XI:  JUSTICE

Letter from Silent Heaven

To what extent do James' delusions reflect reality?

James, the second game's protagonist, murders his wife who suffers from an 
illness due to the burden of nursing her.  However, in the work in which 
his delusions have become the focal point, many mysteries remain after the 
story's conclusion.  Why is James under the impression that his wife died 
three years ago?  And when did he kill her?  Focusing on two matters that 
become key points, let's inspect these mysteries left behind by Silent Hill 2.

IMAGE:  James confronts Laura in the hospital
Laura says that she became friends with Mary when she met her at the 
hospital last year.  As James believes that his wife died three years ago, 
his memory is greatly shaken.  

Hotel

Holding the letter addressed to her, Laura tells James that her birthday was		
last week.  If this letter that was supposed to be sent to her on her birthday 
is real, then Mary was alive until quite recently.

IMAGE:  James and Laura in the hotel's restaurant
The contents of the letter to Laura are effectively Mary's last words to her.

Letter

At the start of the game, James is in possession of "Mary's letter."  As he 
awakens to the crime he has committed, the contents of the letter disappear.
What this signifies is that the letter itself was James' delusion.

IMAGE:  Mary's letter    
After killing Eddie, the words vanish from the page.  Finally, the letter 
itself disappears completely.

SECTION TWO:  Happy days for the two of them surely "died" three years ago

Taking the facts mentioned above into consideration, there can be almost no 
doubt that Mary was alive three years ago.  However, there is no mistaking 
that three years ago something happened.  Couldn't it be that what James 
made himself think of as his "wife's death" is really the turn for the worse 
that Mary's condition took three years ago?  James, weary of nursing his 
wife, probably lost his memories of that three-year period as a result of 
the shock of having taken her life with his own hands.

IMAGE:  room 312
Although James recovers his memories, it isn't revealed exactly when the
crime was committed.

IMAGE:  the opening scene at the observation deck
The real reason James came to Silent Hill was to take his own life in a 
place of memories.  If this is the case, could Mary's body be in the car!?

(note:  The word "kanbyouku" appears in the first paragraph of this section
as the reason given as to why James kills Mary.  It is a compound word for
which the definition doesn't seem to be in any dictionaries, but what's
interesting about it is the fact that it seems to encapsulate the duality
of James' motive.  If read as "kan + byouku," it could be interpreted as 
"observing the pain of her sickness," while if read as "kanbyou + ku" it 
could be interpreted as "the hardship of nursing her."  I can't be certain 
if it's supposed to be read as one and not the other or if the duality I've 
mentioned is even intentional, but I think it's interesting either way.)




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