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Dahlia Hawthorne. Most people despise her, for obvious reasons. She tried poisoning Phoenix, sent a man into a coma, killed her own sister, and seemed to show no remorse for what she’s done. She’s seen as more despicable than Kristoph Gavin. She’s seen as more despicable than the Phantom. So, why is it that this young girl, who did not live past the age of twenty, is seen as one of the most diabolical villains in video games and why does she act the way she does?
Why is she simply seen as a “murderous ex-girlfriend” when the entire basis of her evil doings are given to the player throughout the game?
So why is Dahlia Hawthorne so compelling? What about her makes the player want to come back to her time and time again? And why does her breakdown seem to leave you feeling a bit hollow inside as the ghost leaves the body?
A Note: I understand that murdering is wrong, I am not claiming that what Dahlia did was excusable. I’m just simply suggesting that as a fan, it is important to understand why the character acts the way she does. The blatant mischaracterization is harmful to the character herself, and leaves the impact of Dahlia behind. Once again, I am not apologizing for her actions, but rather explaining why. Why she acts the way she does.
This is a four part post, which will be exploring:
· Childhood. Why is Morgan Fey’s impact more harmful than what meets the eye?
· Motive. Is Dahlia’s motive simply just for pleasure? Or is there a deeper, psychological desire?
· Relationship to Iris. Why is Iris’s impact so important to Dahlia as a character? How are the two a symbiotic relationship?
· Breakdown. Why is her breakdown so telling to her as a character? Why isn’t she ready to go?
This is very long, about five pages in Microsoft Word, and I apologize in advance for that.
This also includes mentions of #csa, #pedophilia, #abuse, #parents, and of course, #aa3 spoilers. So please, read with caution.
Dahlia Hawthorne is a victim of abuse.
She grew up in a household where her father was never supportive, due to Morgan being unable to become the head of the Kurain Village and the Hawthorne sisters being unable to have spiritual power in any sense. Mr. Hawthorne ends up abandoning her children and his wife, due to the simple fact that she was not what he was expecting. It can also be seen that neither of the Hawthorne sisters seemed to care for her father, which as a player, leaves us asking ourselves; was he physically abusive, or simply just ignoring the girls?
It is also hinted at that while the girls did not seem to care about the father, they did view him as a nice source of income. He seems to be very wealthy, and buys the girls gifts. This could equate to “buying their love” after treating them poorly. It also leads to the idea of the jewel heist, and therefore, Dahlia’s first crime. It could be debated that if Mr. Hawthorne had treated his daughters better, the gem heist never would have happened, and neither would Dahlia’s strings of murder, as they were all related to the panic of the truth coming out. While that is debatable, it does leave the idea up to interpretation.
The gem heist and all the people involved also leave a lot up to interpretation of Dahlia’s character. For example, Terry Fawles and his canon pedophilia. Dahlia Hawthorne was fourteen (14) years old at the time of the gem heist, and the player is told that Terry Fawles, who was twenty-one (21) at the time was in a relationship with her. The idea and the fact that Dahlia was in an illegal romantic relationship, can also be linked to her chain of murders. She killed off Terry Fawles because she was afraid of him, it’s the same reason she killed Valerie. The fear of the truth of the gem heist coming out was much more dangerous to her safety than the idea of killing those she needed to. As a player, we seem to feel more sorry for this pedophile who was poisoned in a public court room than we are for this child, who is in a dangerous situation.
While the father’s questionable abuse is debatable, it is proven that Morgan Fey is unarguably abusive to not only Dahlia, but to Iris as well, and later on, Pearl. She spends her time more concerned with getting revenge on her sister, Misty, than actually paying attention to the children she had birthed and needs to raise. Morgan Fey also shows no remorse in harming innocent people, which is shown in the second game as her plot to kill Turner Gray and frame Maya for it develops. Her entire existence and drive in life is to find any way to destroy the Fey branch family any way she can, even after it is already damaged by DL-6 and may land her in prison and therefore, her death.
In fact, it is even proven that Morgan Fey was planning on killing Dahlia Hawthorne when she arrived in prison, which is later only changed as Dahlia pleads on helping her mother further the plot to harm Maya Fey instead. Morgan Fey in fact, then, uses Dahlia’s spirit as an ultimate tool for diminishing the branch family, and did not even focus on the fact that her own daughter was executed for murders, which she caused by not concerning herself with their health and safety.
Dahlia felt trapped, she felt as if the only way to get her mother’s approval was the do what Morgan wanted, and that included bending over backwards to include herself in a murder plot. She was in a home that did not appreciate her and did not see her as a person, but a pawn in a game called revenge.
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Dahlia’s blatant abuse and mistreatment as a child can also parallel her motive.
Every single one of Dahlia’s crimes can be traced back to the heist of the diamond when she was a child. Terry Fawles being framed for the “murder of Dahlia Hawthorne,” the murder of Valerie, the attempted poisoning of Diego Armando. Every single one of them traces back to one thing: attention.
Dahlia’s motive in the gem heist was simple, get noticed by her father, her mother, someone. It also doesn’t hurt that she would get money from it. It’s a simple fake kidnapping for some money, not to mention she would get rid of the tutor who was “robbing cradles before he was robbing diamonds.” She would also get to spend time with her sisters, by involving them with this plot.
Dahlia’s motive in first murder of her sister was even simpler than the first, don’t let the truth come out. She couldn’t afford to let the truth of the heist being planned come out, and she had to protect herself no matter what it took, and that included killing Valerie Hawthorne.
The murder of Diego Armando was the same, the fear of being sent to prison, of her life stopping before it even began. She is proven to have an interest in flowers, in writing, in photography; and how is she supposed to accomplish anything with these interests if she’s in prison for a silly little fake kidnapping when she was fourteen years old? So she did the same thing, she killed (or at least tried to) before the truth could come out, and then she would go back to living her life again.
Of course, all that is changed when a nick in the plan, Phoenix Wright occurs. What she thought would be simple by giving the boy her evidence and hiding it on another person, turns into a panic as she now has to kill yet another person to cover her tracks. He was stubborn, he wouldn’t give it to her, because then it would be a sign of giving up their love. It can be argued that Dahlia didn’t ever want to kill Phoenix, as she sends Iris to pretend to be her for the simple sake of giving a second chance. Of course, any normal person has limited patience, and therefore, another murder occurs.
Murder of Doug? Covering her tracks. He was going to ruin her “nice girl” image by simply telling the truth of the stolen poison. So of course, he had to be killed too. Fear of the truth coming out.
The only murder that cannot be traced back to the gem heist when she was fourteen years old, is the attempted murder of Misty Fey. However, this murder can also be traced back to the abuse she was faced with as a child. Morgan Fey tries convincing Dahlia that if she was to kill the leader of the branch family, she would satisfy every one of her mother’s desires.
In short, Dahlia’s entire motive for everything she’s done is attention, and affection. The money she would have gained from the gem heist is attention from her father, and wealth beyond belief, yet when that fails the desire for attention backfires and ends up harming her as the paranoia of being caught begins to form, and therefore lead to the chain of murders. She simply wants attention, and to be noticed, and these murders are her way of showing this.
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Another interesting aspect of Dahlia Hawthorne’s character is her “foil” of Iris.
Some argue that Iris is Dahlia’s polar opposite, kind while Dahlia is evil. Quiet, while Dahlia is loud. Some also try to argue that Dahlia did not care about Iris, as she sent her own sister to live away from her. However, a simple look into the symbiotic relationship the two share can reveal the true nature of Iris’s character.
Dahlia sent Iris away to live in Hazakurain when her father divorced Morgan due to her “being a nuisance,” however, Iris ended up with the better end of the deal, as she was given Bikini as a mother figure – and a true mother figure – one who spent her time supporting Iris. During this time, Dahlia was still spending time feeling lost and confused with a new sister and a new step mother, yet she still had the same father and therefore, not much changed. Because of this, Iris remains optimistic while Dahlia feels trapped.
Dahlia tried countless times to include Iris, not only in her plots of crime, but also in the fact that it is proven that Iris has a cell phone and still keeps in touch with her sister. While the two are separated by distance, they do not stop speaking with each other. Their dynamic is simply furthered by their distance.
Interestingly, while Dahlia considers Iris a “backstabber” by never helping during the gem heist, Iris considers Dahlia “smart” and “strong,” having never once complained about being abandoned by her father and ignored by her mother. Iris realizes how hard Dahlia’s life has been, and even admits to wanting to help her. She even states that she always loves Dahlia, and always has, and she does not hate Dahlia, but the environment in which she was raised.
In this sense, Iris is Dahlia’s support group in a world that does not support her. While the world seems to be out to get them, Iris keeps her head high and does her best to remain optimistic and help be the light and support Dahlia needs. In fact, Iris is thankful for the situation that Dahlia and she had been put in, as she could not be used to further Morgan’s plots until after Dahlia is executed.
The two have a relationship that is used to help each other, Dahlia is given support, and Iris is given the comfort and safety that things could always be worse, and no matter what, Dahlia is still remaining strong. The two of them have an interesting dynamic that seems to be overlooked, even though Iris has a large part in Dahlia’s childhood. It can be argued that if Dahlia did not send Iris away, that the support and affection Dahlia wanted to receive might have been met.
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The breakdown Dahlia has is arguably the most memorable aspect of Dahlia’s character, however, it is also the most obvious into seeing how the character truly is.
The idea and the misconception that Dahlia feels no remorse is argued due to her acceptance of the arrest in case 3-1, as she “accepts the verdict with a smile on her face.” This entire scene is interesting. She admits to not being phased, as she’ll “meet everyone again.” She’s truly satisfied with everything that is happening in her life, she’s received the affection she desired. She also hints that she’s not finished with whatever plan she has in her life, even in death, she isn’t defeated.
However, when she reappears in case 3-4 as a ghost, she seems arrogant. She lets off an array of self-confidence and the idea that she cannot be defeated. She’s already dead, therefore anything they do cannot harm her. She doesn’t seem to regret dying, or even seem to fear death. She embraces it, and does not fear the guilty verdict, because she feels as if she’s won. Nothing they can do to her will make her feel less than the ghost she already is.
This only changes when the mocking, and the constant nagging of Dahlia being a failure is revealed. Her biggest fear in life, not being accepted, being seen as the weak and fragile image she truly is, comes to light. She only leaves the body and is defeated when she realizes that she will never win, that she will never be seen as a success, or loved, or desired. She only leaves Maya’s body when she realizes that all that she’s done to receive this attention she’s desired is left in vain.
Some parallel Dahlia’s exorcism to a temper tantrum, the repeating of the taunt to Mia Fey not winning, and the repeating of how she isn’t ready to leave. It seems to imitate a child not getting their way, which isn’t quite off the mark. It’s all a large link to the idea of her once again not being enough. The Fey branch family is once again seen as winning, in this case it’s through the form of Mia Fey “defeating” her in court and proving her to be the failure she truly is. She’s also not ready to leave, as she’s not satisfied with the life she’s lived. She feels as if she has more to accomplish, and now that she has lost once again to the Feys, she is confirmed for the failure she truly is. She didn’t want to leave a failure, she didn’t want to lose. She feels lost, and confused, and when things don’t seem to go the way she plans, she has a breakdown.
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Dahlia’s entire existence can be linked to abuse, being ignored, and mental illness. Some of the things she does, acting out for attention, putting herself in harm, doing whatever it takes to be noticed – can all be traced to her past.
It’s interesting to see a well-developed and well written character be overlooked into the simple light of “she killed a bunch of people because she has no morals.”
TL;DR, Dahlia Hawthorne was not heartless, she simply learned to use her heart less. She seemed trapped and hurt and lonely in the world, and acted out as a way to receive the attention she desired. She is a human being, a lonely child, not a malicious murdering machine.