The Moon Pool · Chapter
V: Into the Moon Pool explained
Throckmartin describes the terrifying emergence of the Dweller from the Moon Pool—a radiant, androgynous being formed from seven colored beams and opalescent mist.
What happens
Throckmartin describes the terrifying emergence of the Dweller from the Moon Pool—a radiant, androgynous being formed from seven colored beams and opalescent mist. He recounts his failed attempt to destroy it with gunfire, his capture by its shining tentacle, and the mingled ecstasy and horror that paralyzed him. Edith's scream breaks his trance, and he manages to wrench free. Later, Throckmartin tells Goodwin of Stanton's similar fate: Stanton was levitated away, glowing with inner light, surrounded by seven tiny moons. Despite their fear, Throckmartin and Edith resolve to face the Dweller together rather than abandon each other. The chapter ends with Throckmartin himself being taken by the radiant pillar while aboard the ship, leaving Goodwin unconscious and alone.
Themes in this chapter
Science vs. the Supernatural
Throckmartin attempts to use a pistol and scientific reasoning to destroy the Dweller, but the being's supernatural nature renders his weapons useless.
Forbidden Knowledge and Pride
Throckmartin's determination to uncover the mystery of the Moon Pool leads him and his companions into deadly danger, echoing the peril of seeking forbidden truths.
Duality of Human Experience
The Dweller embodies a fusion of ecstasy and horror, good and evil; Stanton's face shows both rapture and misery, reflecting the dual nature of the encounter.
Characters to notice
- Dr. David Throckmartin
Narrates his encounter with the Dweller in the Moon Pool; describes his failed resistance and capture; later recounts Stanton's disappearance; ultimately is taken by the radiant being from the ship.
- Dr. Walter T. Goodwin
Listener to Throckmartin's story; expresses belief in Throckmartin's account; witnesses Throckmartin's disappearance from the ship.
- Edith Throckmartin
Screams upon seeing the Dweller; pleads with Throckmartin to let the being take her instead; resolves to face the danger together with her husband.
- Dr. Charles Stanton
Previously taken by the Dweller; described as a 'thing of living light' with a tranced face and seven tiny moons above him; levitated away over the wall.
- The Shining One
The Dweller in the Moon Pool; a radiant, androgynous being formed from seven colored beams and opalescent mist; captures Throckmartin with a shining tentacle; later takes Stanton and finally Throckmartin himself.
Key passages
“There forming before me was That which had walked with Stanton, which had taken Thora—the thing I had come to find!”
The Dweller in the Moon Pool materialized before Throckmartin—the same entity that had taken Stanton and Thora, and the very thing he had been seeking.
Throckmartin recognizes the Dweller as the cause of the earlier vanishings.
“Every atom of me quivered with delight and shrank with despair. There was nothing loathsome in it. But it was as though the icy soul of evil and the fiery soul of good had stepped together within me.”
Throckmartin felt an overwhelming mix of pleasure and terror, as if the essences of good and evil had merged inside him.
Describes the paradoxical sensation caused by the Dweller's touch.
“His face shone with a rapture too great to be borne by living man, and was shadowed with insuperable misery. It was as though it had been remoulded by the hand of God and the hand of Satan, working together and in harmony.”
Stanton's expression reflected an unbearable joy combined with profound suffering, as if shaped by both divine and demonic forces.
Throckmartin describes Stanton's transformed appearance after being taken by the Dweller.
“‘We will meet it together,’ she said. And it was thus at last that we arranged it.”
Edith insisted that she and Throckmartin face the Dweller together, and they ultimately agreed to do so.
Shows the couple's resolve to confront the supernatural threat united.
