The Path

The Girl in White, for most of the game serving as an NPC, is somewhat of an enigma. She cheerfully runs around the creepy forest, helping the other characters return to the path when they get lost. She doesn't seem to be on her way to anywhere, so in fact she may live in the forest. I was puzzled by her presence until the last chapter, when suddenly I was allowed to play as her. She had no "wolf" and couldn't interact with many of the objects the other girls found interesting, so eventually I took her to the grandmother's house. I recognized all of the death rooms as she ran though them and I wondered what had really become of the other girls. When she reached the frozen grandmother's room, though, I felt like I understood what might have happened. The Girl in White is supposed to be the real Little Red Riding Hood, the one who isn't corrupted and killed like the others. Only the pure girl could survive temptation and accomplish her objective of finding her grandmother. But even then, the story ends in tragedy as the Girl in White sees that her grandmother is unresponsive and she gives control of her quest back to the corrupted girls. It's a vicious cycle.