This is a video illustration of a previous blog-post of mine: Watching Susan and Olivia from the Broom Closet

~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
In the Perrault version of Cinderella, in the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, and in the Disney animated movie version of Cinderella, there are only two step-sisters for Cinderella.

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.

Why don’t we see the names of Susan or Olivia listed on the “Social Rank” sign?

I propose this explanation:

Diana, Meg, and Eleanor are full-fledged members of the Red Crayon Aristocracy. Amanda and Jennifer, on the other hand, are candidates seeking to become full-fledged members.  They are like pledges for a sorority. Susan and Olivia, however, are not even candidates yet (perhaps they are too young), so they aren’t included on the list.

As candidates, or pledges, Amanda and Jennifer are subjected to hazing as part of the qualifying procedure.  They are called “poor” and “beggar”.  They are called “stinky” and “filthy”.  They are forced to torment each other with the rat-stick.

Presumably, at some time in the future, Susan and Olivia would have had to undergo similar hazing too, once they were allowed to become candidates for full-fledged membership as Aristocrats.

When Jennifer finally got initiated into the “Refined Class”, the ceremony included the pouring of water on her to symbolically remove her “filthy” status. This is what we saw at the very end of the “Little Princess” chapter of the game.

For a discussion of the water-pouring scene as part of an initiatory ceremony, see my blog-post: The Mystery of Jennifer in the Coffin.

I previously mentioned the idea that the water pouring was to ceremonially remove Jennifer’s “filthy” status in my blog-post “The Cell of Bliss Mystery
(Part 2)“, where I wrote:

A possible indicator that Jennifer’s initiation raised her up to a position of high status in the Aristocrat Club might be seen in the procedure of pouring water on Jennifer during the ceremony. Diana says, while doing this, “Just look at you! You’re filthy.” The pouring of water on Jennifer might signify that she is having her “filthy”-status removed.”

~

The following is, admittedly, a very speculative answer, but it IS one based on a story element of the game: Martha’s ghost.

Because of the following story, told by Jennifer, in the Men’s Lavatory, during the “Once Upon A Time” chapter of Rule of Rose, we know that the orphans believed in, and feared, ghosts:

Once, Susan started a rumor about voices coming from this room at night… It turned out it was only the door creaking in the wind, but one night, sounds came from the room even with the windows shut. Susan jumped out of her bed and screamed. It was really just a prank by Nicholas and Xavier. From then on, the room was believed to be haunted and was considered off limits.

We also know that Jennifer encountered the voice of Martha’s ghost, in Clara’s cabin, during the “Unlucky Clover Field” chapter.

Could it be that nobody else wanted to take over Clara’s bedroom (the Filth Room), after Clara disappeared, because there was a fear that it might be haunted?

If Martha was murdered there, the Filth Room might have been feared to be haunted.

If Clara died, under any circumstances, it might have been feared that the Filth Room, having been her bedroom, might be haunted.

And if Jennifer ever told the other orphans that she had encountered Martha’s ghost there, then certainly the other orphans (if they believed Jennifer) would have thought that the Filth Room was haunted. Indeed, I wonder if Jennifer could have, with an intention of “inheriting” Clara’s bedroom, concocted a story about encountering Martha’s ghost there!

At any rate, Jennifer might have figured that she would have an easier time taking care of Brown if she wasn’t under the constant observation that would accompany living in the dormitory, and was therefore willing to risk encounters with Martha’s ghost if living in the Filth Room would benefit Brown.

(Left side):
in the storybook itself:

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’)”
~

(Right side):

At her new home, the Aristocrat Club lived by the Rule of Rose. But the girl found herself very much alone.

The accompanying illustration shows seven girls standing amidst seven long-stem roses:

The tall girl with a kerchief-tie is Diana.

The girl with the birdcage is Eleanor.

The girl wearing glasses is Meg.

The rotund girl is Amanda.

The girl with pig tails is Susan.

The small girl remaining is presumably Olivia.

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.
~

There are a number of mysteries that we now face in trying to explain the story of “The Little Princess” storybook:

1. If the Princess “disappeared” (as we were told on the previous page of the storybook), why is she back in the story now?

2. Who is the man dragging Jennifer by the arm?

3. Who sent Jennifer to the orphanage? And from where was she “sent”? Or is the word “sent” a mistranslation?

4. Why aren’t Wendy, Clara, or the boys represented in “The Little Princess” storybook? Or is Wendy represented by the little princess doll at some point?

5. What is the significance of Stray Dog’s appearance in this storybook?
~

Related: “The Little Princess” Storybook (Part 2): Airship Crash“

The Clover Field

Once upon a time, there was an unlucky girl.

All she wanted was to be happy.

So she went to a clover field.

She found a one-leaf clover, but she dropped it on the road.

She found a two-leaf clover, but it slipped into the shadows.

She found a three-leaf clover, but a witch hid it away.

She wanted to find a four-leaf clover, but she was too unlucky.

The story of this storybook closely reflects the events associated with Jennifer finding (or not finding) clover-leaf keys in the course of the “Unlucky Clover Field” chapter of Rule of Rose.

~

She found a one-leaf clover, but she dropped it on the road.

Jennifer will find the one-leaf (clover) key on the floor of a corridor in the First Class Guest Sector of the airship immediately after Meg and Susan run through the corridor. The key was not there earlier, so the suggestion might be that either Meg or Susan dropped it in the corridor as they ran through. The storybook line “dropped it on the road” would then reflect that the key was found on the floor of the corridor after it had been dropped.

~

She found a two-leaf clover, but it slipped into the shadows.

Jennifer will find the two-leaf (clover) key near Nicholas, in the 2nd Passenger Corridor.

Pressing “x” near Nicholas results in the narrator telling us (in text): “The unlucky girl met Nicholas, the sloppy Prince. With a look of annoyance, the Prince clicked his tongue and mumbled at her.”

Another press of “x” and we hear Nicholas say, in a whisper: “Why you…! Go away! Go away!”

Nicholas then continues (text only, no sound): “…I’m a shadow, a shadow.”

With more pressing of “x” we get from Nicholas (as text):

“…Get away from me.”
and
“…I’m a shadow, a shadow.”
and
“…Don’t talk to me.”

Once Jennifer finds the two-leaf (clover) key, Nicholas runs away (he can subsequently be found in a stall of the Men’s Lavatory in this same area of the airship).

The storybook line “it slipped into the shadows” is reflected by Jennifer finding the two-leaf (clover) key near the “shadow” Nicholas.

~

She found a three-leaf clover, but a witch hid it away.

In room 9 (Clara’s cabin) Jennifer will find a dirty rag belonging to Martha.

Then the narrator will say (in text): “In the dark room, the unknown occupant spoke in a shrill voice.”

The text continues: “…I was a mighty witch. Yet now, I am but a powerless wretch. Rubbish and dust. …My precious, precious key. I hid it secretly. …I hid it in a pure and dirty place. I hid it secretly. Your eyes cannot find it. You are truly a poor, unlucky girl…”

This reflects the storybook line “a witch hid it away.”

~

She wanted to find a four-leaf clover, but she was too unlucky.

Jennifer won’t find the four-leaf (clover) key during the course of the game (it is only acquired on replay after the player successfully completes the Rule of Rose game, saves the completed game, and starts the replay from there).

The fact that Jennifer won’t find the four-leaf (clover) key during the game is reflected in the storybook line: “She wanted to find a four-leaf clover, but she was too unlucky.“.

As Jennifer travels along Fence Road, alongside the wall, the heads of three orphans are peeking over the wall. As she nears each one, that orphan giggles and the head disappears behind the wall. These three orphans are (it appears to me), in order: Thomas, Susan, and Meg.

Jennifer once again rounds a corner of the wall, and she now arrives at the side gate.

Pressing “x” at the gate, Jennifer tries the door but can’t open it. We are shown a view of the sign over a slot in the wall. The sign says: “NO ONE ALOUD WITHOUT A PASS”. We are, at the same time, shown a subtitle which says: “NO ONE ALLOWED WITHOUT A PASS”. Pressing “x” at the slot itself shows us a different view of the slot and the sign, with the same subtitle.

The orphans are using the slot in the wall as a place to present a pass. But for what purpose was the slot built? I propose that it is a mail slot. And I think that this is an important identification to make. The easy accessibility of mail, at the place where mail is left, is important to a theory that I have regarding Martha’s “disappearance” ( I think she was murdered by the orphans). See my blog-post: “The Mystery of Martha’s Letter“.
~

If we had taken Jennifer to the side gate the first time that we came to the mansion (when we bypassed the rickety shed) everything would have occurred the same way except that we would be hearing Brown’s whimpering the whole time until we return to the rickety shed. And if we see the three orphans peering over the wall the first time through, we will not see them again when we return to the side gate with the boarding pass and Brown’s collar.

Using the boarding pass, the gate gets opened, and we see Xavier running away to the right laughing. We will not follow him right away, however, because we want to see everything in this walk-through and there are some things to be seen for which we will never get another opportunity if we don’t see them now. But we will do that in part 7 in this series.

Before that, lets talk a little about the use of the boarding pass. I will address that topic in part 6b of this series.
~

Next in the series

Beginning of series.

Because it followed immediately (or so it seems in the game) upon Jennifer’s rebellion against the Aristocrats in general, and Wendy in particular (with Jennifer slapping Wendy repeatedly), it certainly seems that Jennifer’s rebellion is connected with Wendy being deposed. But how did that particular cause produce that particular effect?

It also seems that Wendy’s fall from being Princess may relate to the inscription on the classroom’s chalkboard in the “Stray Dog and the Lying Princess” chapter:

The Stray Dog Legend

That is Just Wendy’s Lie.

But how exactly does Jennifer’s rebellion lead to the Aristocrats coming to disbelieve in Stray Dog?

One can see the scene of Jennifer’s rebellion in this You Tube video: Jennifer rebels against the Aristocrats.

Jennifer calls Wendy “Liar!” as she slaps her… but doesn’t say what it was that Wendy lied about.

Then Jennifer says, “As for the rest of you, how could you believe all those lies?”

But Jennifer doesn’t specify what “all those lies” were about.

It seems that the lies might be linked in some way to the “stupid games” that Jennifer denounces when she says:

I hate you! And I hate you! And you! And I hate myself the very most for playing your stupid games, and not having the strength to stand up to you! It’s all just hideous!

Perhaps Wendy’s lies, and the associated “hideous” games, might be about more than just one thing. Perhaps the lies included the accusation that Martha was a witch, and the “hideous” games included the attack on Martha and her murder. But the “lie” that seemed to be focused on by the Aristocrats, during the meeting to make Jennifer the new Princess, was about Stray Dog—that was where we saw the chalkboard on which was written:

The Stray Dog Legend

That is Just Wendy’s Lie.

In the storybook, “Stray Dog and the Lying Princess”, the attention that Wendy gets from the others is due to her scaring them with the warning “Stray Dog is coming, Stray Dog is coming!” Could it be that Wendy’s scary stories about Stray Dog, and her proposed method(s) by which the orphans could protect themselves, might be the reason that Wendy was elevated to Princess? So that disbelief in those stories would lead to her being deposed as Princess?

I proposed, in an earlier blog-post (“8 Mysterious Objects, and 3 Balcony Ropes“), that there is a shrine to Stray Dog—at the orphanage, made by the orphans—at which offerings were made. And that this shrine was connected to the “game” of finding gifts to give the Aristocrat Club. This may also have been a reason for the bagging and beating to death of small animals… they were sacrificial offerings to Stray Dog (perhaps for food). Wendy, as the source of information about Stray Dog, would have been the “Priestess” of the Stray Dog cult. And this role may have made her the Princess as well.

Did doubt about Wendy’s Stray Dog warnings begin with Jennifer’s rebellion?

I don’t think so.

Meg’s notes about Stray Dog reveal that she was conducting an investigation into Stray Dog. Meg wrote:

Stray Dog’s Notes

The following are notes on the monster Stray Dog, as described to us by the beautiful Princess of the Rose.

He’s big, strong, scarred, loyal, talkative, cleanly, and he kidnaps children who don’t do their chores.

Current Tasks

Stray Dog investigation:

1F Restroom

Gather notes from rumors scribbled on walls: assigned to Susan.

Meg’s investigations regarding Stray Dog may have been rooted in a growing suspicion that Stray Dog was a lie made up by Wendy. If Meg involved Susan in the investigation, then Meg may also have expressed her doubts to Susan. And if Meg was going to share her doubts with anyone, wouldn’t she share them with her beloved friend, Diana, as well?

It may be that Meg was spreading doubt among the orphans about Stray Dog.

And it may well have been that Wendy knew about these growing doubts.

What could Wendy do?

Stray Dog WAS real, and not a lie. But how could she show the other orphans the truth of this?

Could she show them Stray Dog?

Just showing them Gregory, even though he WAS TRULY Stray Dog… would that be convincing? Probably not. Why should the other orphans believe that Gregory was Stray Dog?

What if Gregory ACTED like a dog?

And what if, Wendy might have thought, she could show that she had braved the dangers of Stray Dog to train him and bring him under her control?

Stray Dog had been a grave threat to the orphans, but Wendy, their Princess, out of her great love for her subjects, had braved terrific danger to be their savior and tame Stray Dog! Might this not have been the story that Wendy wanted to be able to tell to the others?

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

Who wrote the storybooks?

Did the storybooks actually exist in Jennifer’s forgotten past? Or have they only existed in her dream?

If the storybooks have only existed in Jennifer’s dream, then the true author of the books (despite the attribution within the dream to anybody else) would be Jennifer herself… Jennifer’s dreaming mind would have written them.

I think that there are some examples in the game (in synch with the above idea) where it seems to me that Jennifer’s dreaming mind speaks to her through other characters in the dream:

In “The Bird of Happiness” chapter, Eleanor says to Jennifer (at the beginning of the chapter), “Have you found what you’re looking for? Something dear to you?”

In the “Mermaid Princess” chapter, Diana says to Jennifer (at the beginning of the chapter), “You should be looking for your own precious thing.”

In “The Goat Sisters” chapter, Meg says to Jennifer (at the beginning of the chapter), “There must be something very important to you… why don’t you go find it?”

Could it be that the storybooks of Rule of Rose are actually a way for Jennifer’s dreaming mind to speak to her through the guise of being something written by Gregory?

As we analyze the storybooks, I think that we should keep this question of authorship in mind.

How would Gregory know so much about the affairs of the orphans? Through stories that Wendy told to Gregory about the orphanage? As we study the storybooks, we should ask ourselves how likely this seems.

And we should think about the authorship of the stories when we encounter other interesting events concerning the storybooks, such as we find in “The Unlucky Cloverfield” chapter. In that chapter, even before Gregory gives “The Unlucky Cloverfield” storybook to Jennifer, we hear the same story that is in that storybook being read by Susan to Meg (in the Library). Why do they have Gregory’s story?

If Jennifer tries to enter the Filth Room at this time, Susan and Olivia force her out and shut the door.

You can watch what Susan and Olivia are doing in the Filth Room by taking Jennifer into the Broom Closet and having her look through the peep-hole.

The Broom Closet peep-hole is the same peep-hole by which Joshua/Wendy watched Jennifer when she was tied up to the post in the airship’s Filth Room.

The Broom Closet is also the room where Jennifer worked the control that lowered the rusty scissors (in the Filth Room) that she used to cut free Brown when he was tied up and hanging in the Sector 9 Turbine Area.

Next time you’re finishing up the “Goat Sisters” chapter, check it out.

24 November
Officer Doolittle,

My name is Martha Carol, and I work at the Rose Garden Orphanage. In the past month,
I have sent six letters to your attention, but have yet to receive a response.
Have my letters reached you?

I ask you to please investigate this matter at once at once for the safety of our children.

Yesterday, I saw them together again… Mr. Wilson and Wendy, a child at our orphanage.
I am very concerned for her safety. The two of them have been behaving quite strangely.
Ooo… it is terribly odd. By strangely, I mean Mr. Wilson walking on all fours and nodding…
and Wendy appears to be scolding him. I don’t know how to explain it, except that it
resembled dog training gone wrong. Ooo… it gives me the shivers just thinking about it.
Please come investigate this matter as

I think that there is good reason, however, to believe that Wendy was not training Gregory for revenge upon the orphans at the time of Martha’s letter. Instead, I think that the massacre came about later by a relatively spontaneous and unpremeditated act by Wendy shortly after she was “deposed” as Princess of the Rose and violently dumped by Jennifer.

Wendy was deposed, apparently, in connection with the incident where Jennifer slapped her at the time of Brown’s death. You can view the YouTube video of the scene here: “Jennifer Slaps Wendy“. But this incident hadn’t yet occurred at the time of Martha’s letter. Martha’s letter dates to 24 November, but we know that Brown was definitely still alive as as late as 28 November because of the evidence provided by this letter (which can be found in the Sickroom during the “Once Upon a Time” chapter) from Wendy to Jennifer:

28 November From W to J
You still have that filthy dog? I’ll never forgive you. Have you forgotten your
oath, the rule of rose? Good-bye, Jennifer. You will regret choosing that dog
over me.

So Wendy had not yet lost her rank as Princess of the Rose at the time that Martha saw her training Gregory, which means that Wendy had no motive to punish the other orphans at that time. She must’ve been training Gregory for other reasons.

If we assume that all of the events of the “Stray Dog and the Lying Princess” chapter occurred on the same day, as seems to be the way that the chapter presents itself (although I think that events separated in time are jumbled together in most of the other chapters, so this might be a dangerous assumption to make), then I think Wendy’s fall from power occurred very shortly before the massacre.

At the beginning of “Stray Dog and the Lying Princess” we can overhear the following conversation between Amanda and Susan:

Susan: What? Really?
Amanda: Really!
Susan: How? Ouch!

I think that this is Susan hearing, for the first time, about Jennifer having slapped Wendy. And, I think that if Susan IS hearing about it for the first time, it is very likely that the slapping of Wendy happened very shortly beforehand (I would think that gossip about the slapping of the Princess of the Rose would be likely to get around quite quickly among the orphans). So I think that this likely places Wendy’s fall from power, and the creation of her motive to punish the other orphans, very shortly before the time of the orphanage massacre in December.

If so, Wendy did not coldly plan to train Gregory for revenge, train him over a period of time, and then bring him to the orphanage. Rather, she acted spontaneously and quickly in the heat of being violently dumped by Jennifer and being deposed as Princess.