Lisa Garland
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| Silent Hill character | |
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| Lisa Garland | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 23 |
| Hair color | Dirty Blonde |
| Eye color | Green |
| Occupation | Nurse at Alchemilla Hospital |
| Appearance/s in Silent Hill Series | Silent Hill as Lisa Garland, in charge of taking care of Alessa Gillespie. Later manifested by Alessa in the Otherworld. |
| Voice by/ Portrayer | Thessaly Lerner |
Lisa Garland is a fictional secondary character in the first installment of the Silent Hill video game series. Some of Lisa's history is left to the gamer to surmise, since they only learn as much as the protagonist (Harry) knows.
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[edit] Bio
Lisa Garland was a nurse who worked at Alchemilla Hospital. Like many of the members of the hospital staff, she was addicted to PTV, a drug being dealt by the hospital's administrator, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, and Silent Hill's resident cult, The Order. It is often speculated that because of her addiction, she had little choice but to follow through with every request made by Dr. Kaufmann, under threat of him cutting off her supply of the drug.
One of the duties Lisa had to perform was taking care of the comatose Alessa Gillespie, whose body was covered in wounds which would not heal, and were always oozing blood and pus, requiring frequent bandaging. Lisa could not understand what was keeping the girl alive, and the ordeal of endlessly replacing the bandages took a toll on her sanity. Lisa's constant close proximity to Alessa in the basement also resulted in her having hallucinations, such as insects crawling into the room or blood flowing from the faucet.
When Harry stumbles into the 'alternate' Hospital, which is full of gore and zombified nurses, Harry finds Lisa huddled in a room hiding from the monsters. From Harry's encounters with her, she is obviously very scared. She states that she has no idea what is going on, and she may be the only human character he meets who is telling the truth. She claims to have passed out and when she came to everything was "different". Harry speaks with her on different occasions throughout the game, and she provides a good source of information about Dahlia Gillespie and an old cult that used to reside in the town.
Harry periodically loses consciousness and finds himself back in the Otherworld hospital, without explanation. During one such event, Harry wakes up with a start while Lisa emerges over him, her eye twitching eerily.
During the final paranormal trip through the hospital, she explains to Harry that she ventured into the basement of the hospital and began to "understand" what is happening. Lisa realizes that she is in fact a monster, similar to the other nurses roaming the hospital, explaining how she is trapped in the Otherworld and cannot leave. When she begs Harry to hold her, Harry shoves her back, and Lisa starts bleeding from her head and every orifice. She staggers toward Harry until he runs out of the room. Although she sobs and bangs on the door behind him, Harry is too frightened and holds the door shut, leaving the distraught nurse to her fate.
After Lisa's transformation she disappears, and is not seen until the end of the game. If you play a certain way in order to get either the Good or Good+ endings, she appears after defeating the final boss; Just as Kauffman is about to escape, Lisa (or a demonic projection of her) rises through the floor and drags the horrified Kaufmann down into the pit she came from. There are many interpretations to this, including Lisa exacting revenge on her potential murderer, or Alessa summoning Lisa to punish him.
[edit] Anomalous nature
There are many interesting theories regarding Lisa and her 'bleeding' transformation during her last scene.
It is suggested in several Silent Hill guides and walkthroughs that Lisa was in actuality a demon; a manifestation, created from Alessa's fond memories of her and placed in the Otherworld, explaining why she is the only "innocent" human figure that Harry ever encounters there.
Harry only encounters Lisa in the Otherworld. Judging by statements made by the 'Ghost' Lisa, she retained the real Lisa's memories up until before she began taking care of Alessa. This is proven when Harry inquires about the hospital's grisly basement, and Lisa appears to know nothing about it (When examining the diary, Lisa's writing verifies that she was forced to look after Alessa in the basement, something the 'real' Lisa would certainly remember).
Lisa's unawareness of her demonic nature and false memories are traits similar to Maria, another Silent Hill character. Sometime between the game's opening sequence, where Lisa is briefly seen arguing with Dr. Kaufmann, and Harry's arrival, the real Lisa was killed.
- What happens to Lisa is unclear; many believe her "bleeding" transformation is followed by her becoming yet another demon nurse. Another theory is that Lisa always reverts back to demon form when Harry isn't present. This is vaguely supported by Lisa's ominous body position when the startled Harry awakens back in the Otherworld, as well as her twitching eye, which could imply a 'reversion' that takes place once Harry wakes up (one can only speculate, in this case, what Lisa was about to do had Harry not awoken).
- If the player takes into account an article Heather reads in Silent Hill 3, Lisa may not realize she was dead; In SH3, Heather finds a magazine in a subway explaining the theory of the dead: That they haunt the place where they were killed suddenly (accident or suicide). They don't realize they're dead, and wander helplessly as ghosts.
- Yet another explanation points to "Lisa" being 'created' to stop, or at the very least slow Harry's quest to find his daughter. While confined to the 'alternate' hospital, Lisa (an attractive female in distress) frequently pleads with Harry to stay with her and acts a distraction. When Harry shoves her away and her usefulness is over, Lisa dies.
It has been heavily speculated that Lisa is the one who took a reborn Alessa (aka Cheryl) to the outskirts of town so a family could find her and give her a better life. In Silent Hill 3, Alessa, in the form of Heather, still harbors sympathy for the ill-fated nurse.
Lisa never divulges information about herself. All her personal info is discovered through her diary and video tape. Lisa only talks about the town's history and reveals the existence of a cult.
[edit] Movie Adaptation
In the 2006 Silent Hill movie, which is a loose adaptation of the first game, a nurse who resembles Lisa is featured (albeit briefly). She is tasked with replacing the immolated girl's bandages, and out of curiosity, she has a quick look through the curtain at her disfigurement. When the nurse stumbles back, sickened, Alessa's rage toward the attractive woman boils over. This woman is then trapped in Alessa's nightmare to be her personal nurse forever, and as a punishment for her curiosity, she is devoid of her eyelids.
This nurse is never referred to by name (even in the credits she is simply called 'Red Nurse'). However it is clear from her clothing and occupation that she is at least meant to be based upon Lisa Garland, likely as a homage of sorts to the game. Lisa from the game and the 'Red Nurse' from the movie have noticibly different backstories however.
[edit] Fanbase
Lisa Garland is certainly one of the most sympathetic characters from the game series, and the scene where she tearfully realizes she isn't human has more or less made her a "fan favorite". Lisa also symbolizes the enigmatic nature of the Silent Hill. Theories about Lisa Garland tend to speculate on whether she is dead, a ghost, or just a manifestation of Alessa's nightmare. Her nature and purpose in the game is deliberately left ambiguous, preserving her and the game's cult status.
Some fans believe Lisa was based on Amy Keating (played by Tracy Thorne) from The Exorcist 3 as they are the only nurses that wear red sweaters in the hospitals where they work.
[edit] External links
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Silent Hill • 2 • 3 • 4: The Room |
