| Clara | |
| |
| The Frightened Princess | |
| Aliases | The Mermaid Princess |
| Social Rank | N/A |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 16[1] |
| Status | Unknown |
| Hair color | Light brown |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Occupation | Student/resident/caretaker at Rose Garden Orphanage |
| Voice actor | Teresa Gallagher |
| “ | How dirty...
|
” |
Clara is a character from Rule of Rose. The nightmarish form of her, the Mermaid Princess, is one of the bosses of the game. She is a quiet girl who is a resident of the Rose Garden Orphanage. Although still a teenager, she is not one of the participants in the Red Crayon Aristocrat Club.
Appearance[]
Clara is a young pale girl in her mid-teens with light brown parted hair and blue eyes. Discounting teen Jennifer, she is the third tallest residence at the orphanage. She typically wears a tan short-sleeve with white buttons and collar. She also wears a brown pleated skirt and brown sandals. In her boss form however, she is depicted topless with ropes forming a 'mermaid tail' which hangs from the ceiling. Her body bears various scars, surgery markings, and sickly skin. Her eyes are also now dark without any whites.
Personality[]
Clara in the Sick Bay with Hoffman.
Although Clara is rarely mentioned or shown, it can be taken that she is shy and quiet. Her body language evokes feelings of shame, anxiety and fear. Clara also has a habit of turning away from Jennifer and avoiding eye contact. Jennifer remembers Clara as "The Frightened Princess", although she never directly says why.
If Jennifer decides to talk to her near the beginning of the game, she simply says "How dirty..." It is unclear if she is directly referring to Jennifer though, as she doesn't elaborate and could equally mean herself. She avoids making eye-contact as she almost always keeps her head low, a sign of low-self esteem and shame. If Jennifer attempts to open the nearby drawer, she will hurriedly prevent her from doing so. If Jennifer tries to talk to her in "The Funeral" chapter, Clara ignores her just like all the other children. However, as Clara is never shown taking part in any of the Club's other games, it is implied her reasons for not speaking and avoiding eye-contact might be personal.
Clara's gills resemble suicide cuts.
There are strong implications that Clara was suicidal, most likely because of the implied sexual abuse she suffered. Her Mermaid Princess boss has several cuts along its arms, and in her unused audio for the game, she sounds close to a complete breakdown. At one point, she says, "I don't want to go outside, but I don't want to stay in here either." as well as several other phrases as to how she feels alone and feels confused about what is happening to her.
Biography[]
Born in the year 1914, Clara was around 15-16 years old by the time Jennifer had arrived at the orphanage. She was a quiet and lonely girl, dubbed "The Frightened Princess." She seemed oblivious to the antics of the other children and did not attend Aristocrat Club meetings or take part in their cruel hazings and punishments.
She spent quite a number of years at the orphanage, and by the time Jennifer arrived, she began to assist Hoffman in his work. Mr. Hoffman took this into full consideration, reflecting in his diary at how he has watched his "little Clara" grow, suggesting that Clara had been living at the orphanage since her early childhood. Clara is perceived as a nurse-like character, as she tended to the orphans' wounds when they were hurt and took care of them when they were sick.
In November, Hoffman left the orphanage, stating "Clara's here to look after things." Clara mysteriously disappeared shortly after Hoffman and Martha Carol, leaving the orphans all alone without any adult supervision. It is unknown what happened to Clara. Clara's fate is left ambiguous. However, it is unlikely Clara was present during the orphanage massacre as she already left and Jennifer does not mention Clara returned.
Relationship with Hoffman[]
Clara stopping Jennifer from opening the drawer.
It is heavily implied Hoffman began to take a sexual interest in Clara, much against her will, and that Clara was too frightened to tell anyone or stop him.
In "The Clover Field" if Jennifer should open the drawers in the Sick Bay of the Airship, Clara will rush to Jennifer stop her, shouting "Don't look in there!" There is also unused audio of Clara saying this with a nervous stutter.[1] This is possibly where some evidence to a sexual relationship between her and Hoffman lies, likely condoms. After Clara does this, Hoffman's voice can be heard saying, "Mmhmm...", as if he is agreeing with Clara.
Clara is seen shuffling her feet when she walks. She is only ever really seen walking when she is following Hoffman, so it is unclear if her movement is due to her fear of him, or if it indicates some kind of pain she might be experiencing. Clara is surrounded by implications of pregnancy and abortion, which may also explain her movements. In her unused audio, she mentions at one point that something is hurting her.
The Mermaid Princess screaming in pain.
Clara has gills on her wrists, stitching on her stomach, and gills at the sides of her stomach and rib area when she is in her boss form as a mermaid. She constantly vomits, and as well when she is lifted into the air, there is a mixture of random laughter that sometimes turns into crying. The rope that bound her legs together is supposedly a symbol of Clara being unable to escape her fate. The "gills" on Clara's wrist could be young Jennifer's interpretation of Clara's self mutilation.
The "gills" at the sides of her body were possibly from surgery, and the cut on her stomach from a supposed abortion. The scar across her chest could be seen as a symbolism to stop the growth of her breasts. The rope around her body represents feeling trapped or shame from the assault she endures. Her vomit attacks may be from "morning sickness", a common nausea while pregnant. It may also be hinting that Clara was bulimic, as bulimia is commonly co-morbid with other disorders, such as depression and anxiety. She randomly cries and laughs, which is a sign of mood swings and hinting to her crumbling sanity. Clara's Mermaid Princess boss, unlike Clara herself, is almost constantly screaming. Apart from the rope tying her legs together, the Mermaid Princess is shown to be completely unclothed. The bed and nightstand in the Mermaid princess room are the same as the ones in Hoffman's bedroom in the orphanage. This hints that Hoffman would take Clara into his bedroom at night and possibly molest her while she laid in his bed; it also hints that Jennifer followed them one night, peeked through the keyhole, and saw something she didn't understand as a child. Most of the events in the game are from young Jennifer's point of view, where she probably didn't understand the things Hoffman may have done to the girls at the orphanage.
Hoffman calls Clara who tenses up.
In "The Funeral" chapter, Clara can be found in the Sick Room, scrubbing one of the cots. The cot she is scrubbing has raised pads, suggesting gynecological examinations. Clara is seen scrubbing an area of the cot exactly where the pelvis would be. When Jennifer turns to leave the room, Hoffman enters the Sick Room and calls to Clara who reluctantly leaves with him into the adjoining room. She also seems to tense up when her name is called.
Mr. Hoffman talking to Clara in a low, menacing, yet seductive tone.
If Jennifer looks through the keyhole, she can see Clara on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. Her movements may be seen as unnatural looking while Hoffman stands in front of her, pointing to the ground. He then says to her in a low, menacing, yet seductive tone, "Look, there's some... dust over here... give it a wipe." This may be Jennifer repressing memories of what really happened, or simply not fully understanding what she saw. Loud music is constantly played over the intercom during this chapter. Some have suggested this might be another hint to the situation, as Hoffman may have deliberately done this to cover up any troubling noise.
Hoffman calls the children to bed in the order of his favorites and Clara's name is one of the last. He presumably does this in order to make Clara feel worthless, and make her feel like she's never good enough for him, trying to instill a desire in her to "please" him. By diminishing her self esteem and making her feel useless and worthless, Hoffman is presumably making Clara easier to control and manipulate. This order also makes it easier for him to hide his abuse of Clara from the other children, although it is assumed that Olivia is always last since she is a toddler and doesn't understand anything at all.
Etymology[]
The name Clara is a feminine form of the Latin name Clarus - borne by a few early saints - meaning "clear, bright, illustrious, famous." Clara was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi, a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.
The "famous" element to the name could possibly be ironic, as Clara was very much ignored by the children of the Rose Garden Orphanage. Furthermore, it is implied Clara is one of Hoffman's least favorites from the roll call he does. There could also be irony found in the "clear, bright" meaning of the name Clara, as Clara had a very solemn and mysterious disposition.
Quotes[]
- "How dirty..."
- "Don't look in there!"
Trivia[]
- Clara is the only onscreen character who does not appear in any of the game's FMVs (excluding her boss form, the Mermaid Princess).
- It is somewhat hinted that Martha cared for Clara, and therefore was suspicious of any sexual abuse that Hoffman was inflicting on her. Jennifer points out in the "Once Upon a Time" chapter that Clara looked "scary" when talking to Martha. This could possibly be due to the fact that Martha would often interrogate Clara on the subject of her abuse.
Story Concepts[]
| Clara's unused audio | |
- There is unused audio in the game of Clara crying for help.[2]
- She says, "It's cold in here. How can I get out? What do I do? But I don't want to go outside, but I don't want to stay in here either. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me! Forgive me, please, please! I won't do it again! Help me! I'm all alone... all alone... it hurts! I don't want to be alone! Nothing I do makes it any better!" It may be about the sexual abuse from Hoffman, but it is unknown who she is talking to.
- Clara's boss form is heavily inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Little Mermaid." The story follows a mermaid who falls in love with a prince. In order to be with him, she trades her tongue for legs. However, the prince doesn't share her feelings and eventually marries a different woman. The mermaid’s sisters attempt to bring her back by having her kill the prince. However, she can not bring herself to do so, resorting to committing suicide via drowning instead. The tale could be seen as a warning of accepting mistreatment or self-sacrificing in the name of love.
- In the drawer Clara closes, there is physically nothing within the model. This is because what's inside is left up to interpretation and was never meant to be seen. [4]
- Clara shares certain personality traits with Angela Orosco from Silent Hill 2. Like Angela, it is also heavily implied Clara was sexually abused by her guardian. Furthermore, both characters have brown hair and share a distinctly similar hairstyle.
- Clara's characteristics and the way she is depicted is also a similar to Lisa Garland from Silent Hill. Clara's nurse-like characteristics and trauma from sexual abuse can be compared to Lisa's.
Gallery[]
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| to see the gallery of Clara click on Clara/Gallery. |
References[]
- ↑ Hoffman wrote in his diary, "I can hardly believe it. My little Clara, bless her heart, is already 16 years old."
- ↑ LORD JH carvalho “Rule of Rose. Unused Soundfiles (Clara’s cry)
- ↑ Ruleofrosedecrypted Unused Clara & Wendy animation
- ↑ Ruleofrosedecrypted Clara’s drawer
[]
| Social Rank | ||
|---|---|---|
| Red Crayon Aristocrat Club | "Sovereign" | Princess of the Red Rose (Wendy/Jennifer) • Bear Prince of the Red Rose (Joshua Wilson/Wendy) |
| "State" | Duchess (Diana) • Countess (Eleanor) • Baroness (Meg) | |
| "Bourgeoisie" | Poor/Miserable (Amanda) • Beggar/Irritable (Jennifer) • Susan • Olivia | |
| Non-Members | "Proletariat" | Clara • Martha Carol • Headmaster Hoffman • Nicholas • Thomas • Xaviar |
| "Stray Dog" | Gregory M. Wilson • Brown | |