Angela Ascending Jacob's Ladder? (Possible Spoilers)

[TheForthcoming01]

I was replaying Silent Hill 2 again for the 4th time and
during the cut scene between James and Angela
(towards the end of the game) where she end's up
ascending the burning stairs and thought to myself:

"Could this be a reference to Jacob's Ladder by
any chance or something to do with the meaning
of Angela going up the those stairs and James
going up then down them?"

I was thinking the staircase could represent Jacob's Ladder.

Angela's name is close to that of being Angel also which could
just be a coincidence..... Or not.

The only problem with my theory is that Angela killed her dad and since
Jacob's Ladder is only for going up and down into and out of Heaven it would make no sense as killing is against Biblical Law as is suicide if she in fact went
up those burning stairs to kill herself.

See here as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobs_Ladder

And here too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_ ... %28film%29

Finally this comment from Jacob's Ladder (film) from wiki seems to have
inspired the game's producers it seems like in some way:

At a key moment, Jacob's friend and chiropractor, Louis (Danny Aiello), cites the 14th century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart:

"Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: "The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you," he said. "They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."

[AuraTwilight]

It's probably just a coincidence, since Angela isn't dead and neither is James.

[TheForthcoming01]

I've actually heard for quite some time that the official ending to Silent Hill 2
was in fact the In Water ending where James commits suicide from various websites
and forums on Silent Hill (It had something to do with a Silent Hill Novel and the
In Water ending from SH2 being the true ending of the Novel hence maybe
the game?).

And then there's that body I've heard in Silent Hill 3 that look's like Angela's.

So....

Of course your right they could still be alive.

[alone in the town]

The game has no single "official" ending. All of its endings are held to be equal possibilities.

As for the Jacob's Ladder allusion, if it is so, it's an inversion. Jacob ascended at the end because he was able to let go of his mortal ties. With Angela it's precisely the opposite; she damns herself because her life's problems have consumed her.

[TheForthcoming01]

Thanks for your input AuraTwilight and Ryantology!

I was thinking something similar earlier today but
was not quite sure of how to put it in words.

I'm glad to hear that there is no official ending to SH2. I
really liked the first ending I got my first time through the
game which is the Leave ending.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

It's a possible biblical reference to Jacob's Ladder signifying the end of her pain and her ascension into the afterlife.

[AuraTwilight]

How is a reference to Jacob's Ladder "biblical"?

[The Adversary]

Because it's biblical. . . .?

[AuraTwilight]

The movie references and is named after biblical references, but PoemOfTheLastMoment seemed to be talking about the movie itself, which had a plot that was vaguely Judeo-Christian but not strictly Biblical.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

I WAS talking about the passage in the bible...

[AuraTwilight]

Then your capitalization, plus the original thread subject, made me conclude incorrectly. I apologize.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

It's no biggie. The whole biblical angle makes that scene a lot more special. Moral issues like infidelity and death are touched upon at this point and James himself is made to question his own motives and wonder whether he too will ascend the 'ladder' at the end of the journey.

[AuraTwilight]

Yea, I can definitely see that interpretation.

[silentmumbler]

The burning staircase took place in the Otherworld, didn't it? Since the Otherworld is a twisted version of the real world, it could be assumed that the burning staircase is a "twisted" version of Jacob's Ladder, ascending to "hell" rather than heaven.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

The burning staircase took place in the Otherworld, didn't it? Since the Otherworld is a twisted version of the real world, it could be assumed that the burning staircase is a "twisted" version of Jacob's Ladder, ascending to "hell" rather than heaven.

That's an interesting way of puttin it. Poor 'Ol Angela!

[Squarehead]

Traditionally, one does not ascend to hell.

I hope people will mark movie spoilers by the way.

[PoemOfTheLastMoment]

Traditionally, one does not ascend to hell.

I hope people will mark movie spoilers by the way.

No one knows if she's going to heaven to hell. The only thing we know is that she's entering into the afterlife free from the pain and misery that has plagued her for so long.

[silentmumbler]

Traditionally, one does not ascend to hell.

I hope people will mark movie spoilers by the way.

"Traditionally" Jacob's ladder is not a fiery hellhole with bodies that look like castrated men on the walls. I used the word "twisted" for a reason.

[Mreapr]

I always thought her world was always like that, before that scene you come across a hall way burned down and tattered with crime scene tape. Which I thought might have been telling it's own story of why Angela's world was like that and why the boss looked burned to a door. I think she was left to burn in her world as punishment... Jacobs ladder idea is also very interesting.

[Asphyxia606]

No, you're over-analyzing it.