II:  THE HIGH PRIESTESS

Claudia Wolf

A faith which is too pure invites a new tragedy

Claudia, a priestess in the religious organization, appears in the game 
as Heather's adversary.  As the game progresses, it becomes known that she 
was once friends with Alessa when the two of them were young.  Even though
she kills Harry, Heather's father, as well as Vincent, who is supposedly 
of the same faith in upholding her cause of the revival of God and the 
establishment of paradise, her actions are rooted in genuine piety in that
she desires the salvation of peoples' souls.  Hers is a sorrowful existence,
which cannot be simply tucked away into the category of "villain." 

IMAGE:  Claudia in the church
She is willing to take any steps necessary to attain her goal of creating 
paradise.

Creator's Commentary:  The High Priestess card in the game suggests 
Claudia.  This card means mystery, faith, and dogmatism.  Doesn't it seem 
that the self-righteous way that Claudia behaves as a consequence of being 
too genuine is in accordance with the meaning of the card?

-Hiroyuki Owaku

SECTION TWO:  An unhappy connection with Leonard, her father, which is the 
cause of her self-righteous personality

The one who guided Claudia to the town's indigenous religion was her father,
Leonard.  It seems that Leonard, who held strict religious views, forced 
his beliefs onto his daughter and inflicted physical punishment upon her for 
irreligious behavior.  From an episode in which he stabbed a patient because 
of a religious dispute and from the radical memo in which he calls himself a 
"protector of the seal," it can be surmised that Leonard possesses extremely 
elitist ideas.  Claudia has come to hope for a salvation in which not only 
the chosen ones but everyone is saved, which is completely opposite from 
Leonard's ideas.  One can think that in the background, there were feelings 
of repulsion and hatred towards her strict father.

IMAGE:  the phone call from Leonard
Leonard's strict attitude towards Claudia on the phone indicates the 
extremist nature of his piety.

IMAGE:  Vincent in the motel
Vincent seems to have witnessed the physical punishment inflicted upon Claudia
by her father.  Could Leonard's violence have been well-known even inside the 
religious organization?

SECTION THREE:  Unique abilities as a sorceress that sleep inside Claudia

In the early stages of the game, the otherworld appears even though Heather 
has not yet awakened as Alessa.  This is undoubtedly due to Claudia's power.  
Let's inspect a few instances that indicate her abilities.

IMAGE:  Claudia on the rooftop
Claudia issued the instruction to kill Harry.  It seems that she can
manipulate the hearts and minds of believers.

IMAGE:  Heather encounters the "closer" in the mall
The shopping mall being swallowed by the otherworld was due to Claudia's 
influence as well.

IMAGE:  the tape recording in the church
It seems that her abilities were feared along with her profound devotion.

SECTION FOUR:  The witch from seventeen years ago, Dahlia Gillespie?

In the first game, Dahlia Gillespie was a priestess like Claudia who
attempted to revive God.  Faith in God is a tradition that has been handed 
down over the years in Silent Hill, and, separated by a period of seventeen 
years, each of these two women who belonged to the same religious organization 
took steps to bring about God's revival.  However, to Dahlia God is an object 
to be exploited, while to Claudia, God is a being that will bring salvation.  
Although they use a common means of "reviving God," their intentions are 
fundamentally different.

In order to arrange the differences between the two of them, let's look back 
at the first game.

IMAGE:  Dahlia in the church
Although they are both priestesses who aim to revive God, their motives 
are fundamentally different.

From "Silent Hill:"  The case of Dahlia

Dahlia's intention is to destroy and negate existing concepts by reviving 
God.  However, she has no concept of salvation through the "establishment 
of paradise."  The revival of God is strictly a means to destroy the present 
world and for her to personally command power.  For this reason, she finally 
comes to make her own daughter a sacrifice.  It is evident that her thought 
patterns exploit people she can take advantage of such as Kaufmann and Harry 
to the fullest extent possible.

IMAGE:  the scene in the hallway before the final battle
Through the entire game, Dahlia never speaks the word "salvation."

From "Silent Hill 3:"  The case of Claudia

As with Silent Hill's long-standing tradition, Claudia's intention is to 
remake the present world into paradise by reviving God.  Because of her
experiences during her childhood, she perceives the world as being full of 
suffering and in order to "save everyone," she attempts to create paradise.
And so one can think that for everyone to be saved, some sacrifices like 
Harry and Vincent are unavoidable.

IMAGE:  Claudia in the church
Her genuine faith is the cause of her actions, and she has no intention to
try to exploit God.




back