click here to read the first part.
Charlotte and Alberta: Found Family
The episode's message about authenticity is explored not only through Princess Charlotte and Prince Damian’s relationship, but also through Princess Charlotte and Alberta’s relationship. Alberta is Charlotte’s lady-in-waiting. Though she may look like a mere side character, Alberta is a very important person to Charlotte. In fact, Alberta has become a mother figure for Charlotte.
First, I’d like to discuss the meta level. Two production choices emphasize the fact that Alberta is a character we must not easily dismiss. To begin with, the King and Queen’s absence shines the spotlight on Alberta. Although the King and Queen are Charlotte’s actual parents, they are not shown at all in the story. They are only mentioned several times in passing. Furthermore, we get no information about them – not even their names. Their absence leads us to focus Alberta instead, whose presence is constant in the story. Next, at the end of the episode, we are not shown Charlotte and Damian’s wedding. It’s natural to think of the wedding as the perfect ending to the episode. Disney’s classic princess stories tend to end like that. But here, we instead get Alberta and Charlotte’s tearful goodbye. The episode’s choice to do so seems to beckon us to consider Alberta and Charlotte’s relationship.
So let us do so! Let us focus on Charlotte and Alberta’s relationship inside the story. Two things indicate the special bond the two have with each other. The first is what Charlotte and Alberta say about each other. Alberta says she has known the princess ever since she was in the Queen’s womb. Charlotte intensifies this by saying that Alberta was the one who delivered Charlotte out of the Queen’s womb, and that Alberta practically raised her. It is not farfetched to say that Alberta has assumed a motherly role.
Their relationship is also close enough for Charlotte to say that she belongs to Alberta. In fact, Charlotte says this quite angrily in response to Alberta’s previous remark. Alberta had just said that she will not be there with Charlotte in the Flugel Kingdom because she works for the castle, not for Charlotte. I believe Charlotte gets angry here because Alberta was speaking as if they weren’t close (in addition to the fact that Charlotte was in a bad mood when they had this conversation). It sounds as if Alberta doesn’t feel sad about Charlotte having to leave the country. As to why Alberta decides to act that way, I believe she’s trying to deal professionally with Charlotte’s emotional breakdown.
One last remark worth mentioning is the one Charlotte makes at the end of the episode. Charlotte says that although she’s happy about marrying Damian, she also feels sad. And she feels the saddest about having to leave Alberta. Note that it’s Alberta she feels sad about – not her father or mother or any other family member.
The second thing that demonstrates Alberta and Charlotte’s parent-child relationship is the way Alberta is able to understand Charlotte. When the princess and Violet first speak properly to each other, Alberta helps explain what Charlotte means to Violet. When Charlotte asks Violet’s opinion on age gap, for example, Alberta clarifies that the princess is speaking of age gap in terms of marriage. We see Alberta’s understanding of Charlotte even more clearly when Charlotte storms away crying after receiving a reply from Damian. Violet asks if Charlotte is crying due to embarrassment, to which Alberta says no. Alberta is able to perceive Charlotte’s true feelings: Charlotte is crying because things are not going like how she wants them to be.
There is Love in Subtlety
Now, one might say that Alberta’s behavior does not appear to reflect a close and strong relationship with Princess Charlotte. It’s true that Alberta doesn’t seem to be an overtly expressive person. That might just be her natural temperament, but it is likely that her profession as a lady-in-waiting also demands her to act professionally in accordance with royal protocol. Nevertheless, the princess, who is very concerned with authenticity, is closely attached to her. This tells us that despite not being an overtly expressive person, Alberta’s authentic and genuine love for Charlotte is still very much felt. I argue that we can see Alberta’s love for Charlotte through her subtle gestures and expressions in the episode.
Alberta’s feelings are often expressed through her eyes. The episode gives us an example at the beginning of the episode when Charlotte does not respond to Violet’s arrival. You can’t see it through the screenshot below, but Alberta’s closed eyes and eyebrows twitch in annoyance.
When Charlotte leaves the room crying after receiving Damian’s reply, we are again led to focus on Alberta’s expression. We are given this lovely shot featuring an off-screen Alberta. Her face is cut in such a way that I think invites us to wonder what sort of expression Alberta is wearing. (This is one of my favorite shots in this episode.)
And then the camera focuses on Alberta’s eyes. Again, you can’t see it from a screenshot, but the animation suggests that Alberta is teary-eyed as she tells Violet of how she has known the princess even before she was born. Why is Alberta teary-eyed? It’s possible that Charlotte’s sadness makes Alberta sad too. Or maybe Alberta is sad as she reflects on the fact that in the near future, she will no longer be by the side of this princess whom she has known for so long.
The sequence after this is an interesting one. Alberta confronts the sulking princess in her bedroom. This time, Alberta’s feelings are conveyed through her gesture and the camerawork.
The two shots above – also my favorites – depict a small change in Alberta’s posture. Initially, she was staring down at Charlotte as she says that Charlotte has a bad habit of getting out of control whenever she gets too emotional. And then Alberta pauses to lift her head up and stare straight ahead (perhaps at the wall). It is after this that she says that she won’t be there with Charlotte once she marries into the Flugel royal family.
The gesture seems to indicate that Alberta was bracing herself to say that. Alberta could have looked at Charlotte as she spoke, but she didn’t. (If I was Alberta, I would have stared at the wall too to prevent crying.) These suggest that it was a difficult thing for her to say. The fact that Alberta had just said something about losing control due to being too emotional may imply that Alberta is now trying to control her emotions as she does this gesture. As a person who loves Charlotte, Alberta probably doesn’t want to leave Charlotte, but as a lady-in-waiting, she cannot follow Charlotte to Flugel.
The camerawork here also suggests a sense of sadness and emptiness. The two shots above are called short-siding. Short-siding is when a character is placed very close to the edge of the screen. In Alberta’s case, she is positioned close to the left of the screen, leaving little lead room (i.e. the space in front of her) but a lot of negative space behind her. This kind of shot is unbalanced and as a result evokes feelings of discomfort. The discomfort evoked here is sadness, in my opinion (judging from context). The short-siding also depicts Alberta alone although she is conversing with Charlotte, which may suggest loneliness as well (i.e. Alberta will feel lonely once Charlotte leaves). Meanwhile, emptiness is naturally evoked by the empty space behind Alberta.
I also noticed that there seems to be quite a lot of shots showing Alberta’s side profile. I think this is done so that we can see her standing up straight (like soldiers). The effect is that it reinforces Alberta’s image as a stoic and professional character. We won’t quite get the same effect if we only saw Alberta from the front, for example.
Lastly, we see Alberta get teary-eyed again as she says goodbye to Charlotte on her wedding day. There isn't much to explain here, is there? A marriage is indeed a tear-jerking event.
To conclude, I don’t think Alberta would have behaved in all these ways if she did not feel strongly about Charlotte. Alberta must really love Charlotte. Her love may not look dramatic, but it is authentic and genuine.
Conclusion
Episode 5 of Violet Evergarden shows us that beauty and overtness do not always go hand in hand with authenticity. Princess Charlotte prefers Prince Damian’s true, authentic, handwritten letters over the romantic, over-the-top, doll-written letters. Alberta – though not the most expressive person – has forged a strong bond with Charlotte, indicating that Alberta’s love is indeed genuine.
(Out of topic: I’m reminded of a line from a song in Encanto, specifically Isabella’s song What Else Can I Do: I’m so sick of pretty, I want something true, don’t you?)
There is a post-credit scene in this episode in which Violet meets Gilbert’s brother, Dietfried. He expresses doubts over Violet’s current occupation as a doll that writes letters to bring people together. But as this scene doesn’t thematically fit into the current episode (and rather servers as a teaser of some sort), I will not discuss it here.
Despite the strong sense of foreboding brought by the post-credit scene, let us not forget to celebrate Violet’s happy smile this episode!
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