Symbolism in RoR (SPOILERS)

[cellerikun]

Here's my theories on symbolism in Rule of Rose:


1. Fish --> Unrealized ideals

Throughout the game we see imagery of fish: Diana wears a bag-mask with a fish on it, there are fish drawn on the walls of the filth room, a huge fish flies over the orphanage in the opening, there are fish imps, Wendy is drawing a fish on the walk in the ending, etc.

It's pretty clear that the "airship" is really just the orphanage as filtered through Jennifer's childlike imagination-- all the significant rooms are functionally the same (for instance, the Filth Room is always Jennifer's 'bedroom', as it always has the pillar in the center and a Bucket Knight and a rubbish bin) and Jennifer comments that she was left out when the other children played Airship, because it brought up horrible memories for her-- but during the Mermaid Princess chapter, when Jennifer goes into the airship's "tail", the player can hear bubbles and underwater sounds. In the opening, we see the giant fish "swimming" in the sky over the orphanage the way an airship
would.

So, orphanage --> pretend airship --> fish. Still with me? Good.

Both the airship (the real one) and the orphanage are objects of hope: the airship is said to have been celebrated by all of England, and the orphanage was a place where children who had lost their parents could find new homes.

Except in both cases, everyone in them (except Jennifer) died a horrible death-- those hopes and dreams crashed and were murdered, respectively. So, because both of
these physical things are both represented in Jennifer's memories by the Fish, the Fish represents unrealized ideals and disappointment-- the Giant Fish is Jennifer's Fish; her unrealized ideal of her own self-awareness: it should be noted, however, that the pretend airship disappears and becomes the orphanage once she recovers "Joshua" and is awarded the Red Crayon.

Moreover, we have individual instances of the fish symbol that are more specific in their own contexts.

Diana's Fish represents her unrealized ideal of maturity and the subsequent change in others' perceptions of her, as represented by her Fish bag-mask in the beginning of the game. Her unrealized ideal of maturity is represented especially by the Mermaid-- supposedly a beautiful and pure creature, but sickly and ugly and suspended; the conflict between Diana's childlike perception of what it is to be a lady and her more mature perception of what it is to be an adult. It should also be noted that the Fish Imps prevalent in this chapter are also "mermaids", in that they are half-humanoid and half-fish.

((Let me derail for a minute on the subject of the Mermaid: the mermaid looks like Clara. I attribute this to the fact that Clara is the oldest and clearly has the (possibly sexual) attention of the only adult male in her world, Hoffman. Diana is the most sexualized and sensual of the RCA; Clara, being the oldest, the prettiest, and possibly having had sexual intercourse already (hence "unmarried" mermaid as opposed to "virgin" mermaid) is the object of Diana's envy. She is Diana's unrealized ideal combined with Diana's jealousy of someone who has achieved that ideal, which is why the mermaid is hanging from the ceiling, blank-eyed, violent, and clearly ill.))

Wendy's Fish in the ending is a simple, childlike thing-- drawing a fish on the sidewalk in red chalk, and it represents her unrealized ideal relationship with Jennifer. Just like her unwillingness to share Jennifer with Brown, in the ending, she is too busy concentrating on her disappointment to follow Jennifer out of the gate as it shuts behind her.


2. Wings/Flight --> Happiness

This one's fairly easy because it doesn't come up quite as often and the symbolism hammer hits hard, but here we go.

Eleanor quests for the Bird of Happiness. She carries an empty birdcage and hangs around birds or out under the open sky whenever possible. But, she always carries the birdcage in an attempt to catch it, and she is usually found in the airship among the chickens-- flightless birds in cages. It should also be noted that when she is on the balcony, under the sky, there are no birds around. It's not that she wants to be happy, it's that she wants to capture happiness for herself, and so she never will be. It will always evade her, and so she is cold.

Similarly, Amanda draws herself flying away in her diary-- but she chokes in the atmosphere and crashes. She longs to be happy, but is afraid of the dangers of being free and without the structure of the RCA, and would die without them for lack of direction. So burdened by a longing to fly away but knowing she will fall, she continues on under the weight of her peers.

3. Red --> Love and Acceptance


Another easy one. Red is the color of love, it's a fairly common sentiment, so I'll just narrow this one down to individual instances:

Red Crayon -- Normally I'd say this one meant "authority", but it doesn't. Having a red crayon doesn't confer any decision making powers; instead it allows the bearer to be accepted into the inner circle of the girls' society. Having a red crayon makes it acceptable for the bearer to be looked kindly upon and loved; those without one are ostracized and abused.

Red Drawings on Jennifer's Dress -- Jennifer is only drawn on after she is awarded the red crayon; she is forcibly 'accepted' into the Red Crayon Aristocrats; the player can
choose to drop the Red Crayon, but Jennifer wears red crayon drawings on her for the rest of the game.

Red Roses -- Meg gives one to Diana in the opening, Wendy tries to give a bouquet to Jennifer, Jennifer trades her teddy bear to Wendy for her rose brooch. These are all
exchanges made with affection in mind.

Red Bird -- Eleanor's Bird of Happiness is red, and wouldn't being loved and accepted make anyone happy?

Red Lipstick -- Amanda smears red lipstick on her face in the hopes of becoming pretty, as she is self-conscious and sees her looks as a reason for the way the other girls
treat her. (It should also be noted that Amanda, rather than wearing red and carrying roses, wears pink and is associated with a floral pattern-- paler versions of the true symbols.)

4. Green Ribbon --> Power and Control

This one's a little out there too, but stick with me here. We see the Green Ribbon in a number of places; Joshua the Bear has one around his neck, Diana wears a green ribbon as an accent under the sailor collar on her dress, and the player can find Green Ribbons scattered around in the world of Jennifer's memories.

The strongest connection the Green Ribbon has is to Joshua, and therefore Wendy. The figure of Joshua, if not necessarily the actual person, is the most potent and active force in the story, and this figure I will refer to hereafter as the Bear Prince. The Bear Prince is the most ephemeral of all the characters, flighty and impossible to grasp, and yet he has the power to control Stray Dog. While I could go on for days and days about what it says about a story of a girls' society that the most powerful figures in the story are the three males, one of which is dead, that's not the point I'm making here.

The Green Ribbon is the icon of the Bear Prince, who is counterpart to the Rose Princess and commander of Stray Dog; because he has the power to end life (rather than just make it miserable), the green ribbon represents real, visceral power and control over it.

Diana wears a Green Ribbon, and she is inarguably the most potent personality of the three main members of the RCA. She is an expert manipulator and has control of the other girls, especially Meg, who is easily controlled through her affections for Diana. Of all the characters under Wendy, she has the most power.

Jennifer doesn't have a Green Ribbon-- she can collect several if she chooses to, representing that these are in fact her memories and has complete control over them if she chooses to exercise it (ie, forgetting entirely or choosing to remember). Similarly, she can also choose to give the Ribbons over to the society in exchange for sweets and helpful things and pleasantries, which is exactly what she remembers doing-- exchanging her control and power for a chance at an easier life.


This is what I've got so far, more as I narrow some of this stuff down.

[PrinceJoshua]

Nice theory.

[empressjess]

I like the fish symbolism, mostly because I'd never thought about it. And the point about Diana being jealous of Clara was so spot on I'm ashamed of myself for not seeing it earlier.

The red I do think is about love and acceptance, but the problem with red is that it also symbolizes passion, violence, and danger, which are also pretty prevelant in the game and perhaps its point is to show how corrupted these basic human needs can become.

Also, if you do become inclined to discuss the latent phallocentrism in the game (like how the Princes sit around on their keisters all day while the girls are actually taking care of the orphanage/airship, what you pointed out about the most powerful figures being men, and this assumption that a little girls' society must be evil), let me know

[fireflyprince]

Those are very good theories.

I'm not sure if the creators put in the candy and snacks as symbols, but here's what I think about them.

The candy and snacks symbolizes happiness. Children often enjoy candy and it makes them feel better when upset. My theory is that in the game Jennifer never really "dies" by the monsters cause they're not real, instead she takes in too much stress and prehaps decides to kill herself. Suicide is supposdly a sin in Christainity and we all know how Britain and America are heavily influenced by Christainity. Maybe Jennifer takes away her fear of suicide by imagining it as horrible imps trying to kill her?

Anyways back to the candy. I see the bits of candy as small peices of happiness that give her a reason to live. Candy is often associated with happiness for children. Whenever Jennifer is "wounded" if she eats something sweet it makes her feel better so she can continue her quest for happiness.

Nice theory huh?

[empressjess]

Wow, I really like that--the imps as Jennifer's suicidal tendancies. I always just assumed that they were her guilt over this whole mess going down, but when you factor in that she may be depressed enough to end her life over it ("apologize by dying" comes to mind), it becomes that much richer.

The candy I felt was more to symbolize that the kids are subsisting on their own, since we know that in reality they were left at the orphanage by themeselves. And, to quote my boyfriend: "Jess, you're like a little kid whose parents are gone. You're all like 'I'm having candy for dinner!'"

If imps ever attack me, I'm so set.

[fireflyprince]

Well while we're on the subject of Jennifer's suicidial feelings.

The song "A Love Suicide" at the begining should have been a major hint of the games theme. I'll get into the lyrics later, but think about Jennifer. Who wouldn't feel suicidal after what she's been through? First her parents die in an accident with her being the only survivor, then she gets adopted by a nut who although is very kind treats her like a boy and keeps her prisoner. Then she runs away with an even bigger nut (aka Wendy) who brings her to a dirty orphanage full of twisted psychopathic girls who torture her. Jennifer finally finds happiness with a dog but her girlfriend Wendy gets extremely jealous and orders him to be executed. Jennifer finally stands up for herself and just when things start to get better Wendy goes to Gregory dressed as his son and gets him to murder everyone in the orphanage except Jennifer.

The woman has lived through 2 massaceres being the sole survivor of each one. She blames herself for everything and doesn't know what to do. Suicide would seem like the easiest choice but according to the bible it would send her to hell (remember this is 1930's England. Back then if you weren't a Christain you were considered a terrible and evil person). So Jennifers search for the "4 Leaf Clover Key" is really her search for the key to happiness and her reason to go on living. Which is why she finds it in the end when she accepts that everything happened in the past and she can't change it. Jennifer appearing as a little girl could symbolize her "rebirth" into a new person, not this gloomy 19 year old girl who believes imps are after her.

As for the candy I just think of it as "comfort food" in the game. Don't most people "paticuraly girls" like to eat sweets when they're upset? It tastes good and lets you know not everything about life is bad, but it's still not enough to cure your depression. It's more like a treatment or pain reliever.

[empressjess]

Jennifer found: Ben and Jerry's Pint of Cherry Garcia!

Ah, breaking up is always hard.

I feel kind of ashamed about not noting the suicidal side of this earlier and I agree about the lyrics to Love Suicide (*points to signature*) completely. I personally feel that Jenny could've used some intense therapy, but sadly as the advent of widespread, accurate psychological aid hadn't yet occurred, the poor thing ended up as the Freudian dream come true we see here with all the repression. Her experience in remembering all this is pretty much the definition of uncanny.

Your idea of the 4 Leaf Clover Key and alternate costumes as a rebirth mechanism caught me off-guard for a minute, but I really like the conclusion.

[fireflyprince]

Well the 4 Leaf Clover Key Jen finds at the good ending when she builds the Bucket Knight to protect Brown.

Having the key at the start of the game I don't think has too much symbolism, but it does get you cool new outfits and stronger weapons that make the game easier.

Although I have a theory that the costumes represent choices for Jennifer now that she's found her key. She can move on with her life and become a Tennis Player or a Nurse who helps people. The Gothic Lolita is a maid uniform (Gothic Lolita is a popular Japanese fashion where girls wear dark elegant clothing and color their hair) and maybe it could mean she can be creative and stand out from everyone else? I don't know, Gothic Lolita didn't exist in the 1930's, especially in England.

The Octopus and Rag Doll costumes don't represent choices cause Jennifer doesn't find them at first. She has to find certain treasures to unlock them. I guess they're just part of her creative mind of how she viewed herself and Brown, or the creators did it simply to mess with us.

Does anyone but me realise the whole "Special key to unlock a secret room to get costumes" thing was a complete rip-off of Resident Evil?

[empressjess]

Resident Evil is all about the keys, man. Ugh, now I'm picturing Stray Dog jumping through the window.

Also, I like how the alternate costumes (with a few exceptions) are such female stereotypes. "Good job, Jennifer! You overcame your crippling psychological damage and can now be anything you want, so long as it's a nurse or tennis player or sex symbol!"

Ah, the 1930's.

[fireflyprince]

I loved Resident Evil, though I hate how much actiony it's gotten like RE4.

What I tried to say was almost every Resident vil game has had some kind of special key you get from beating the game to unlock a secret closet/locker/store to get costumes. I love getting outfits in games though. ;D


As for Jennifer's outfits you make them sound more sexual then most game outfits. Have you forgotten the endless line of perverted cowgirl/leather/bikini outfits that creators just love to shove on any existing female character?

Jennifer's clothes look more normal and less sexual. They're not at all revealing. They're kind of cute.

Plus remember this IS 1930's England and women weren't exactly lined up to dress as army soldiers. The most a girl could become was factory worker or nurse.

Even though I think it's wrong that women couldn't become doctors, still there's nothing wrong with Jennifer wanting to become a nurse and help people. Or a Tennis Instructer or a.... Goth Loli .

[empressjess]

Haha, I wasn't saying that they're revealing, just that it tells you something about society. This is mostly from a class I took this semester that was all about the hidden patriarchal influences and how women still have to overcome boundries. I was more making fun of the gender rolls and not the costumes themselves. Personally I much prefer Jenny's outfits to most other female characters' in video games cause except for the Goth Loli and Octupus and Rag Doll, people would actually wear them.

As for RE4, I enjoyed it a lot, I just wish they hadn't released it as an RE title. And I wanted Ashley to die at the end.

[fireflyprince]

*totally agrees about wanting Ashley to die*

Yeah, has there ever been a more useless character in gaming history? Even Sherry Birkin from RE2 was a much more useful partner and she was only 12!


Anyways I see what you mean by the outfits, but back then those were the kind of things normal girls dreamed of being since they didn't have many options. Only the real daring girls would want to be something they normally could not be because of the rules back then.

I wish more games had normal outfits, or at least outfits that aren't meant to be perverted like the cowgirl and bondage outfits Capcom puts in their horror games.

I also agree that Resident Evil 4 was not Resident Evil to me, but unfourtainly the cold truth is that there's more gamers who prefer easy games with senseless action killing and pointless plots then gamers like us who enjoy a good scare and solving clever puzzles to figure out what's going on. Capcom has given up on that to please the action fans. *cries*

[empressjess]

I mourn the death of puzzles greatly as well ;_;

You know what really struck me about Rule of Rose? The whole big controversy about sexuality, and everyone's dressed much more conservatively than in other games. Ok, yes, children, but the kids have on clothes that cover them; even Diana's low-cut neckline is made up in her long skirt. And Jennifer, who's old enough for "The Gaze" (sexualization in a vouyeristic sense) has on this almost frumpy gray/green number as the official outfit.

[fireflyprince]

Well back then women didn't dress as revealing as they do today. It was considered highly obscene for a girl to wear anything that shows a lot of skin. Even prostitutes still dressed less revealing then they do today.

The game does have sexual themes, but it's nothing you'd expect from a child pornagraphy video. It more deals with the sexual feelings girls experince when they reach puberty. There's no denying that by the time kids turn 10 or 12 they start to have feelings. Most people are hush hush about that sort of thing and parents are too embarssed to talk to their kids about sex when they first reach that age.

The story really only touches the taboo of sexual feelings children have when they start to grow up, not children having sex in the game or being naked. Rule of Rose touches what is reality that not all children are as innocent as we like to think.

[empressjess]

Nothing is as uncanny as children, 'specially when you look at them how they are and not in an idealized sense.

Man, I really love this game.