Abstract Daddy - fact or fiction?
Posted: 13 Jan 2007
[Note to mods: Like any rule abiding citizen, I used the search button to see if any thread dealt specifically with Abstract Daddy. There are a couple of general threads talking about all the monsters or talking about Angela and the monster's association with her, but not one that dealt with this monster specifically. If you believe this should still be part of another thread, please inform me. Thanks.]
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The general belief is that Abstract Daddy depicts Thomas Orosco molesting his daughter. I shared the same belief until recently, when I've decided to go back to Angela's story using the other official script.
Granted, the general belief does make Angela's story a tad more horrific, but I came to wonder if Abstract Daddy really does represent the sexual abuse (actually, if there were any is another matter of question) that Angela went through during her childhood.
If you read the translated Silent Hill Chronicles at wallofdeath's site, and lookup the description of Abstract Daddy, you'll see that it says the name means "Ideal Father". And you have to ask yourself exactly how is a depiction of Thomas molesting his daughter be "ideal" unless Angela has warped sense of idealism.
Frankly, several people may wonder if there was a translation mistake. I can tell you that at least wallofdeath's translation is correct. Silent Hill Chronicle does use the Japanese term for "ideal" and not "abstract" as in "abstract painting".
I would think that if "abstract daddy" really is supposed to mean "ideal father", then I would speculate that the monster is not a depiction of Thomas molesting Angela, but a depiction of Angela stabbing Thomas to death perhaps. Quite frankly, I believe that to Angela an "ideal father" would be a dead one.
In my opinion, this explanation fits with the overall theme of the monsters in Silent Hill 2. That is, all the monsters are there to remind James of what he did to Mary and not what Mary did to him. Symmetrically, if Angela has a monster, then it should remind her of what she did, and not what Thomas did to her. Aren't all the characters that are called to Silent Hill there because of what they did?
This may be a reason why James is able to see Abstract Daddy as well. If Abstract Daddy, in the general sense, depicts one person taking the life of another, then it could also depict James taking the life of Mary.
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edit by amphreded: I added the picture for future references.
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The general belief is that Abstract Daddy depicts Thomas Orosco molesting his daughter. I shared the same belief until recently, when I've decided to go back to Angela's story using the other official script.
Granted, the general belief does make Angela's story a tad more horrific, but I came to wonder if Abstract Daddy really does represent the sexual abuse (actually, if there were any is another matter of question) that Angela went through during her childhood.
If you read the translated Silent Hill Chronicles at wallofdeath's site, and lookup the description of Abstract Daddy, you'll see that it says the name means "Ideal Father". And you have to ask yourself exactly how is a depiction of Thomas molesting his daughter be "ideal" unless Angela has warped sense of idealism.
Frankly, several people may wonder if there was a translation mistake. I can tell you that at least wallofdeath's translation is correct. Silent Hill Chronicle does use the Japanese term for "ideal" and not "abstract" as in "abstract painting".
I would think that if "abstract daddy" really is supposed to mean "ideal father", then I would speculate that the monster is not a depiction of Thomas molesting Angela, but a depiction of Angela stabbing Thomas to death perhaps. Quite frankly, I believe that to Angela an "ideal father" would be a dead one.
In my opinion, this explanation fits with the overall theme of the monsters in Silent Hill 2. That is, all the monsters are there to remind James of what he did to Mary and not what Mary did to him. Symmetrically, if Angela has a monster, then it should remind her of what she did, and not what Thomas did to her. Aren't all the characters that are called to Silent Hill there because of what they did?
This may be a reason why James is able to see Abstract Daddy as well. If Abstract Daddy, in the general sense, depicts one person taking the life of another, then it could also depict James taking the life of Mary.
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edit by amphreded: I added the picture for future references.