Why Did Gehrman Make a Deal With the Moon Presence?
Bloodborne never shows Gehrman making a deal, and never gives him a reason. The pact is a fan reading built from his sleep talk, an umbilical cord and one note. Here's what the game actually states, and the three main explanations players give for why he did it.
Bloodborne never tells us why Gehrman made a deal with the Moon Presence, and it never actually shows a deal. What it shows is a man chained to the Hunter's Dream, a Dream that a pale moon "conceived", and a note crediting Laurence and his associates with summoning the moon presence. A pact is how players connect those dots. Everything about his motive is interpretation. (Bloodborne)
What the game actually says#
Start with the facts. The Doll says Gehrman was a hunter long ago and now only advises hunters: "Still, he stays here, in this dream. Such is his purpose." (Bloodborne)
Gehrman himself says otherwise when he thinks nobody is listening. Dozing in the garden after Rom falls, he mumbles: "Oh, Laurence... Master Willem... Somebody help me... Unshackle me please, anybody... I've had enough of this dream..." (Bloodborne)
Then the Great One. The Third Umbilical Cord says it "precipitated the encounter with the pale moon, which beckoned the hunters and conceived the Hunter's Dream." A note in the Lecture Building of Byrgenwerth reads: "The nameless moon presence beckoned by Laurence and his associates. Paleblood." (Bloodborne)
That's the whole case. Nothing names Gehrman as one of the associates, and nothing describes terms. The word "deal" is the community's, not the game's. (Bloodborne)
The nearest thing to a pact on screen#
The only oath the game shows belongs to the player. Refuse Gehrman's mercy at the end, beat him, and the Moon Presence descends and embraces the hunter. The Honoring Wishes trophy reads: "Captivated by the Moon Presence, you pledge to watch over the Hunter's Dream." The hunter ends up in Gehrman's wheelchair. (Bloodborne)
Interpretation: most players read that as a replay of what happened to Gehrman long before: someone pledged to the Moon Presence, and the Dream got its keeper. (Bloodborne)
Reading one: to keep the hunt going#
Gehrman's weapon, the Burial Blade, says he saw the hunt as a dirge of farewell, wishing only that his prey might rest in peace. He tells the new hunter the Dream "was once a safe haven for hunters", a workshop where blood strengthened weapons and flesh. And the cord says the pale moon beckoned the hunters. (Bloodborne)
On this reading Gehrman accepted the bond so the hunters would have a refuge and a source of strength while the scourge raged. His last words before fighting the player fit it: it always comes down to the hunter's helper to clean up after these messes, he says, and "Tonight, Gehrman joins the hunt." (Bloodborne)
Reading two: a promise to Laurence#
Gehrman calls for Laurence more than anyone. After Vicar Amelia dies, he sighs: "Oh, Laurence... what's taking you so long..." Laurence founded the Healing Church, and the Lecture Building note puts him at the centre of the summoning. (Bloodborne)
Dialogue cut from the final game, still found in its files, goes further. Gehrman speaks of a promise to a dear friend, of honouring "our vows", and of awaiting "the realization of your ministration", addressed to Laurence. Interpretation: that points to a pact made with or for Laurence, with Gehrman left holding up his end long after Laurence was gone. But cut lines aren't the game, so treat them as hints at what the developers once had in mind. More on this on why Gehrman is waiting for Laurence. (Bloodborne; Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Reading three: grief for Maria#
The Maria Hunter Cap says Maria admired Gehrman, "unaware of his curious mania". The Doll looks like her, and her spare clothes in the Abandoned Old Workshop show "a deep love" that "borderlines on mania". In the waking world the doll is lifeless; in the Dream she moves and speaks. (Bloodborne; Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Interpretation: some players think Gehrman's bargain was about Maria, a way to bring her likeness to life after she was lost. It's the most personal reading and the least supported, since no text links the Doll's waking to the Moon Presence. Why Gehrman made the Doll covers it. (Bloodborne)
What he got for it#
Whatever the reason, the result is plain. Gehrman can't leave, sleeps badly, and is freed only by being replaced. In The Old Hunters, after the Orphan of Kos dies, the Doll hears him sleeping calmly for once, as if something had eased his suffering. Interpretation: many players take that as a sign his torment is bound up with guilt over the Fishing Hamlet, not just with the moon. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Read more#
Why Gehrman is in the Hunter's Dream covers how he is held there, and the endings page covers how the player inherits his chair or escapes it. (Bloodborne)
Frequently asked questions
- Did Gehrman make a deal with the Moon Presence?
- The game never says so. It shows that he is bound to the Hunter's Dream, that a pale moon conceived the Dream, and that Laurence and his associates beckoned the moon presence. A pact is the most common way players join those facts up.
- Why is Gehrman bound to the Moon Presence?
- Bloodborne doesn't explain it. The leading reading is that he was one of the associates who called it, and that his price was to serve the Dream as the hunters' helper until someone replaced him.
- Is the Moon Presence called Flora?
- Not in the released game. A line cut from Gehrman's dialogue mentions Flora returning from the moon, which is where the nickname comes from, but it was never used in the final game.
- Does Gehrman want to serve the Moon Presence?
- No. Asleep in the garden he begs Laurence, Master Willem or anybody to unshackle him, and says he has had enough of this dream.
Sources
- GameBloodborne, FromSoftware, 2015
- GameBloodborne: The Old Hunters, FromSoftware, 2015 (expansion)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
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Why Is Gehrman in the Hunter's Dream?
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Mentioned in3 entries
Gehrman, the First Hunter: the Old Man Bound to the Hunter's Dream
Gehrman is the old man in the wheelchair who greets you in the Hunter's Dream, and the first hunter of Yharnam. He built the first workshop, trained the first hunters, and at the end of the night offers to free you, or fights you. Here is what the game states and where the theories start.
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