By this theory, the dolls on the left side of the table represent Jennifer, Diana, Eleanor, Meg, and Amanda during the event shown to us at the end of “The Little Princess” chapter of Rule of Rose wherein Jennifer has water poured on her and goes into a coffin.
I think that the dolls on the table, because we see them depicted in the “Once Upon A Time” chapter when Jennifer’s memory has returned to her in a clear manner, should be something that actually existed during Jennifer’s forgotten past. Which means that, in my opinion, the water pouring incident in which Jennifer went into a coffin should be more than just a dream-event, it should also be something that occurred in some fashion during her forgotten past. My explanation for the context of this occurrence during Jennifer’s forgotten past is found in my blog-post:
By my theory, the dolls on the right side of the table represent a threat to Jennifer that she will be hanged if she doesn’t do something that is demanded of her by the Aristocrats.
During “The Funeral” chapter, we see a “gift of the month” warrant for Jennifer which shows her being hanged by the neck. The dolls on the right side of the table, showing a figure hanged by the neck, surrounded by “spooky things”, is—according to my theory—a depiction of the threat of that.
But could it be that, like the dolls on the left side of the table, the dolls on the right side of the table depict an event that actually occurred during Jennifer’s forgotten past?
Obviously, Jennifer herself was not hanged by the neck during her forgotten past, so, if it is not Jennifer that is shown hanging, who could it be?
We have recently been discussing the matter of whether or not Hoffman was hanged. See my blog-posts:
The theory that the “Sir Peter” storybook tells a story about Hoffman was introduced at this site by comment-maker RozenMaiden back in June of 2008. I think RozenMaiden displayed a brilliant insight with that theory, and it deserves its own blog-posts on the subject. The text of the “Sir Peter” storybook is:
Sir Peter, Sir Peter, went out for a stroll. Sir Peter, Sir Peter, put in a cage, had to hold it in. Sir Peter, Sir Peter, needs to go right now, doesn’t want to sin. Sir Peter, Sir Peter, bagged and whisked away, before he found a toilet. Good-bye, Peter. Good-bye.
RozenMaiden commented:
I think that the tale of Hoffman mirrors the tale of Sir Peter. 1. He’s a molester of young girls, and now finds himself in charge of them, trying his best to resist his urges and being a good teacher. “put in a cage, had to hold it in.” 2. It gets harder and harder to resist temptation as time goes on. “needs to go right now, doesn’t want to sin.” 3. He can’t control himself any longer and gives in to his true nature. Then disappears. “bagged and whisked away, before he found a toilet. Good-bye, Peter. Good-bye.” Quote from “Once Upon A Time” chapter:
“That day, Mr. Hoffman disappeared, like he was running away from something. He had tried too hard to be someone he wasn’t. The expectations were too much for him… and he wanted to escape those restrictions. However, children and adults live in the same world, and we must both play by society’s rules.”
I think Hoffman left because he could not control himself among other things.
I think that RozenMaiden has some great insights in her comment. But I also think that she got the ending of the story wrong. (more…)
In the “Rag Princess” storybook, however, the illustrations show that the rag princess has three step-sisters. Why this change in the number of step-sisters? I propose that there are three step-sisters because the story here is depicting the relationship between Amanda and three orphans: Diana, Meg, and Eleanor.
In the airship, during the “Unlucky Cloverfield” chapter of Rule of Rose, after coming up the stairs and entering through the door into the First Class Guest Sector, one can find a sign hanging on the wall to the left which describes “Social Rank”:
Social Rank Refined Class
Duchess…..Diana
Countess….Eleanor
Baroness….Meg
—Lower Class—
Poor………..Amanda
Beggar…….Jennifer
The text of the Rag Princess storybook tells us:
Her stepsisters wore beautiful dresses and went to the ball.
The girl stayed at home and her jealousy festered
I propose that the “real life” situation being described is this: in the Aristocrat Club, the girls Diana, Meg, and Eleanor are ranked socially as “Refined Class (”wore beautiful dresses and went to the ball”), but Amanda is ranked “Lower Class” and desperately wants to move up to “Refined Class” rank (”stayed at home and her jealousy festered”).
We see, in the storybook illustration, a castle off in the distance. This is the site of the ball and indicates that the ball relates to aristocracy.
Turn the page of the “Rag Princess” storybook again and we get the following subtitled text:
Her stepsisters wore beautiful dresses and went to the ball.
The girl stayed at home and her jealousy festered
Here we have the beginning of a Cinderella theme in this storybook.
The Cinderella story has a connection to the stinky and filthy themes (brought up in Part 2 of this series of blog-posts) in that Cinderella is associated—via her name—with the idea of being unclean. The Perrault version of Cinderella tells us:
When she had done her work, she used to go to the chimney corner, and sit down there in the cinders and ashes, which caused her to be called Cinderwench. Only the younger sister, who was not so rude and uncivil as the older one, called her Cinderella.
she had no bed to go to, but had to sleep by the hearth in the cinders. And as on that account she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella.
On the previous page of the “Rag Princess” storybook we were shown Amanda at the sewing machine, and we were told she “sewed rags, day in, day out.” This theme of being worked hard matches the Cinderella theme. From the Perrault version of Cinderella again:
She [Cinderella’s stepmother] employed her [Cinderella] in the meanest work of the house. She scoured the dishes, tables, etc., and cleaned madam’s chamber, and those of misses, her daughters.
Leave the Headmaster’s Room by the door leading to the small hallway (that is, the door next to the door connecting the Headmaster’s Room to the Reception Room).
Just outside of the door, at Jennifer’s feet, there are some drawings on the floor. These drawings extend down the hallway to Jennifer’s right, almost to the very end of the hallway.
In the “Once Upon A Time” chapter of Rule of Rose, Jennifer makes three comments about these drawings:
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At the drawing on the floor of a big donut-shaped one-eyed person (near cabinet):
“This sloppy drawing must be Thomas’s. See what happens when you give him chalk? The walls, the floors… To him, it’s one big canvas.”
At the drawing on floor of spooky things nearest the Headmaster’s Room:
“The spooky things… They swept away everything that’s dirty, including disobedient children. It was a scary story that started as a rumor and spread like wildfire.”
At the drawing of spooky things nearest the Closet Room:
“The spooky things love to clean. That’s why they always carry mops and brooms. They’ll kidnap you if you don’t clean. At least, that’s what everyone says.”
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We learn from these comments that Thomas was the child who drew these floor drawings.
Thomas’s drawing on Hoffman’s portrait, in the Reception Room, was a possible clue to Hoffman’s fate. Do these drawings also contain clues that tell us something about occurrences at the orphanage?
From her position standing in front of the aquarium, if Jennifer moves to her left, she will come to Hoffman’s desk. Pressing “x”, we see a close up view of the desk, and get a subtitle that says:
“Something is written in the notebook.”
Pressing “x” again, we can read the the diary entry:
March 2, 1930
Recently, the children have been engaging in odd activities and spreading disturbing rumors—rumors about creatures that come after children who don’t clean up and stray dogs that kidnap small tots… It’s all very bizarre.
The player who only chases Joshua through the mansion, and doesn’t take time to explore the rooms of the orphanage, will miss this story-element until this same diary entry re-appears in the “Once Upon A Time” chapter at the end of the game.
For the first-time player, reading this diary entry now (rather than at the end of the game) provides an added impact to development of the Rule of Rose story. That first-time player will read of “odd activities” by the children, and will naturally think back to having seen two girls, each wearing a bag over their head, beating a bloody bag with a stick. That first time player will also get an ominous foreshadowing of dangers to come in the game from the “bizarre” and “disturbing” rumors of “creatures that come after children”.
The March 2, 1930 date of this diary entry seems to fit with the date ascribed by the game to “The Little Princess” chapter in the chapter intro: March 1930. But as I have frequently pointed out during this series of walkthrough posts, nothing about what we see of the features of the orphanage during this chapter actually fits in with a March 1930 date. The diary date might seem to be providing evidence that we are actually in March, but does it really? Does the fact that the diary is opened to that page mean that it must be the latest entry of the diary?
I think that there is really only one sense in which there can be said to be a quality of March-ness to “The Little Princess” chapter.
Masq, a frequent comment-writer on this site, has been writing analyses of the names of Rule of Rose characters, both here and on her blog-site Withered Roses, looking for possible meanings relevant to the game.
I think that there is possibly an important significance of the name “Diana” that Masq has overlooked.
In Roman mythology, the goddess Diana was very protective of her virginity.
The Greek Artemis, or Roman Diana, is the goddess of chastity. She exemplifies and protects virginity…
Diana, guardian of purity, is also pictured fighting Venus, goddess of sex and desire, or with her followers resisting lascivious satyrs. Diana is a militant enforcer of same-sex seclusion amongst women.
The story of Diana and Callisto, in Roman mythology, might have some relevance to the story of Clara in Rule of Rose. Clara may have been made pregnant by Hoffman. Callisto was made pregnant by Jupiter:
…the ashamed maiden tried to hide her state but was eventually discovered when disrobed at the pool. The pregnancy was taken as a betrayal of the vows of chastity, and Diana angrily expelled Callisto.
The scene at the end of the “Mermaid Princess” chapter of Rule of Rose seems to show Jennifer, Meg, and Eleanor witnessing Hoffman molesting Diana. The response from the orphans to this sexual assault on the “Duchess” of the Aristocrats may have been an important factor in the eventual “disappearance” of Hoffman.
Until one day, when she was sent away to a strange house.
subtitle given:
And the poor little girl was sent away to a strange house.
The accompanying illustration is of a man pulling the girl by the arm as he walks, and the girl is holding the little princess doll by the hand with her other hand. An interesting feature of this man is that he has a mustache. This is interesting because neither Gregory Wilson, nor Mr. Hoffman, are depicted as having a mustache at any point in the Rule of Rose game… and those two men are the only adult males that we ever encounter during the game.
The illustration also shows a couple of trees to the left, near one of which stands Stray Dog (standing like a man, but having the head of a dog). In the distance is what appears to be a house behind a wall… presumably the orphanage.
This is where the storybook ends when Jennifer is at the bus stop during “The Little Princess” chapter of Rule of Rose. The page on the right doesn’t appear until Joshua (in the attic of the orphanage, during “The Little Princess” chapter of Rule of Rose) asks Jennifer to read more of the storybook. Now the page on the right will temporarily mark the ending of “The Little Princess” storybook, until the text once again extends. See my blog-post: “The Continually Growing Storybook (’The Little Princess’)”
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(Right side):
At her new home, the Aristocrat Club lived by the Rule of Rose. But the girl found herself very much alone.
Clara is not depicted here, or anywhere else in this storybook.
Wendy is not ever depicted in this storybook, at least not as a little girl. Does the little princess doll, later on in the storybook, represent her? I’ll discuss that question in a future blog-post.
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There are a number of mysteries that we now face in trying to explain the story of “The Little Princess” storybook:
The unused statements by Clara about mermaids got me to thinking in a new way about how to tie together the opening and ending scenes of the “Mermaid Princess” chapter of Rule of Rose. So here is a new theory from me that does that.
First, let me say that I have frequently made use, in my theories, of the hypothesis that Rule of Rose has a dream-plot which is constructed of elements of Jennifer’s forgotten past that are assembled differently in the dream than how they actually occurred. I am going to be utilizing this hypothesis again in the theory that follows.
The title-animation of the “Mermaid Princess” chapter shows four mermaids underwater. They each have been hooked by fishing-lines, which extend from their mouths to the top of the screen.
One thing that we can get from the title animation is the idea that Clara is not the only mermaid—which is consistent with the idea we find in the unused statements of Clara about mermaids: all of the girls are destined to become mermaids. See my previous blog-post: “The Unused Mermaid-related Statements of Clara“.
I think that the animation is designed to get us to think about four mermaids. Four mermaids (or potential mermaids) in peril. The four might be: Clara, Diana, Meg, and Eleanor. But I think that Clara may not be considered part of this grouping. It might be that the four mermaids of the animation are the four girls who are present in the end-scene of the chapter: Diana, Meg, Eleanor, and Jennifer.
Early in the “Mermaid Princess” chapter, Jennifer overhears Meg and Eleanor talking:
Narration : The cold Princess and the wise-looking Princess were talking…
The unlucky girl quietly listened in.
Meg : “Diana was quite upset… Don’t you think that was too much?”
Eleanor : “…We had to do it. Besides, there’s no such thing as mermaids.
Don’t you agree, Meg?”
Meg : “…You’re right. That was the only thing we could do.”
If you press “x” by Meg and Eleanor, the conversation continues:
Narration : Then, the wise-looking Princess asked,
Meg : “How about you, Jennifer? Do you believe in mermaids?”
Narration : The cold Princess said,
Eleanor : “…They’re such beautiful and pure creatures.”
Meg: “You’re looking for a mermaid too, aren’t you? Then, you’d better hurry…”
Eleanor: “…Diana might find it before you.”
Meg and Eleanor then leave.
In the dream-plot, the above conversation is apparently about the gift-of-the-month: finding and giving a gift of an unmarried mermaid.
I am going to propose that this dream-conversation was built out of a conversation from Jennifer’s forgotten past that had a different context. The correct context will give the conversation a new meaning.
There has been a lot of discussion of mermaids recently in the comment thread of the “Mutilated Clara” blog-post.
How did the girls of the orphanage regard mermaids? How did the authors of Rule of Rose regard mermaids?
Eleanor, speaking of mermaids in the “Mermaid Princess” chapter, says:
They’re such beautiful and pure creatures.
And Jennifer tells us, in the Dormitory, during the “Once Upon a Time” chapter:
“A mermaid doll… What a proud and pure creature. Diana yearned to become a beautiful lady, like a mermaid, but as she grew older, she realized that she was straying further and further from her ideal self. Poor Diana… She was trapped by her own ideals.”
But now let’s consider something that is likely to be new to most of you. In order to get some additional insight into how the authors were thinking about mermaids in Rule of Rose, lets look at some unused statements, statements that didn’t make it into the game, that are spoken by Clara.
Thankyou, nakedfish, for making these audio-files available to me.
(To listen to the audio-files, click on the arrows)
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Clara: “Each and every girl becomes a mermaid. You’ll be a mermaid too.”
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“A new Daddy will come for us and we’ll all be mermaids.”
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Clara: “Mr. Hoffman said I’d be a beautiful mermaid…”
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Clara: “…and the King of Mer-land will come for me.”
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Masq, a frequent comment-writer on this site, has been writing analyses of the names of Rule of Rose characters, both here and on her blog-site 
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