This post is concerned with the disturbing, but never-revealed, contents of the sick bay drawer.
Early in “The Unlucky Clover Field” chapter of Rule of Rose, in the sick bay of the airship, when you click “x” while standing at a drawer, the following occurs:
Just as Jennifer opens the drawer, Clara, who has rushed over from where she was sitting on a gynecological examination table, closes the drawer. Clara has interposed herself between Jennifer and the drawer, shaking her head in a way that indicates “no”. She tells Jennifer: “Don’t look in there!”
If you follow up by clicking “x” once again while standing by the drawer, ignoring Clara’s instruction, Jennifer doesn’t try to open the drawer. This time Jennifer shakes her head in a way that indicates “no” and cries out, with much emotion in her voice, “No!”
It seems to me that, on some sub-conscious level at least, Jennifer now realizes that seeing the contents of the drawer will have a traumatic impact on her. And so she doesn’t want us to force her to see what is in the drawer. If this interpretation is correct, it means that Jennifer must have known, in her forgotten past, if not at present, the nature of the disturbing contents of that drawer.
The first time I played Rule of Rose, I expected that later in the game I would be able to look inside of the sick bay drawer, or that someone in the game would explain what was in the sick bay drawer. But, to my dismay, neither of those things ever happened. The contents of the drawer were left a mystery.
Can it possibly be that the contents of the drawer are nowhere to be found in the game? I can’t believe that is the case.
So let me ask you, what sort of things would you normally expect to find in a sick bay drawer? Wouldn’t it be medical supplies of some sort? I think medical supplies would be a very normal expectation.
Are there any medical supplies that are brought to our attention during the game in any sort of dramatic way?
The answer is yes, the same medical supplies are dramatically shown to us twice: the bloody medical tools and gloves found on a table in the attic in “The Little Princess” chapter and “The Funeral” chapter. And there is not a single other example, that I can think of, of a dramatic focus in Rule of Rose on any sort of medical supplies.
So I propose that those medical supplies seen on the attic table, and possibly something associated with the blood that we see on them in the attic, are the contents of the sick bay drawer.
But why does Clara care about whether Jennifer looks inside of the drawer or not?
Why does Jennifer act like she thinks that she herself will be traumatized by the sight of what is in the drawer?
And whose blood is on the medical tools in the attic?
For the answers that I propose to these questions, read my follow-up posts: “The Frightened Princess Mystery” and “The Bloody Medical Tools Mystery (part 1)“.
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This is a good point. I must say that I rushed through the game so quickly that I am seriously thinking about a second go at it because of your posts on GameFAQs. My curiosity was aroused in the game by the medical equipment. Since I have read your conclusions on the other site, I won’t comment on them here but I think that you have a solid theory as to why bloody medical supplies are in the game.
First, yay! You’re site is up!
I think you’re probably right about that, i read you’re other theory about it being a fetus or whatever, and i think they both make a lot of sense, but this makes more. What else would it be from?
P.S I’m Luna_L on the gamespot/gamefaqs forum. I posted there a few times.
First of all, let me thank both of you for coming to my blog and leaving comments. It makes me very happy!
–Eva says: “…I read your other theory about it being a fetus or whatever, and I think they both make a lot of sense, but this makes more.”–
Actually, I had the fetus possibility in mind when I wrote, “…and possibly something associated with the blood that we see on them in the attic…”
I decided to wait until my upcoming “The Bloody Medical Tools Mystery” post to formally raise this idea that the source of the blood on the tools is due to Hoffman using them to give Clara an abortion, and that there might even be the aborted fetus from Clara’s abortion in the sick bay drawer.
Very nice. I am loving the banner, and I hope you publish your other theories here, too!
If you want, I’ll pimp this site out at other places. :3
See ya!
Madisson says:
–”I’m loving the banner”–
Thanks for saying so. I was wondering if people would like it.
–”If you want, I’ll pimp this site out at other places.”–
Thanks. I’d love to have a nice-sized readership to write to.
Hello, I’ve been following your posts at GameFAQs for awhile.
Personally, I think that you have made the best individual contributions to/for fans of Rule of Rose, by far.
Originally, I had thought the bloodied medical instruments were used in the killing of Brown, I think that your theory involving Clara is much more on track.
Thank you for your efforts, I will be reading. =)
Yuriko says:
–”Personally, I think that you have made the best individual contributions to/for fans of Rule of Rose, by far”–
Wow! Thanks for the high praise. I’ll try not to let it go to my head. And I’ll do my best to have the content of this site live up to the high expectations it.
–”Originally, I had thought the bloodied medical instruments were used in the killing of Brown…”–
I’m glad that you mentioned this because, believe it or not, in the minutes before reading your comment, I was debating with myself as to whether I should devote a post specifically to presenting the evidence against Brown’s blood being the blood on the medical instruments. You helped me to decide that I should. It is very natural that people come to that interpretation (I, myself, originally thought the blood was Brown’s) because it is only after Brown’s disappearance in “The Funeral” chapter, and just before triggering the cut-scene in which Jennifer learns of Brown’s death, that we come across the bloody medical instruments on the attic table in that chapter. This context makes it natural to associate the bloody tools with Brown’s death. However, I believe that there is evidence that can be presented against that interpretation, in addition to there being the alternative theory involving Clara.
Wait, you’re Pokernemisis on gamefaqs, what do we call you here?
Just admin? It seems so stuffy!
Eva says:
–”Wait, you’re PokerNemesis on gamefaqs, what do we call you here? Just admin? It seems so stuffy!”–
You’re right, “admin” isn’t good. It was the default setting.
What do you think if I switch to “PN”?
While researching “The Bloody Medical Tools Mystery” I came across some “evidence” that I hadn’t considered before. So I’m going to set aside writing that post for a little while and take time to think over the implications of that evidence. I’m glad I decided to make “The Sick Bay Drawer Mystery” a post that can separately stand on its own.
In the mean time, I’ll try to quickly get a post up on another topic.
PN says:
–What do you think if I switch to “PN”?–
On second thought, I think I’ll use the full “PokerNemesis” nickname for continuity with the Gamefaqs/Gamespot forum. People can call me PN or Poker for short if they like.
Ok, cool! Nice work, PokerNemisis!!!
Hey man, you’ve slow update!
cytisment says:
–Hey man, you’ve a slow update!”
Sorry. Lots of delays bunched together: auto repair issues, web-related malfunctions to trouble-shoot, switching blog post topics mid-stream, the need to make a trip to a library to do Rule of Rose related research, etc.
A new post is up now.
Hey, may I know where did you get the soundtracks from..?
My country doesn’t sell RoR’s CD, neither can I find them online.
=[=[
Thanks in advance!
Try ebay.
You have the soundtrack, PokerNemesis? Is it the full soundtrack or the 6 track one that came with selected versions of the game?
For a comment that might be of interest in regards to the ROR music, see aya valentine’s comment (Oct 30 2007, 9:45) to the post “Secret Game” (Oct 21)
i was re-playing through, and remembered the whole clara/abortion thing. i got to wondering the method of abortion used. Neither Hoffman nor martha were doctors or had any medical training that we know of, so how would they know how to perform an abortion? Furthermore, Hoffman, as obsessed as he was with cleanliness, would probably want nothing to do with any of it-pregnancy or abortion-this fits with him switching his attentions to Diana around that time. So that leaves martha, who would probably not have used medical tools if she was using “old wives” methods, which is the use of castor oil, which, i think, not quite positive, would cause clara to miscarry, which is very painful on its own. Or, she could have used the “knitting needle”, or coat hanger method, also painful. Which might tie into Claras disappearance-the coat hanger method is VERY dangerous, and oftentimes the person performing it will end up poking a hole through the birth canal, causing internal bleeding and other nasty things. Eventually, after a little while, the girl would die from this injury, so perhaps that could explain Claras disappearance.
Also, about the self mutilation and otherwise, not only could it be that clara is ashamed of being sexually molested, she might feel that she deserves it. Often times women or girls in that situation feel like they have brought it upon themselves. Plus, many start to feel a connection to their molester-perhaps why Clara didn’t want to leave the orpahnage. It could also explain her self mutilations in a way-if Clara, once pregnant, was no good to Hoffman, “dirty” if you will, he cast her aside. Could you imagine anything more humiliating for her? She was molested, impregnated, than cast aside like garbage-she must have wanted to die.
whew! that was a lot!
The only small problem I have with that theory is that Hoffman apparently disappeared first, if I remember correctly, followed by Martha and Clara. Had it been the knitting needle approach, Clara would have died before Hoffman could leave.
On an almost totally unrelated note: I spent Easter with my friend who owns the game, and she lent it to me again! So now I can play Rule of Rose again, but this time, with a new mindset. Thanks to this fantastic blog, I think I will be seeing this game in a whole new light.
I thought so too, so i think they probably used castor oil or some other type of herbs to abort the fetus.
i know this is probably wrong and extremely ridiculous of me to ask so please forgive this question:
i’ve heard that having sex at such a young age, before puberty i think, can mess up your reproductive system,
if i remember right you’ll continuously drip urine without being able to control it and have a horrible smell follow your around no matter how hard you clean yourself.
i wonder if this may be why Clara is always alone, or one of the reasons.
I’ve never heard that… which makes me think that it’s a myth… As I remember all my sex ed classes… and you’d think if that were true there would be more fuss made about it.
Now, I have heard that you are supposed to urinate after sexual intercourse if you’re a woman, but I have never heard this age thing…
Never heard that before, Kit-Kat. Sounds like a myth, especially since the reproductive system has nothing to do with the bladder and uretha at all. Unless you mean in males, but even then I just can’t see it.
“sigh” now i feel silly
well i did hear if more then a year ago so i can’t remember exactly. it was on an episode of Oprah my sister was watching. thought it might be helpful to bring it up
aine said:
There is a certificate on the wall above the bed in the sick bay.
Now, it’s too small to read but it might mean that someone did have some sort of medical training.
picture: http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rorro3.png
I wanted to add to the above post, as a point of interest, that Surgeons are called mister, not doctor.
So… Mr. Hoffman might have been a surgeon. Which would explain the surgical instruments being present in the game. (Why have them if nobody is qualified to use them?)
RozenMaiden wrote:
Good contribution! I didn’t know that surgeons are called Mr.
To quoteth sir wiki:
By the beginning of the 19th century, surgeons had obtained high status[citation needed], and in 1800, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in London began to offer surgeons a formal status via RCS membership. The title Mister became a badge of honour, and today after someone graduates from medical school with the degrees MBBS or MB ChB, (or variants thereof) in these countries they are called “Doctor” until they are able, after at least four years training, to obtain a surgical qualification: formerly Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and now Member of the Royal College of Surgeons or a number of other diplomas, they are given the honour of being allowed to revert back to calling themselves Mr, Miss, Mrs or Ms in the course of their professional practice, but this time the meaning is different. Patients in the UK may assume that the change of title implies Consultant status (and some mistakenly think non-surgical consultants are Mr too), but the length of postgraduate medical training outside North America is such that a Mr (etc) may be years away from obtaining such a post: many doctors used to obtain these qualifications in the Senior House Officer grade, and remain in that grade when they began subspecialty training. By contrast, North American physicians and surgeons are always addressed as “Doctor.”
Very interesting…
So here’s a question.
He’s a surgeon… does that mean he knows the entire body or just a portion of it?
Just cuz you’re a doctor doesn’t mean you knew how to fix problems not in your immediate feild.
However this does seem to explain his high and mighty look on things… (the huge self portrait and the dillusions of graduer)
PN said:
See… I just knew my fascination with the history of the barber surgeons would pay off one day…
>_>
<_<
……^_^;
Quoth the Masq:
It probably means he knows how to navigate the human body with sharp knives. o_o
I imagine that any surgeon would have to first learn about the entire body before then going into a more specialized field…
He would certainly, I imagine, be able to perform an abortion.
vv() I was hoping you wouldn’t say that…
I kinda liked the idea of Clara dying of infection while trying to treat it herself…
;^;
Eh well, that theory isn’t off the table though Masq. ^_^; It’s still a possibility.
This is Rozen btw… I forgot to log in >_>;
Hmm…I hadn’t even thought of any of this, but then again, I’m playing through it mindlessly o.o But, I had a thought, now that it has been mentioned that Mr. Hoffman might have been a surgeon…Of course, I haven’t gotten through it all and it probably answers this somewhere along the line, but what if all of those imps and demons were failed surgical experiments by Mr. Hoffman? It seems to me that it would make sense. He tested on children and turned them into monsters. It’s just a theory, but something I thought of as I was playing the chapter “Rag Princess Sews”
~Dirty_Diana
Welcome, Dirty_Diana!
Thank you so much, PokerNemesis! ^^
Yan said:
Hey, may I know where did you get the soundtracks from..?
My country doesn’t sell RoR’s CD, neither can I find them online.
=[=[
Thanks in advance!
Hey, Yan! You can find the tracks at gh.ffshrine.org. I got them from there^^