Clara

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For Clara's boss form, see Mermaid Princess.

“

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 better! —Clara, from the game's unused audio.

”

Clara, also known as The Frightened Princess or The Mermaid Princess by some fans, is one of the characters of Rule of Rose and a nightmarish form of her acts as one of the few bosses of the game. Like many of the characters, she is a resident of the Rose Garden Orphanage, and although she is technically a minor, she is not one of the participants in the Red Crayon Aristocrat Club, so she can be classified as one of the few adults in Rule of Rose.

Although she is ideally a supporting character and has little screen-time, there are a few mysteries about Clara that are never answered and many fans of Rule of Rose have different ideas and opinions on her role and history to the plot, making her one of the most discussed characters of the game.

Story

Clara was around 15-16 years old by the time Jennifer had arrived at the orphanage. She was a quiet 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 the cruel hazings and punishments.

It seemed that she spent quite a number of years at the orphanage, and by the time Jennifer arrived, she began to assist Mr. Hoffman in his work, and at one point, even asked him for a permanent position. 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, Mr. Hoffman left the orphanage, stating "Clara's here to look after things." Clara mysteriously disappeared shortly after Mr. Hoffman and Martha Carol, leaving the orphans all alone without any adult supervision. It is unknown what happened to Clara, but it is most likely that she ran away from the orphanage after Mr. Hoffman and Martha were gone, because it was too painful for her to stay there.

Relationship with Hoffman

"Look, there's some dust over here. Give it a wipe..."

It appears that Mr. Hoffman began to take a sexual interest in Clara, much against her will and that Clara was frightened to tell anyone or stop him.

At one point in the game, Clara is taken into the Sick Room by Mr. Hoffman. When Jennifer looks through the keyhole, she sees Clara on her hands and knees; scrubbing the floor, her movements unnatural and almost sexual looking while Mr. 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.

File:ClaraLowersHead.jpg

Clara lowers her head in shame.

There are many things that people believe to be hints on Mr. Hoffman and Clara's relationship. She 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. Most of the events in the game are from young Jennifer's point of view, where she possibly didn't understand the things Mr. Hoffman did to the young girls at the orphanage; and because of this, she interpreted Clara in the appearance of a Mermaid.

The "gills" on Clara's wrist were also symbolized by many of the games players as "suicide cuts," attempts to escape the home in more ways than one. The "gills" at the sides of her body were possibly from surgery, and the cut on her stomach from a supposed abortion. It is rumored that Mr. Hoffman got Clara pregnant, and to prevent her from having a child, he performed an abortion himself. Her legs bound together via a mermaid's tail possibly symbolizes of Clara's inability to give birth. Her vomit attacks in the game are supposedly from "morning sickness," a nausea one often gets when pregnant; and the fact that she randomly cries and laughs is a sign of mood swings, which is also often present during pregnancy.

Personality

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Clara in Hoffman's Room

Although Clara is rarely mentioned or shown, it can be taken that she is shy and quiet. Her body language evokes feelings of shame and guilt. If Jennifer decides to talk to her near the beginning of the game, she refers to her as a "dirty," as everybody else does.

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 pretty much ignored by the children of the Rose Garden Orphanage. The connection with the nuns and saints also clashes, as the idea of Clara engaging in sexual intercourse with an older man without being married to him is typically seen as extremely sinful. There could also be irony found in the "clear, bright" meaning of the name Clara, as Clara had a very solemn and mysterious disposition.

The name, Clara, could have also been borrowed from the silent film actress, Clara Bow, as Clara was an extremely silent and mysterious character in Rule of Rose.

Quotes

• "How dirty..."
• "Don't look in there!"
• "Each and every girl becomes a mermaid. You’ll be a mermaid too." (From Unused audio)
• "A new Daddy will come for us and we’ll all be mermaids." (From unused audio)
• "Mr. Hoffman said I’d be a beautiful mermaid, and the King of Mer-land will come for me." (From unused audio)

Trivia

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Clara stopping Jennifer from opening the drawer.

• If Jennifer should attempt to open the drawers in the Sick Bay of the Airship, Clara will stop her, shouting "Don't look in there!" This is possibly where some evidence to a sexual relationship between her and Mr. Hoffman lies.
• Clara is the only onscreen character who does not appear in any of the game's FMVs (excluding her boss form, the Mermaid Princess).
• If Clara was indeed sexually abused, Clara would bear a strong resemblance to Angela from Silent Hill 2 in terms of personality and behavior. Like Angela, Clara would have been sexually abused by her guardian, and is also very jumpy and secretive about her past life. Clara's characteristics as well as her actions and the way she is depicted is also a bit similar to Lisa Garland. Clara's nurse-like characteristics can be compared to Lisa's, as well as the fact that she supposedly engages in sexual intercourse with an antagonist, is blackmailed, and her actions would result into her transforming into a monstrous form of herself.