8160


In one episode we see Re-l's name on a computer terminal. However where the
"-" is, we see it's actually supposed to be an "A" as the rest of the letter
is just visible. This means her name may have been supposed to be Real.

I am wondering: if there is some sort of meaning behind Re-l's name having
originally been Real but being recognised as Re-l?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T21:19:02.723
7232
2020-11-18T04:28:26.993
2016-05-19T23:44:52.387
2604
1587
question
ergo-proxy
What is the meaning behind Re-l's name?


I think

> that was "ReAl Proxy". Daedalus's purpose was to create proxy.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T17:01:03.350
8157
2014-03-20T17:01:03.350
4093
7232
answer


Her name is written in katakana as リル・メイヤ (Riru Meiya), leaves her romanized
name up to interpretation... but it's speculated that there seems to be a some
parallel between the her ID number (124C41+) and the episode title:
リル124C41+/RE-l124c41+ and Re-L as a character. The code is based off of a sci-
fi novel by Hugo Gernsback, titled [_Ralph 124C
41+_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_124C_41%2B). The title in itself, is
a play on words meaning "one to foresee for one another (1 2 4C 4 1 +)".

It's assumed that the significance of her name is based on the protagonist of
the book, who saves the heroine by directing energy at an avalanche, and then
continues to do on about about modern technology and the wonders which
actually proved as successful predictions in regards of the technology we have
today. E.g., solar power, transcontinental air travel, synthetic foods, tape
recorders, etc.

I assume that like most (if not all) of the characters in the series, she's
named after historical figures, philosophers, and/or fictional characters.

There's speculation in the fan community that Re-L may be an imperfect clone
of Monad Proxy and her name is a reflection on that.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T20:46:36.053
8160
2014-03-20T21:07:17.643
2014-03-20T21:07:17.643
63
63
7232
answer


**HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD.**

This anime is rife with Gnostic symbolism and themes. The meaning of Re-l's
name is actually very critical to understanding the point of the entire show.
Before I can tell you the meaning of Re-l's name, you need to understand a bit
about the Gnostic themes expressed in Ergo Proxy.

The main thing you need to know about Gnosticism to understand the meaning
behind the names Re-l and Real is that Gnostics endeavor to achieve union with
God, where a human can truly touch the Divine.

This steps beyond the dogmatism of monotheistic religious beliefs. What
Gnostics seek is a realization of "true reality." For the Gnostics, who were
very much influenced by
[Neoplatonism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonism) and Plato's idea
that this true reality exists beyond the physical, material world. In this
physical world, we are condemned to suffering and repetition of all our
mistakes. Plato believed true _Reality_ exists in the _Mind_. For Plato, that
which is real is an _idea_. This most well-known articulation of this
conception of our place in the world is expressed through Plato's famous
allegory of [The Cave](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ihum40/cave.pdf). To
some extent, we can think of the life of illusion that "everything is okay"
experienced by the "fellow citizens" in the dome cities is a parallel to the
people tied up in Plato's Cave. When Re-l and Vincent begin their journey
outside of the dome, they soon begin to see things as they really are, thus
serving as a parallel for the person who escaped their bonds and ventures
outside the cave. When Re-l and Vincent encounter the deformed, sluggish and
sickly people in an actual cave filled with noxious poison gas, Re-l reflects
on her experience in the Romdo. She notes that these people, in their effort
to hide from the real world of suffering and pain, have stunted their
development as beings. She realizes that they are not so different from the
people in Romdo. This further serves to solidify that this theme in Ergo Proxy
refers to Plato's Cave.

The Gnostics take this idea one step further by claiming that dogmatic
religion up to this point has lied to us and kept us apart from the true
_Reality_. Ergo Proxy does a good job of representing this lie told to us by
society with the way the government of Romdo lies to its people, claiming it
is for their own good. Plato believes we can find truth in the world outside
the cave, while the Gnostics seek to become _one_ with this truth. Ultimately,
the meaning of the Gnostic ideal of _union with God_ is something that has
been interpreted in different ways by many different scholars. I have my own
opinion about what this union with God looks like, but I am not going to go
into that here. Here I am just going to answer the question, "What is the
meaning behind Re-l's name?"

What Ergo Proxy offers us is an interpretation of the Gnostic ideal of union
with God and the true _Reality_. Through their quest for knowledge, Re-l and
Vincent learn about how the Proxies created the Domes so that people could
continue their lives on this apocalyptic husk of a planet. At this point we
learn the Real, an apparent clone of Re-l, is actually a reincarnation of
Monad Proxy. Real urges Vincent to fly to the sky with her and abandon the
world of suffering and pain below. However, Daedalus tells us that when
Proxies are exposed to the sun, they die. The blue sky and sun above the
clouds represents the true Gnostic _Reality_ , and this interpretation is
further supported by Plato's use of _Light_ as a symbol for the Mind and the
truth of _ideas_. The world of Earth, below the clouds, is dark and full of
pain and suffering, but it is also the place where Vincent, as a Proxy, can
live as a physical being with desires, pleasure, pain, and everything else
entailed by living here. What this reveals is that Ergo Proxy is presenting
the Gnostic _Reality_ as bliss, complete unity with all of creation, and thus,
_oblivion_. Yes--freedom from the physical form means relinquishing this
physical form. To become part of the infinite is to relinquish the finite, and
thus relinquish mortality, and indeed, life. To unite with God is to die, but
also to stop suffering. We see this when Real flies to the clouds and
disintegrates as a blur, merging with the greater cosmos.

Vincent, as a Proxy, occupies a space between this physical reality and the
true _Reality_. Perhaps he is like the man who ventures outside of the cave in
Plato's allegory. But Vincent was very much attached to the world of humanity,
the imperfect, painful, dark and desolate world, but also the world full of
beauty, innocence, and freedom to choose who you are among the finite. But
what I do know is that at the very end, Vincent faced a choice, and this is
ultimately where we come to the meaning behind the names Re-l and Real.

**Real, the Proxy, offers Vincent a choice to join with the true _Reality_ ,
if he would only fly up with her into oblivion. Re-l, the human, offers
Vincent a choice to stay with humanity and be one of the mortals. They are
indeed clones of each other, and their names are so close together yet
significantly different. "Re-l" is fragmented, it is almost the full name
"Real" but it is missing a letter--it an incomplete name--just like the
incomplete physical reality that she represents. "Real" is the full name and
she represents this true _Reality_ , the implications of which I have
discussed above. Real cannot stay in the physical world because she is
destined to fly to the sky and become one with God, a realization which, in
Ergo Proxy's interpretation, is oblivion.**

At the end, Vincent made his choice. He chose the imperfect Re-l because he
loved her. He chose this imperfect reality because he loved it. He abandoned
his chance at unity with _Reality_ because he saw this world as a world worth
living in. He could never abandon this world.

This is just my interpretation of the meaning behind the names "Re-l" and
"Real". Perhaps my interpretation is not what the creators of Ergo Proxy had
in mind, but it makes sense to me. I also know there are so many other details
and philosophical concepts explored in this anime, that I did not visit in
this response. Really this is just my effort to answer the one question at the
top of this page.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-18T04:28:26.993
61070
2020-11-18T04:28:26.993
57216
7232
answer