| “ | "I wish... it was all just an absurd fairy tale—" | ” |
—Retrace LXXIII: A note | ||
Arthur Barma (アーサー＝バルマ, Āsā Baruma) is a minor character from Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts. He was the ancestor of the Barma Dukedom and had been the Duke over one hundred years ago, immediately after the Tragedy of Sablier occurred. He was one of Jack Vessalius's closest friends and thus helped with much of the disaster's aftermath, assisting in writing Jack's memoirs and sealing away the soul of Glen Baskerville. Jack volunteered his own body for this latter task, which was then used to created the Stone Seals that work to protect against Glen's return. Magicians personally selected by Arthur were tasked with protecting these Seals, and the duty passed onto their descendants.
Accounts of Arthur's experiences immediately following the Tragedy had been extensively written by the man himself in a series of his personal memoirs. One century after the Tragedy came to pass, the current Duke Barma Rufus discovers these memoirs after extensive searching and begins to decode their secrets.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for Pandora Hearts.
Read at your own risk.
In truth Arthur Barma had been covering up the truth of the Tragedy of Sablier for over 100 years, hiding the fact that Jack Vessalius was its true instigator.
Quite some time before the Tragedy's occurrance, the Barma family lost a political struggle in their homeland and were exiled into the country where the story takes place. Despite his family's unimpressive status, Jack Vessalius, a widely liked figure in the nobility, approached Arthur and pretended to nurture a close friendship with im. Arthur was instantly, not figuring out until it was far too late that Jack befriended him solely to get in contact with his sister, Miranda. With Miranda's help, Jack went on to cause Tragedy of Sablier—he attempted to cast the entire material world into the Abyss, but ultimately failed and only succeeded in Sablier's fall.
In the aftermath, the Barma family was selected for the role of one of the Four Great Dukedoms. Arthur, now more enamoured than ever with his heroic friend, agreed easily to help him seal away Glen Baskerville's soul using the cut up body parts of Oswald, the last incarnation of Glen and Jack's former best friend. After a number of years however, Jack discovered that his atrocities in the Tragedy had horrifying consequences; he was rejected from the Hundred Cycles and thus cursed to age circuitously, from an adult to an infant and then back again endlessly, until the remains of his soul faded away. When he learned of this, Jack confessed the truth behind the Tragedy to Arthur. Though he was horrified by this revelation and now terrified by his friend, Arthur couldn't tell anyone lest his family lose everything they've gained from Jack's deceptions.
And so, Arthur agreed to help Jack gain complete control of the narrative surrounding the Tragedy, spreading the false idea that Glen and the Baskervilles were responsible for the disaster , while Jack remained the noble hero who stopped them on their path of destruction. He also helped Jack fake his death, not letting a soul know about his condition and persistence existence. However, from underneath Jack's nose, Arthur wrote out the entire truth of the Tragedy within his own memoirs, hidden beneath double and triple ciphers and a deeply concealed location in the Barma estate. Sealed inside these writings of his were not only the truth of Jack Vessalius's nature but also a desperate wish for repentance and for another soul to share this knowledge. After completing these memoirs, Arthur quietly and fitfully passed away.
Appearance[]
Arthur Barma had gray eyes, thick eyebrows, and long red hair which is tied back with a black bow, though his bangs still fall over his face. He seemed to be of a wider stature. Arthur typically wore an ascot of a light colour, as well as a vest, a white undershirt, a long overcoat, white pants and white gloves. On one occassion, he was shown wearing a darker vest and a black bow tied around his neck, matching the one in his hair.
Personality[]
Arthur's personality was very recessive. He was timid, and often skiddish. Arthur did not think very highly of himself. Within his memoirs, he had refered to himself as being dim-witted, as well as generally disaparaged himself when compared with Jack, who he saw as cheerful, kind, clever, popular and above all else beautiful. He thought so lowly of himself that at first he could not even believe Jack would adress him at all, thinking it must have been a mistake.
Even so, beyond being the mousy victim of Jack's manipulation and what he thought of himself, the hints we see of Arthur's personality through his actions do not paint him as a very honourable man. In spite of his cry for repentance within his hidden confession, Arthur often behaved in a cowardly and opportunistic manner. He was known for sucking up to Levi when the man still held the Glen Baskerville title. Though he recalled being the one to introduce Jack to Miranda, when the blond acted out of line and jumped towards Lacie at the party, Arthur was ready to denounce his friendship with him at once and acted like Jack was a stranger. He was certaintly preoccupied with his family's image and standing, possibly motivated by their fall from grace in their homeland, as his consistant cover up of Jack's actions with Miranda was mostly done in hopes of preserving the status of the Barmas.
History[]
Arthur was born as a part of a foreign nobility, sometime before his younger sister, Miranda. After reaching adulthood, his family lost a power struggle in their home country, and were exiled into the neighbouring land. To establish new connections, Arthur began 'kissing up' to the one holding the Glen Baskerville at the time and thus one of the biggest local figures of authority, Levi . On one occassion, Arthur was to attend an event at the Baskerville mansion held by Levi in Arthur's honor. Through Miranda's ambigious influence, Jack Vessalius came to be one of the musicians at said event, playing an instrument from Arthur's culture - a morin khuur. Arthur claimed that his sister introduced him to Jack and proposed that he play at the party, but in his memoirs Arthur later writes about how he was the one who introduced the pair to each other, possibly way before the Barmas ever brought Jack into the Baskerville estate with them.
Arthur reacts to Jack running up to Lacie.
In any case, during the event Jack saw a Baskerville named Lacie in the crowd, someone who he was seeking out for eight years since their first meeting. He threw away his disguise and instrument to run and embrace Lacie from behind at once. Arthur looked on in shock as another Baskerville knocked Jack unconscious. Following the commotion, Levi asked Arthur if he knew anything of what this curious event might be about. Arthur feverishly explained that he didn't know the man, which once again appears to be a rather dubious comment. Levi then asked Lacie if she knew the man, and although she denied it, she knew and remembered Jack from their first encounter. Afterwards, Levi integorated Jack thoroughly and Oswald, Lacie's brother, the next holder of the Glent title and the one who knocked Jack unconscious, announced to the Baskervilles the verdict that neither the Barmas or the Vessaliuses would be held responsible for what had happened.
The incident did not harm Arthur's friendship with Jack and the two seemingly remained close for a prolonged period of time. Arthur's overall impression of Jack was that he was like a person from another world, and that he was bright, kind, witty, intelligent, abundantly popular and beautiful, generally the opposite of what Arthur thought of himself. For these reasons, Arthur always thought it was a mistake whenever Jack called for him. As they spent more time together, and Jack started refering to Arthur as his friend, Arthur's heart trembled. What Arthur hadn't realized until it was too late was that Jack was only using him to get to his sister all along, and nothing more. Then again, it must be restated that the timeline of how exactly these three characters met is murky.
Arthur Barma next to Jack Vessalius and the 4 other Sorcerers.
Arthur was not personally involved in the Tragedy of Sablier, though it was the work of Jack and Miranda's scheming. After its events and Miranda's passing in the tragedy, Jack was hailed as the hero and was given the opportunity to rearrange parts of the power structure in the country. He chose the Barma family to become one of the newly established Dukedoms, since they would make for great pawns for him. Arthur became recognized as the first Duke Barma. Sometime later, Jack turned towards Arthur for help in sealing away the soul of Glen Baskerville. Jack had Arthur organize a group of four sorcerers, as well as himself thanks to the longheld sorcery expertise of the Barma household, and played up that Arthur was going to divide Jack's dying body into five pieces. Those would supposedly be used to create Sealing Stones that would prevent the return of Glen Baskerville. Unbeknownst to the sorcerers, Jack had Arthur use Oswald's body instead. The plan was carried out and Jack was publically proclaimed dead.
Next, Jack oversaw the writing of Arthur's memoirs from within the shadows to ensure that the events of the Tragedy of Sablier were chronicled the way Jack wanted them to be. The story he intended to share made Jack seem like the hero, and Glen seem like the one responsible for all the bloodshed and grief. Arthur also obtained Jack's own memoirs, explaining the existance of Alice and her odd behaviours, which he passed down through the Barma family, eventually reaching Rufus Barma.
Arthur Barma passed away rather abruptly, suddenly having contracted an abnormaly high fever. His sickness was seemingly caused by an episode of guilt-driven insanity after his final encounter with Jack, when the blond told him of a "Story of an Empty Man". What he phrased as a fairytale was actually an explation of the true story of the fall of Sablier and Jack's disturbing life. In this encounter, Arthur also learned of Jack's soul having been shattered which caused him to age in reverse and was the reason behind his plan to fake his death. This was the first moment in which Arthur became to both fear and doubt Jack, and the possible inciting incident for why he eventually chose to record the truth of the Tragedy. Arthur secretly went against Jack and came clean about how Jack was the cause of the Tragedy of Sablier, as well as how he had sealed Glen's body rather than Jack's, in the last chapter of his memoirs. Arthur heavily encripted this section of his journal, possibly because he never intended for anyone to be able to read it, hiding it in the Barma family.
While his memoirs were found 100 years later by his descendant, Rufus, many of Arthur's documents on sorcery and the Abyss were passed through the Barma's family, ending up in the hands of Rufus Barma's relative, Isla Yura. After the failed attempt to recreate the Tragedy of Sablier using the information from Arthur Barma, as well as the guardian of the Sealing Stone whom had died prior to Yura's relocation in his mansion, Yura sent Rufus Arthur's volumes of Abyssal documentation. Sometime after this, Rufus uncovered Arthur's confession in the final chapter of his memoirs, defecting to the side of the Baskervilles after learning of their innocence.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Varying abilities regarding sorcery - able to divide and seal a body to prevent a soul from returning to Earth.
- Knowledgable about the Abyss.
- Knowledge of ancient languages and ciphers.
Relationships[]
Jack Vessalius[]
Arthur was skiddish whenever Jack addressed him because he viewed Jack to be of a higher status than he was, though Jack was only the third son of a low-ranking noble himself. Arthur's heart trembled when Jack began addressing Arthur as his friend, and at first Arthur had viewed Jack as someone from another world, though it seemed innocent enough. What Arthur couldn't see was that Jack was only using him to get to Miranda Barma, and that Jack didn't actually care about Arthur. It might have been initially a farily one-sided relationship, but eventually it came to greatly benefit Arthur in his own right when Jack established him as one of the Dukes residing over the region. At a point where Arthur became greatly disturbed with Jack, it was less clear whether his continued devotion to the man was mainly out of infatuation or simple self-preservation. In the end, Arthur stands out as a figure representing all of the local nobility which were regretfully manipulated by Jack, swayed by his shallow charm and not caring to look beneath the surface to realize just how deeply distrubed Jack was. Rufus Barma viewed Arthur's confession in the last chapter of his journal to be more like a cry for help, hoping that someone would save Arthur from Jack.
Miranda[]
Arthur presumably introducing his sister to Jack.
Miranda was Arthur's sister and his only living relative that we know of. Despite their close familial connection and mutual ties to Jack, the two are never shown interact and it is unclear whether they were close at all. Arthur is said to be weak when it came to his younger sister and he values her opinion enough to take her advice on picking musicians for an important event, but we never see him grief her passing in any capacity. One can only assume that having someone who beheads people as a hobby does not foster the strongest sibling bonds.
Levi[]
Arthur was always kissing up to Levi, trying to get close to the Baskerville Dukedom because of the losses the Barma family has suffered. Levi allowed this though, as he believed that experiencing another culture is good for a person, and he didn't seem to mind Arthur in general. Levi joked with Arthur, playing on his anxiousness, as shown when he teasingly asked Arthur if he'd known anything about Jack's intentions after Jack had embraced Lacie.
Oswald[]
Arthur's relationship with Oswald seems fairly ambigious. Although he was established as somewhat close to Levi, Arthur is not shown interacting with his successor once. At most, we see Jack casually bring up both Arthur and Raymond around Oswald on one occassion, and the Baskerville did not argue when Jack spoke of them as their friends. Even so, Arthur could not have been that close of an associate of Oswald's, as when Jack tells the world that the Baskerville clan was responsible for the Tragedy of Sablier, Arthur is not all that conflicted before unquestioningly taking Jack's side. He does not seem guilty or conflicted about smearing the name of the Baskerville clan before Jack admits his own role in the tragedy either.
Quotes[]
- "The soul that loseth its corporeal vessel doth become light, and in tandem with the wings of angels, doth travel the world covered in gold. And when a hundred cycles have elapsed, the journey cometh to its end and another journey doth begin anew."
- "Jack Vessalius... was worlds apart from me. He was cheerful, kind and clever... and extrodinarily popular. But above all he was handsome. He was the exact opposite of a simple, tongue-tied man like myself. That's why... when he called out for me, I thought he had mistaken me for someone else. When he called me 'friend', I was taken aback. But the truth is... that he was only using me to get to my sister, Miranda. It's terrible! Terrible!! If only that nightmare, the Tragedy of Sablier was all a terrible lie..."
- "Jack, he's a living ghost. In order not to be discovered by him, I will write down all I know of Jack's crimes within these pages. Just as Jack himself told me once. I wish all of this was just a ridiculous fairytale."
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Retrace XLI: Where am I? (Mentioned only)
- Retrace XLIII: Crown of Clown (Mentioned only)
- Retrace XLIV: Dusty Sky*
- Retrace XLVIII: Isla Yura (Mentioned only)
- Retrace LVII: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall (Mentioned only)
- Retrace LXI: Demios (Mentioned only)
- Retrace LXVI: Jack (Mentioned only)
- Retrace LXVII: Lacie* (First Appearance)
- Retrace LXX: Oz*
- Retrace LXXIII: A note*
- Retrace LXXVIII: Decision*
- Retrace LXXXII: Wish*
- Pandora Academy (Non-Canon)
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Trivia[]
- "Arthur" is a name of either Latin origin, derived from the Roman clan Artorius, or Celtic origin, derived from "Artos" meaning "bear."[1]
- Arthur is based off of the King of Hearts[2] from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.[3] The King of Hearts is much more subdued and merciful compared to the Queen of Hearts, the inspiration for Miranda, but is meek in response to her authority.
- He likes spending time alone. He dislikes himself.
- He has no particular strengths or skills. He is weak when it comes to Jack and Miranda.
- Mochizuki's comment on him is expressing pity for his truly horrible life, caught between a younger sister who loves collecting heads and a best friend trying to destroy the world.
- Rufus Barma states that Jack's memoirs had been entrusted to the Duke of the Barmas three generations past, making Arthur Barma Rufus's great-grandfather, though he likely never had children of his own and is not Rufus' direct ancestor.