The Path of the Hermit
Posted: 25 May 2008
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before, but I'm interested in the connection/parallels between Silent Hill and the Tarot's Major Arcana.
The Tarot are used to name the different sections of Lost Memories, and the Hermit is brought up by Dahlia in her initial meeting with Harry. She urges him to follow "The Path of the Hermit, concealed by Flauros".
So what does this mean? According to what I've read, the cycle of the Hermit which travels from arcanas 0 through 9, and then 10 to 19 is "The Magician to the Hermit; the Wheel of Fortune through The Sun. The Fool gains knowledge of the external world, meets the mysteries, finds the initial object of desire, finds mastery, finds knowledge, finds a new object of desire, leaves home, gains some strength, and withdraws for a time to integrate the lessons learned before starting on the next turn of the spiral, where the Wheel of Fortune spins us into a new adventure."
This has interesting similiarities to the events of Silent Hill 1. Harry, the Fool, gains knowledge of "The World" (Silent Hill and its two alternate planes), meets the mysteries of Silent Hill through the initial encounter with the demon children in the alleyway. He then finds the intial object of his desire through finding Cheryl's sketchbook, which sends him tot he school. There, he gains his first knowledge about the Otherworld. It could also be argued that he gains a form of combat mastery as he faces down numerous demons and survives. The new object of desire is the combined form of Alessa/Cheryl, and so on and so forth.
What, then, is important or relevant about the Hermit? "The Hermit may be the old man or woman, metaphorically, that we meet who gives us the insights or tools or training we need to confront the beasts of the forest, the sealed cave, the gated castle, the wormhole."
Technically, then, in saying this line, Dahlia is casting herself as the old woman who gives Harry the insight (informs him of the Seal) and provides him with the tool (the Flauros) with which to confront Alessa. She also refers to the Flauros as a cage of peace. The Hermit card represents a state of peace or tranquility.
Is Dahlia's self-casting as The Hermit accurate? Certainly, there seems to be a certain amount of cynical irony in her usage of the Hermit imagery, as the Hermit is supposed to be a friend and aide to the Fool. Dahlia is in actuality working against Harry's intentions, making her a perversion of the Hermit. At the same time, however, the Hermit "takes each step with a deliberate, conscious approach - knowing that each step of the journey is a small imprint upon the larger picture of his path. He does everything in this manner - each breath he takes, each word he speaks, every decision he makes is a deliberate act." Certainly this does seem to fit Dahlia's deliberate, careful planning and actions over the course of her plot to birth God.
Interestingly, some scholars interpret the Hermit as almost a Christ-like figure, and some theologists even interpret the Hermit to be Jesus Christ Himself. It's interesting that this seems to indicate that dahlia could possibly view herself not only as the Mother of God, but also as the bringer of Salvation herself. Although it is Alessa/God, and not Dahlia, who will bring about her twisted version of Paradise, Dahlia may self-indulgently view herself as the bringer of salvation.
Is the Path of the Hermit her way of cryptically saying "MY path"? Is she merely urging Harry to follow her own directions rather than his own? Upon further readings, one does find that in actual Tarot mythology the Hermit does have a Path. The Path involves removing oneself from the world as we know it and finding our true path to wisdom. Perhaps this means to separate oneself from a corrupted world and seek salvation through alternate means, as Dahlia and the rest of The Order have done. Perhaps the Path of the Hermit is Foggy Silent Hill itself. You can't get much further removed from the world as the deserted realms of FSH.
"In recognizing that each of our thoughts and actions is a brick we use to build our lives, we partake in the creation of our own reality. The Hermit has had to learn this lesson by means of distancing himself from the regular, routine world. By removing himself from the "normal" stream of societal thought, the Hermit is able to listen to the inner stirrings of his own intuition and act upon it."
Much the same way as Alessa, James, and others in the series are able to construct their own realities by removing themselves from the world.
Also, right before Dahlia brings up the Path of the Hermit, she reprimands Harry for "floundering about at random". In this way, Dahlia is acting somewhat as the Hermit, providing direction and urging Harry to look inwards for direction.
Mythology is not a subject I am incredibly well-versed in, so there may be more that I'm missing here. I just thought it would be interesting to examine this small section of dialogue for its hidden meanings. I would be happy to hear further elaborations on the subject should anyone have any.
The Tarot are used to name the different sections of Lost Memories, and the Hermit is brought up by Dahlia in her initial meeting with Harry. She urges him to follow "The Path of the Hermit, concealed by Flauros".
So what does this mean? According to what I've read, the cycle of the Hermit which travels from arcanas 0 through 9, and then 10 to 19 is "The Magician to the Hermit; the Wheel of Fortune through The Sun. The Fool gains knowledge of the external world, meets the mysteries, finds the initial object of desire, finds mastery, finds knowledge, finds a new object of desire, leaves home, gains some strength, and withdraws for a time to integrate the lessons learned before starting on the next turn of the spiral, where the Wheel of Fortune spins us into a new adventure."
This has interesting similiarities to the events of Silent Hill 1. Harry, the Fool, gains knowledge of "The World" (Silent Hill and its two alternate planes), meets the mysteries of Silent Hill through the initial encounter with the demon children in the alleyway. He then finds the intial object of his desire through finding Cheryl's sketchbook, which sends him tot he school. There, he gains his first knowledge about the Otherworld. It could also be argued that he gains a form of combat mastery as he faces down numerous demons and survives. The new object of desire is the combined form of Alessa/Cheryl, and so on and so forth.
What, then, is important or relevant about the Hermit? "The Hermit may be the old man or woman, metaphorically, that we meet who gives us the insights or tools or training we need to confront the beasts of the forest, the sealed cave, the gated castle, the wormhole."
Technically, then, in saying this line, Dahlia is casting herself as the old woman who gives Harry the insight (informs him of the Seal) and provides him with the tool (the Flauros) with which to confront Alessa. She also refers to the Flauros as a cage of peace. The Hermit card represents a state of peace or tranquility.
Is Dahlia's self-casting as The Hermit accurate? Certainly, there seems to be a certain amount of cynical irony in her usage of the Hermit imagery, as the Hermit is supposed to be a friend and aide to the Fool. Dahlia is in actuality working against Harry's intentions, making her a perversion of the Hermit. At the same time, however, the Hermit "takes each step with a deliberate, conscious approach - knowing that each step of the journey is a small imprint upon the larger picture of his path. He does everything in this manner - each breath he takes, each word he speaks, every decision he makes is a deliberate act." Certainly this does seem to fit Dahlia's deliberate, careful planning and actions over the course of her plot to birth God.
Interestingly, some scholars interpret the Hermit as almost a Christ-like figure, and some theologists even interpret the Hermit to be Jesus Christ Himself. It's interesting that this seems to indicate that dahlia could possibly view herself not only as the Mother of God, but also as the bringer of Salvation herself. Although it is Alessa/God, and not Dahlia, who will bring about her twisted version of Paradise, Dahlia may self-indulgently view herself as the bringer of salvation.
Is the Path of the Hermit her way of cryptically saying "MY path"? Is she merely urging Harry to follow her own directions rather than his own? Upon further readings, one does find that in actual Tarot mythology the Hermit does have a Path. The Path involves removing oneself from the world as we know it and finding our true path to wisdom. Perhaps this means to separate oneself from a corrupted world and seek salvation through alternate means, as Dahlia and the rest of The Order have done. Perhaps the Path of the Hermit is Foggy Silent Hill itself. You can't get much further removed from the world as the deserted realms of FSH.
"In recognizing that each of our thoughts and actions is a brick we use to build our lives, we partake in the creation of our own reality. The Hermit has had to learn this lesson by means of distancing himself from the regular, routine world. By removing himself from the "normal" stream of societal thought, the Hermit is able to listen to the inner stirrings of his own intuition and act upon it."
Much the same way as Alessa, James, and others in the series are able to construct their own realities by removing themselves from the world.
Also, right before Dahlia brings up the Path of the Hermit, she reprimands Harry for "floundering about at random". In this way, Dahlia is acting somewhat as the Hermit, providing direction and urging Harry to look inwards for direction.
Mythology is not a subject I am incredibly well-versed in, so there may be more that I'm missing here. I just thought it would be interesting to examine this small section of dialogue for its hidden meanings. I would be happy to hear further elaborations on the subject should anyone have any.