| Watcher in the Water | |
|---|---|
| Tolkien character | |
 Book illustration byJohn Howe | |
| In-universe information | |
| Race | Unknown |
| Book(s) | The Fellowship of the Ring (1954) The Return of the Shadow (1988) The Treason of Isengard (1989) |
TheWatcher in the Water is a fictional creature inJ. R. R. Tolkien'sMiddle-earth; it appears inThe Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume ofThe Lord of the Rings.[T 1] Lurking in a lake beneath the western walls of thedwarf-realmMoria, it is said to have appeared after the damming of the river Sirannon,[T 1] and its presence was first recorded byBalin's dwarf company 30 or so years before the beginning ofThe Fellowship of the Ring.
The origins of the creature are not described in Tolkien's works, but critics have compared it to the legendarykraken and toOdysseus's passage between the devouringScylla and the whirlpoolCharybdis. Its presence in combination with the barrier lake and the formidable Doors of Durin have been likened to the multiple obstacles often found inNorse mythology.
InThe Lord of the Rings, theFellowship of the Ring are on a quest toMount Doom to destroy theOne Ring made by the Dark LordSauron. During their journey, they face two evil choices to cross theMisty Mountains: over the mountain of Caradhras through the Redhorn Gate pass, or throughMoria, a dark labyrinth of tunnels and pits. They first try the mountain pass, but the weather proves too severe, and the Fellowship turn back and approach Moria's West Gate, beside which the Watcher lived in a lake. It is said to have appeared after the damming of the local river Sirannon,[T 1] and its presence was first recorded byBalin's dwarf company 30 or so years before the beginning ofThe Fellowship of the Ring. When the party approaches the Gate, the Watcher seizesFrodo Baggins with a long, pale-green, luminous, fingeredtentacle, succeeded by twenty more. The Company rescue Frodo and retreat into Moria, and the Watcher seals the Doors of the West Gate shut.[T 1] AsGandalf commented, "Something has crept or been driven out of the dark water under the mountains. There are older and fouler things thanorcs in the deep places of the world." He privately notes that the creature reached for Frodo, the Ring-bearer, first out of all the members of the company.[T 1]
Later, the Fellowship find theBook of Mazarbul, a record ofBalin's failed expedition ofDwarves to reclaim Moria.[T 1][T 2] In the last pages of the book, the scribe, revealed to beOri, relates: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They [the Orcs] have taken the Bridge and second hall. ... the pool is up to the wall at Westgate. The Watcher in the Water tookÓin. We cannot get out. The end comes ... drums, drums in the deep ... they are coming."[T 2]
The "Watcher in the Water", or just "the Watcher", is the only name Tolkien gave to this creature.[1]
An early version of the Fellowship's encounter with the Watcher is found inThe Return of the Shadow. Tolkien's account of the creature at this stage is practically the same as in the final published version. Its emergence, physical appearance, abilities, attack on the Fellowship, and the breaking of the Moria Gate are already present in his initial writings.[T 3]
InThe Complete Tolkien Companion,J. E. A. Tyler suggests that the Watcher was acold-drake: "these dragons rely on their strength and speed alone (the creature that attacked the Ring-bearer near the Lake of Moria may have been one of these)".[3]
The essayist Allison Harl writes that the Watcher may be akraken created and bred byMorgoth inUtumno,[4] and that it represents a gatekeeper whose goal, in the context of the archetypal journey, is to keep the heroes from entering into new territory, psychologically or spiritually. This "guardian theory" has been echoed by writers such asJoseph Campbell.[4][5]
The scholar of English literatureCharles A. Huttar suggests possibleorigins for the Watcher in the Classical world. He compares the combination of the tentacled monster and the "clashing gate" when the Fellowship pass through the Doors of Durin, only to have the Watcher smash the rocks behind them, toGreek mythology'sWandering Rocks near the opening of theunderworld, and toOdysseus's passage between the devouringScylla and the whirlpoolCharybdis.[2]
The scholarJonathan Evans describes the monster as "the vague Watcher in the Water" and "a many-tentacled creature".[6] He notes Gandalf's description, and compares this with Gandalf's later statement that "the world is gnawed by nameless things" in Moria's deepest places, older even thanSauron "and unknown even to him".[6]
Marjorie Burns, a scholar of English literature, situates the Watcher in the Water as part of a triple obstacle to entering Moria: "ominous obstructing waters, the Watcher within, and highly resistant doors".[7] She comments that such a "piling up of opposition" ischaracteristic of Norse mythology, in which it is common for there to be massive obstacles, unwelcoming gates,aggressive dogs and "persistent guardians".[7]
Norbert Schürer writes inMythlore that Tolkien effectively describes the state of the water, the nature of the Watcher, and the situation of theCompany of the Ring on their dangerous quest all at once, the aquatic environment "symbolically represent[ing]" the difficulty of the choice to be made.[8]
| Water body | Description | Interpretation | The decision to be made |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sirannon stream | previously "flowed", "strong and full"; now "a trickle" | as if it has "intent" | The choice is not easy; the Company may hope for a flowing journey, or get mired in dark dirty water |
| Pool | "sullen", "ominous" | as if it has "agency" | |
| Creek | "green and stagnant [with a] slimy arm", "dark", "unclean" | as if it was a living body | |
| Disturbed water | "seething", "pale-green and luminous and wet" | "the awakening of the beast" |
The Watcher in the Water appears inPeter Jackson'sThe Fellowship of the Ring (2001). In Jackson's adaptation, the Watcher is portrayed as a colossal,octopus-like monster. Jackson stated in the commentaries that the original idea was to have the Watcher drag Bill the pony, who was carrying the party's baggage, underwater. In the concept art gallery feature on the DVD, the artistsJohn Howe andAlan Lee explain that the Watcher was one of the most difficult creatures to design as Tolkien had written so little about it.[9]
The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game byGames Workshop, based on Jackson's film, calls the Watcher in the Water the "Guardian of the Doors of Durin".[10]
Clearly Charybdis is yet another route to hell.
