Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is a minor character on Steven Universe, voiced by Susan Egan.

Personality and History

Rose was the founder and former leader of the Crystal Gems. Enthralled by the beauty of Earth, Rose led her friends and allies in a Rebellion against the Gem Homeworld around 5,500 years before the events of the series, successfully driving the invading Homeworld Gems off the planet and saving the life forms inhabiting it. Rose eventually developed a romantic relationship with a human, Greg Universe, before giving up her physical form to give birth to their son, Steven, who inherited her gemstone.

A natural leader, Rose Quartz is indicated to have had a caring and loving personality. According to Bismuth, Rose was an atypical kind of Gem; rather than living in accordance to her Gem caste's values, Rose chose to be different and encouraged other Gems to be, too. Her doctrine was that Gems can take control of their own identities and that her race's limited display of individuality is a conviction forced upon them. In the same manner, Rose had shown displeasure towards the Gems' traditions and natures; in "Greg the Babysitter", she got somber when reflecting on Gems' static existences, and in "Story for Steven" she admitted that she never missed her home. This discontent sparked her interest in humans, who are always changing and redefining themselves.

In "An Indirect Kiss", she is described as feeling great sorrow when her loved ones were hurt. Her capacity for empathy led her to establish the Rebellion and the Crystal Gems, and extended even to her enemies; as documented in "Bismuth", Rose values her enemies' lives just as much as her allies'. She is also said to see beauty in everything "no matter how gross", showing that she treats everyone as equals. In "The Return", it is revealed by Jasper that Rose Quartz was a masterful tactician, a crucial skill that earned her renown. Despite her role, in "Story for Steven", she was seen to have (at least to the knowledge of the Crystal Gems and Greg) a personality greatly resembling that of her son. Rose showed some ambivalence toward her role in the war; when Greg says he knew little about her, she described this as "a good thing." She is described by Pearl and Greg as someone who "always did what she wanted".

Rose did not fully comprehend the depths of human love in the early stages of her relationship with Greg, seeing that she was very confused when Greg tried to explain the concept of genuine affection. This led Pearl to believe initially that there was not much between Greg and Rose, confronting him with the idea that their "love" was only a phase, and that Greg's novelty would soon wear off. Seeing Rainbow Quartz gave Greg the idea to fuse with Rose, which he had hoped would help them understand each other. When Greg's fusion attempt failed, Rose started laughing at the thought in a way that he considered to be emotionally distant. When asked to talk like a real person, Rose was quick to admit that her sense of love was a facade, and she had no idea how human love worked. Greg and Rose began to talk, deepening their relationship. After their talk, it can be assumed that she had learned from Greg how to be more 'human', in a sense.

As revealed in "Greg the Babysitter" Rose had not just a misunderstanding of human love, but a misunderstanding of humans in general, going so far to think babies and adults were separate species altogether. Upon learning this, she became fascinated with the fact that humans grow, change, and chose what they become, where Gems are pre-destined to be whom they are. It could also be seen that she treats babies and adults the same motherly way, ironic given that she originally believed them to be separate species.

There is another unexplored side of Rose's personality - the legends surrounding her paint her as a ruthlessly efficient warrior and leader of the Crystal Gems who not only commands her fellow Gems in the rebellion but also participates in the fighting and who shattered Pink Diamond. This side of her personality seems at odds with the all-loving, motherly side of her; reflecting perhaps how the beauty of Earth and its lifeforms greatly affected the stern Gem warrior. It is worth noting that it is her compassion that leads her to rebel to protect others, so this behavior is not entirely out of the realm of possibility. In "The Answer", Rose is shown fighting alongside Pearl. She cracks a cocky smile before destroying a Ruby fusion. This would suggest an aggressive side to Rose's personality, which makes sense in light of her Gem type, a quartz. As implied in "Bismuth" however, Rose's nature as a warrior during the war was tempered by a strong sense of righteousness, as she refuses to go to the extent of needlessly killing Gems to win the war against the Gem Homeworld, proving her love for life was stronger than her warrior instincts.

"Bismuth" highlights both her compassionate nature and her capacity for deception in the form of Bismuth. Rose poofed and bubbled Bismuth and did not tell Pearl and Garnet the truth about what happened to her but did it due to Bismuth's development of the Breaking Point and her intentions to use the weapon mercilessly against their enemies during the war.

In "Steven's Dream", Steven asks Greg if Rose ever told him about Pink Diamond. Greg replies that there were many things that Rose didn't like to talk about, and that he never pressed her for any details. Greg goes on to say that him and Rose talked about many important things, and both made mistakes when they were younger. Rose believed she needed to confess everything to Greg, but he told her "the past is the past. All that matters to me is who you are now". Greg says that Rose was an incredible, loving being. The next day, Steven shows Pearl the drawing of Pink Diamond's Palanquin and says that he knows Rose shattered her, so what else is there to know. Garnet tells him that Rose never wanted him seeing that place, causing Steven to erupt. "Rose wanted- what about what I want? I'm sick of everyone lying to me! Rose is my mom, out of anyone, don't I deserve to know the truth?!" Steven later enlists Greg's help to find the Palanquin by telling him "I know you didn't want to get involved with Mom's past, but I wanna know the truth. Doesn't that matter at all?"

Appearance

Rose with her sword and shield.

Rose Quartz had very long, and curly pink hair styled in thick, tube-like ringlets. She also had defined lips with a pale pink color, bright-peach skin, and a taller and heavier build than the other Crystal Gems, due to being a quartz. In "Story for Steven", she was shown to be similar in height to Garnet and stood at eight feet. In "Lion 3: Straight to Video", she was shown to have had black eyes. Rose wore a strapless, floor-length, lilac and snow trimmed, tiered white and in some appearances a white and pink dress that had multiple layers which resembled the petals of a rose and had a star-shaped cutout in the navel area showing her gem. She was also barefoot.

Legacy

Statues and wall paintings of Rose can occasionally be found in Gem ruins, indicating she was looked upon respectfully by Gems at one point. This may indicate that she had a high status among her race.

The Crystal Gems often reminisce about Rose, and express their gratitude for her actions; Greg often laments over her departure with seemingly similar reasons. A portrait of Rose hangs over the doorway to the beach house where Steven lives.

While pregnant with Steven, knowing that she could never meet him personally, Rose made a video with the intent of posthumously expressing her love for him.

At one point about 5,000 years prior to the events of the series, Rose leads the Crystal Gems in a rebellious war against the Homeworld Gems on the Gem Battlefield and wins. It is stated by Jasper that although they fought on different sides, she respects the military tactics that Rose used during the war.

As seen in "Story for Steven", the Crystal Gems (excluding Rose) do not wear stars on their outfits at the time that Rose met Greg. This implies that the symbol may have been adopted as a sign of respect and grief for Rose after she gave up her physical form.