Danielle’s blog

Along with the younger children (presumably below the age of fifteen) at the orphanage, there is one older girl named Clara. She is sixteen and is probably the oldest orphan. There is a chapter that you must play through that is controlled by a storybook about a mermaid. The mermaid chapter leads Jennifer to a confrontation with Clara, whose legs are tied together with rope in a manner that suggests that she has a mermaid’s tail. One of the mysteries in the game is whether or not the other orphans killed Clara. The headmaster, Hoffman, and the cook, Martha, disappeared and while their exact mode of disappearance is a mystery, it is a general consensus that the orphans were involved. This fight between Jennifer and Clara is a “boss” fight; this scene is the only one in the game that shows a confrontation between the orphans and Clara. I personally feel that there is not enough evidence to conclude that the orphans killed Clara; there seems to be no reason for it. The cinema scenes in the game tend to be memories of Jennifer’s that are coming back to her. Because her memory has many holes, it’s difficult to know what is a memory that truly happened to her and what is an altered memory.

 I will only post my postings on this blog; if you are curious about what someone else has written in reponse on the Rule of Rose Mysteries site, or about the discussion that came before my post, I have provided a link to that particular discussion.  If, after reading the plot summary, you have any questions or comments on what I have posted, please ask and I will do my best to answer.

Here is the link to the blog discussion on the topic of Clara in the “boss” scene directly before the fight: http://ruleofrosemysteries.com/2007/11/26/clues/mutilated-clara/

This discussion, on the Rule of Rose Mysteries site, is mostly about speculation on Clara’s actual death. What follows is my theory that is based on observations I made about the cut scene of Jennifer first entering the room. Each Part is a separate posting from the discussion.  They are listed chronologically.

Here is a link to the YouTube Video of this cut scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cg32Peq438  

Part I:

I had a thought about the whole Clara boss scene… I was watching it on YouTube and noticed something I hadn’t before. When Jennifer sees Clara under the sheet on the bed, Clara’s purple feet are protruding. She is eventually pulled out by the rope that is attached to her ankles, so that may have been the reason for this, but is also reminded me of how bodies are laid out in the morgue (at least how it’s portrayed in movies), with the feet sticking out (usually with an identification tag attached). Perhaps Jennifer DID find Clara dead one day? And maybe, like in the cutscene, the other orphans locked her in with the body? I realize that in all the video games I’ve played, the player is usually locked in the room with the boss until they are defeated, so the bag-headed orphans may have just been a creative touch for achieving this. But since other events have been concluded to have actually happened to Jennifer (we know they tied her up at times), perhaps the orphans did lock her in rooms until they were ready to let her out. If Jennifer was trapped with the body, this could explain why Clara was a boss; perhaps its more the return of the horrifying memory of finding dead Clara that Jennifer is battling, rather than Clara herself. Clara’s feet are purple, like a body could be after being dead for awhile; maybe Jennifer having the rope tied around Clara’s legs, cutting off circulation and making her feet purple, might be another one of Jennifer’s attempts to censor her memories of an event (a slightly more innocent way to explain discolored appendages). This might also explain why Clara is eyeless; if she is dead, she’ll never see anything again (a bit of a stretch…)

Part II:

Another afterthought my brother just came up with…is it possible that the vomitting attack of boss Clara’s may be what Jennifer did in the past? Maybe Jennifer started vomitting apon the discovery/being locked in with Clara’s body (a reasonable reaction for a child)? It would explain why the vomitting injures Jennifer…
Or its possible that this battle is all of Jennifer’s disturbing memories of Clara flooding back to her in no particular order. Maybe Jennifer had seen Clara vomitting repeatedly before (a disturbing sight), from a botched operation which possibly led to dehydration and death…
I just feel that Clara died of somewhat “natural” causes; there doesn’t seem to be too much evidence pointing toward a need for the orphans to kill her…sorry for going off on a major tangent…

Part III: (This is in response to what another blogger commented on in the posts above.)

I like what you said Masq, that she may have been “treating” herself. Jennifer did act as if Clara were the nurse at the orphanage (a child nurse). Neither Clara or Hoffman could be considered experts in the field of medicine. Its possible Hoffman performed the abortion, felt things had gotten “too close for comfort” at the orphanage, and THAT’S why he decided to leave, maybe even fearing complications and not wanting to be around if Clara ended up in serious trouble. Whether he made it away or not, is still debatable. I agree LostOrphan, that in spite of Martha’s gruff/mean attitude, she did care what happened to the children and wouldn’t knowingly allow anyone to die on her watch, but like you pointed out, Clara’s name is listed last in the OUAT* chapter…That’s the thing with the Clara “disappearance”…we have so few interactions with her, it becomes difficult to piece things together with confidence…but its sure fun trying

Part IV:

I’ve recently found quite a few points in the mermaid storybook that seem to correspond to Clara-Hoffman-Diana scenario and how it may have unfolded…this also supports my theory that Clara died but not at the hands of the other orphans.
They WERE young children…sixteen may have seemed grown up to them. They may have even attributed Clara’s illness and slow walking (she walks like and old woman in the sickbay scene when Hoffman calls her to the door…poor thing was probably just in pain) to her “getting old”. That would also correspond with the storybook, how the mermaid became “old and decrepit.” I think its safe to assume they didn’t know very much about reproduction; although not understanding the details, the orphans may have connected Hoffman’s “love” of Clara to her new state. Like in the storybook, after the mermaid fell in love, she aged (something I didn’t really think mermaids did, since they are magical, just my opinion). The story also says, “BEFORE LONG (as if it happened in a rather short period of time) she was old and decrepit”. If Clara did die of some infection, her behavior (walking) and demeanor would change rather quickly. To the orphans, one day she’s young like them, then practically the next, she is behaving like an old lady, no longer moving quickly or playing…
This is all a slightly more symbolic correlation:
Nothing’s mentioned about the mermaid being murdered in the storybook, rather she is disdained and avoided as she grew older…maybe the same happened with Clara. Its possible that after finding out about what Hoffman had done to Clara, she was looked down upon, no longer a “pure” mermaid for the other orphan girls to look up to…maybe she too was left alone to die (of complications from her “surgery”). Maybe upon finding her body, they attributed it to “dying of old age”…her “aging” brought upon by her interactions with Hoffman.
This could also relate to Diana’s thinking in the chair in the cell of solitude…Jennifer said that Diana didn’t want to grow up too quickly. Diana also believed in mermaids, though the others didn’t seem to. Maybe this is all symbolic of Clara falling from grace in Diana’s eyes because of Hoffman soiling her, and Diana fearing the same fate, since Hoffman seemed to be shifting his attention from Clara to her…
In the Mermaid storybook it said, of the mermaid princess, “alone even on the day of her death”…Clara also is alone when Jennifer enters the room (after Hoffman leaves). Just an observation that may connect the fate of the storybook mermaid with Clara-the-mermaid’s fate.
This is all rather jumbled…hope it makes sense…I’ll explain better if anyone has any questions.

*OUAT stands for the Once Upon A Time chapter; this is the final chapter of the game or the “good” ending.  Jennifer is able, in this chapter, to go most places in the orphanage, commenting on what she passes and filling in some holes in the plot.  To see these comments, you may go to the “Game Script” or “Important Resources“.