Emily is the biological mother of Anna Sasaki and the daughter of Marnie and Kazuhiko; not much is known about her due to her appearances limited to a short flashback in the movie When Marnie Was There.
Story[]
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Emily's birth
Born about two years after her parents got married, Emily seemed to have led a happy childhood early on, but then her father passed away unexpectedly during her early childhood -- her mom was so devastated by her dad's death that she had to spend some time in a sanatorium. Since Marnie was an only child and both of her parents had already passed away by the time Kazuhiko died, and we also never hear anything about any relatives from Kazuhiko's side of the family, Emily was ultimately sent off to a boarding so she could be taken care of properly until her mom got better.
A tearful Emily is sent to boarding school
Emily wasn't able to move back home until sometime after she turned 13 -- while Marnie was clearly happy to be reunited with her daughter after so long, Emily was (kind of understandably) furious with her mom for basically abandoning (even if she did have a reason for doing so). The mother and daughter were never able to truly reconcile, and sometime after Emily reached adulthood (possibly when she was in her late-teens/early-20s), she basically ran away from home after having one last argument with her mom -- Emily ended up running off to marry a man who had gotten her pregnant, and she eventually gave birth to a baby girl.
Marnie and Emily never saw each other in person ever again, but when Emily's daughter was around a year old, Marnie received word that Emily and her husband had been killed in a car accident -- Marnie was able to assume guardianship of their daughter, and vowed to give her only grandchild the kind of life that she had been unable to have and had been unable to give to Emily. But sadly, only about a year after Emily and her husband died, Marnie (devastated by her daughter's death despite all their issues with each other), Marnie herself ended up passing away -- during the course of her funeral, it became apparent that there no friends or relatives who were willing to take the child in, so the little girl was ultimately sent off to an orphanage. Emily's ultimately never spoken of again during the film.
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Emily rejects her mother
Anna Sasaki (who had been sent to stay in Kissakibetsu by her adoptive mother) and her friend, Sayaka Doi (whose family had moved to town from Tokyo and had even moved into Marnie's old house), learned of Marnie and Emily's story from Hisako, an artist/longtime resident of Kissakibetsu who also happened to be an old friend of Emily's parents from when the three of them were kids. At the very end of the movie, Anna realizes that not only were Emily and her husband her biological parents, but that Marnie and Kazuhiko were her biological maternal grandparents.
Appearance[]
As an infant she appears to be quite healthy, with a tuft of brown hair, and rosy cheeks.
As a young child, she has short brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wears a school uniform consisting of a white shirt, yellow vest, a red bow, and light pink skirt.
As a thirteen years old she has long brown hair tied into a ponytail with a red ribbon along with a satchel and wears a maroon coat and a skirt, which may or may not be a school uniform.
As a young adult her hair is significantly longer and ended in ringlets, much like her mother's hair when she was younger. She also wears stylish clothing with a purple winter coat, red skirt, black tights, and brown boots along with make up and round golden earrings.
Relatives[]
- Marnie's parents (maternal grandparents; deceased)
- Kazuhiko (father; deceased)
- Marnie (mother; deceased)
- Unnamed husband (deceased)
- Anna Sasaki (daughter)
Quotes[]
- Oh? So now you trying to sound like a mother?
- You've been didn't listen to me at all? You just don't get it, cause it's too late!
- I've never thought of you as a mother. Even when you weren't around.
Trivia[]
- As an adult her face is only partially seen.
- Just like Emily, Anna herself ended up becoming distant from her mother as she got older (although for Anna, it was her adoptive mother) and was sent away from home against their will (although Anna was only supposed to be gone for the summer while Emily lived away from home for several years). But while Marnie and Emily were never able to truly reconcile, Anna's experiences over the course of the movie help her to develop a greater respect and appreciation for the people around her (including her adoptive parents), so she was able to eventually overcome the issues she was having (including with her adoptive mother).
Gallery[]
