Watcher in the Water
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The Watcher in the Water, of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, is a mysterious and horrific beast with tentacles resembling squid-like features. It appears in The Fellowship of the Ring, in the second book The Lord of the Rings as originally printed[1]. Writers have compared it to legendary Kraken and giant squids[2][3][4].
Origins
The origins of the creature is unclear and speculated to have been a creation of Morgoth during the First Age[4], or a Maia like the Balrogs[4].. Especially after the War of Wrath it can also be speculated that the Watcher in the Water may have hidden way and settled near Moria[4].
It is described to have lurked in a lake and appeared after the damming of the Sirannon[3] river, beneath the western walls of Moria[3][2] and was spotted by the Bilbo Baggins in 2994 and again by the Fellowship on the January 13 3019. The creature had at many tentacles, with which he attacked the Fellowship years after the failed attempts of the re-colonsiation of Moria by Balin[2].
During the War of the Ring, the Company of the Ring found that the Gate Stream had been dammed by someone or something, and before the gates of Moria there was a foul lake where the Watcher in the Water dwelt.
Shortly before the end of the Third Age, it lived in a lake before the West door of Moria[3][2], and attacked the Company of the Ring during the events of the book[4].
History
The Watcher attacked the Fellowship of the Ring as they were about to enter the mines of Moria at the Doors of Durin on January 13 3019[2]. Tolkien writes very little about the creature[3] in the novelisations but during the film adaptation by Peter Jackson the The Watcher in the Water appears to resemble a squid-like appearance. It was said that Gandalf did not know what the Watcher was or ever existed, or whether there were many of its kind[3]. It had grasped Frodo with a long tentacle; pale green and luminous it is described[2][4]. Many other tentacles emerged from the water after the one that grasped Frodo was driven away, but it is not totally clear whether these were all part of the same multi-armed beast[4][5], or a number of creatures attacking together[4]. After the escape of the Fellowship into Moria, the arms of the beast hurled the enormous stone doors shut and uprooted the trees that grew to either side, barring the doors, trapping the Fellowship in the mines[4].
Later, when the Fellowship finds the journal documenting the doom of Balin's expedition[5] to reclaim Moria[4], it relates: "... run the pool is up to the wall at Westgate[5]. The Watcher in the Water took Óin[2]. We cannot get out..." This is the only name Tolkien ever gave to the creature throughout the book. Gandalf himself as well as others noted that the Watcher had grabbed Frodo first which had disturbed him[2]. It was not known whether the power and influence of the Ring affected the Watcher's decision in grabbing Frodo[2][6].
Identity
David Day, in A Tolkien Bestiary, calls the Watcher a Kraken and implies that there are some differences between the Kraken of Scandinavian folklore and the Watcher in the Water. However, Tolkien never referred to the Watcher as a Kraken or described the presence of Krakens in Middle-earth. In The Tolkien Companion by J. E. A. Tyler, under "Dragon" it reads, "Cold-Drakes...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)." Like Day's account, this is only conjecture.
"What was the thing, or were there many of them?" asked Frodo.
"I do not know" replied Gandalf.
The Fellowship of the Ring: "A Journey in the Dark", Pg. 314-23
Film
The Watcher in the Water is mentioned in both the film adaptations of the Lord of the Rings:
- In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 version, the Hobbits are transfixed by the lake outside the gates of Moria. When Gandalf opens the doors, the creature grabs Frodo, but only the tentacles of the creature are seen, and they reach out and close the doors.
- In Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, the Watcher is portrayed as one creature, a black, giant squid-like monster with a gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth.
In other media
- The Watcher in the Water has appeared in Toyota's car advertisment[7].
Notes
- The Fellowship of the Ring: "A Journey in the Dark," Pgs. 314-23
Referances
- ^ http://www.geocities.com/LOTRsumm/lotrfotr.htm Retrived on 22-03-2008
- ^ a b c d e f g h i http://www.tuckborough.net/creatures.html Retrived on 22-03-2008
- ^ a b c d e f http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/w/watcherinthewater.html Retrived on 22-03-2008
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Watcher_in_the_Water Retrived on 22-03-2008
- ^ a b c http://www.freewebs.com/portsofpelargir/seamonstersandmisc.htm Retrived on 22-03-2008
- ^ http://www.patriotresource.com/lotr/characters/moria.html Retrived on 22-03-2008
- ^ http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2005/08/16/2476-watcher-in-the-water-a-toyota-fan/ Retrived on 22-03-2008
