“I’m Waiting Under The Tree Of Legends…”

now, there are very few things we even know about Walpurga. we know that she is a supernatural entity represented by the woods of Kieferberg, who was once revered as a sort of protective entity and later as St. Walpurga, patroness of Kieferberg.

however, i want to particularly focus on what's going on between her and Ozzy, because one of the few things we know about her is that she does not like Him. the reason is evident: she, the woodland, was used as the grounds of exchange between Him and a human woman, who wished for a baby, something which Walpurga could not provide on her own.

it is made quite evident that she did not agree with this deal. it's also likely many other deals were made with Him in Kieferberg's woods without Walpurga's consent or input, but we know for a fact that she really disliked this one in particular.

that seems quite messed up in its own right. but it becomes clear just how messed up it is when you try to understand it in a more realistic or human way: Walpurga was forcefully impregnated and used a surrogate for an infertile woman against her wishes, receiving nothing in exchange, having her baby then taken away from her to be cared for by the woman who used her. that is fucked up. that is objectively fucked up. and it very much messed up Walpurga too. the language that she uses to describe this deal doesn't shy away from linking it to a form of rape/non-consensual impregnation either:

the image of the doe (which we know is one of the forms Walpurga can take) with its insides carved out is also disturbingly suggestive.

her physical form was literally used by Ozzy and Holle in order to create a baby, something which she could never do on her own, and then even that was taken away from her.

(the fact that Ozzy is/takes the form of a male entity is also quite important, despite being a minor detail, given how that puts into context the way He treats Walpurga, women and girls. the subjugation of women by men, their expected subservience to them, the distrust of women who "do not belong", these are all very important aspects of LGTS.)

again, this very obviously messed up Walpurga to some extent. how did it mess her up? besides her hatred for Ozzy and Holle, she also became... incredibly possessive of what she considered the one good thing to come out of this: Elise, her progeny.

now, Walpurga could not create life on her own. she could only nurture life that was placed inside of her. Elise's body was made from Walpurga's, though. a parallel could be made to how it technically takes two to make a baby, how eggs need to fertilised and all that stuff (explaining it in human, literal terms just drives home the point of how fucked up this whole thing is). therefore, when she finally created a child, she became obsessed with that fact, obsessed with the idea that she could create life. and she also became obsessed with the fact that the child was hers. she has a twisted sort of affection for Elise, but the way she loves her is... very much not a good thing.

she wants to be alive. she wants to live out the life of a human woman after she has been denied the sanctity of life or its creation. and so, she tries to live out those wishes through Elise, her child.

this can be compared to the very real situation of parents living their dreams out through their children, having a possessiveness over them with the excuse that they made them. the game takes this idea to its literal extreme, presenting it in a much more graphic and physical way: Walpurga straight up kills Elise and possesses her body to take what she never had, to live as a young woman and to be able to bear life in her womb.

now, most parents aren't this horrible to their children, but that doesn't mean there's nothing real in this representation. many parents feel entitled to their children's lives, their children's bodies, because "they made them". is what Walpurga does not similar, in a sense, to parents demanding their children have babies, demanding grandchildren, acting like having kids should always be the ultimate happiness for a woman? and sometimes, physical control or harm is not a hard limit for parents if they truly feel like what they want is so much more important. there are parents who will hurt their children and claim it to be for the greater good, who feel that this entitlement is simply proof of the close bonds parents and their children share.

the reason why Walpurga is important is because she represents a kind of mother. a mother that, for the longest time, had not been able to bear children. a mother that only finally had kids as a result of rape, purely for the wishes of another, being unable to even properly care for the child which she did not ask for, but still wanted. a mother which then desperately tried to create another, since the first was ripped from her. a mother which then tried to live out her life through her child, which she became obsessed with, but never truly cared for. she was used by others and then made her daughter suffer for her regrets. she is a character whose experiences, relationships and effects on other characters might resonate with people, who represents things which are very real and important in discussing the condition of women. that's why i wrote this incredibly long post, why i feel that, despite the simplicity of her construction, she is a very underrated character.

as a last note, it is also very interesting how Elise, if spared from the fate of being Walpurga's vessel and able to complete the exchange, would end up sacrificing her daughter for her wishes. the cycle continues. the only thing that can break it is the decision to not sacrifice the lives of others in the first place.