🖤 How Symbolism in RE2R Frames Claire, Leon & Sherry as a Found Family ♣️
Although this wasn't the case for the OG game, the remakes graced Claire and Leon with exclusive items for either character that help us to read between the lines of their shared narrative.
Claire finds her exclusive item, the Heart Key, within the Lovers' Relief, unlocking her path through love in order to progress through the story.
Hearts in iconography typically symbolise love and family, mirroring Claire's drive for venturing through Raccoon City. Her purpose starts out as a love for her brother, desperate to find him and know that her only remaining family member is safe. After Claire meets Sherry and witnesses the horrors around them, her purpose for escaping becomes ensuring the safety of this little girl - this piece of innocence who desperately needs a saviour from this terrifying nightmare.
Leon's exclusive key is the Club Key, found within the boiler room - a room associated with an industrial setting and blue collar work, much like Leon's hardworking self in his blue collar job. Clubs in iconography symbolise authority, protection, and the working man. Leon, a working man, feels his duty is to serve and protect citizens under the law as an officer for the RPD.
If you are familiar with Jungian archetypes and how characters within stories are also given archetypal roles, you might be interested to know how the Heart and Club relate to Claire and Leon's relationship.
In the Mysterium Coniunctionis, a piece of work produced by Carl Jung, he talks about the sponsa and sponsus, which refer to the archetypes of the wife and the husband. These are archetypes we usually see paired together when two characters at once display opposing characteristics while still being complementary to each other. Jung says that the sponsa calls out to the sponsus like the Church and Christ, Luna and Sol, etc. in order to come together in complete union.
And so, when authors create two characters with opposing traits, the goal is more often than not, to get these two characters back together to be in union.
Coincidentally, Claire and Leon are separated shortly upon meeting, yet their fates still collide. Constant barriers are put between the two - a fiery car explosion, a locked gate, and a one-sided mirror.
Which brings me back to their respective keys. Claire's Heart Key unlocks the Interrogation room, while Leon's Club Key grants him access to the Observation room. These rooms are directly across from each other, thinly separated by a one-way mirror.
In the Interrogation room, Claire becomes the subject. In a police setting, the subject is the one whose heart and motives are being picked apart and interrogated by the detective. Claire sees the humanity of the situation, exposed to the light, first-hand experiencing the truth, and I feel this reflects her vulnerability as a young girl and college student, who was forced to pick up a weapon and fight.
In the Observation room, Leon is the authority. He is behind the glass, protected by the darkness and his status as an officer. He is the weapon of the observer; he is there to judge, protect, and document. He is the external law while Claire is the internal truth. They represent two sides of the situation and two methods used in research and problem-solving. Firsthand experience and observation are complementary tools used to gather empirical data.
Finally, that glass is broken both literally and metaphorically. The theme of light and darkness blends together, and they are no longer civilian & cop. They are two human beings standing in the same wreckage; artificial roles are stripped away, leaving only their partnership. Claire and Leon are never present at this location simultaneously; instead, each encounters the other's presence almost like a ghost. Yet, the glass breaking shatters this illusion. The game is telling the player that while the Heart and the Club see the world through different glass, they are both truly searching for the same thing. And what is that thing? Well, it's a little girl named Sherry!
We see further symbolism through various items, such as the medallions. Claire is symbolised by the Unicorn medallion - a mythological creature said to be fierce and untameable, but represents a peaceful spirit who brings healing, though it can only be tamed by a pure hearted Maiden. Sherry is symbolised by the Maiden medallion, who tames the Unicorn. We can see on the back of the medallions imagery which depicts both the Maiden surrounded by the Unicorn & Lion, and a small child gently holding onto an adult. This represents Sherry's dependence on Claire and Leon for safety, but especially the positive impact she has on Claire.
As for Leon, his representation as the Lion medallion is a little more on the nose considering "Leon" means lion, and his knife has a lion etched into it. Lions symbolise protection, bravery, courage - beautifully laid out for the lionhearted Leon.
Their shared purpose is further highlighted by the Unicorn and Lion statue left without their Maiden between them.
By the end of the game, the trio are reunited, cleverly closing their chapter together with Sherry's enquiry whether Claire and Leon are dating ["So... are you guys, like, boyfriend and girlfriend?"] And if they could adopt her.
Themes of marriage are often told through the lens of the sacraments, in which two opposites who were perfectly made for each other must come together as one flesh. It just so happens one half of the party has appeared in RE's recent installment, Requiem, wearing a ring on his wedding finger. Sherry, too, appears to be wearing a family ring - so if the rule of 3 applies, who else could be wearing the 3rd ring other than Claire?
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