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Era-Sh3Era-Monsters

Template:Infobox SH monster The Glutton is a monster found in Silent Hill 3. While it is a major obstacle in Heather Mason's escape from the Otherworld Hilltop Center, it doesn't pose as a physical threat to her.

Appearance

The Glutton resembles a tall monster encased in decaying skin, trapped within (or part of) a cylindrical cage that surrounds its entire body. The bottom rung of the cage is adorned with an array of sharp spikes, akin to stalagmites, while the top is draped with what appears to be shrouds of the monster's skin, which may act as a form of tentacle. Features similar to feet can be seen between the spiked prongs, giving the impression that the Glutton is suspended within its cage. The spiked prongs are similar to those in the scenery of the battle with God.

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The Glutton twitching.

The Glutton possesses two mouths that convulse and squirm from its chest and "head". Although initially believed to be eyes, these are confirmed to be mouths; the Tu Fui, Ego Eris fairy tale shows a picture of a knight's foot extending from the Glutton's mouth as he is devoured whole. Around the Glutton's upper head is what appears to be a metal ring. This ring could possibly be mirroring a halo, perhaps alluding to Claudia Wolf's perspective that the monsters are holy figures created by the Order's God. From the fairy tale, the Glutton is portrayed as a formidable foe; this would be expected, given the monster's somewhat loud nature and the radio's emission of static, but the Glutton appears to show no such interest in Heather.

Character

Despite its seemingly non-violent nature, the Glutton's removal is necessary for Heather to escape the office building it resides in. After exploring the building for some time, Heather finds all the pieces of a story called Tu Fui, Ego Eris, which when read aloud in its complete form, causes the creature to cry out. When Heather returns to its former resting site, it has disappeared.

Symbolism

Fairytale

TheGlutton3

The storybook containing the Glutton. Its figure is depicted on the right page.

The Glutton's name is attributed to the creature in the story Tu Fui, Ego Eris, which gobbled up knights and villagers who attempted to leave their village. While the Glutton makes no hostile actions, it still blocks Heather from leaving the building, much like how the creature in the story blocked the villagers from leaving their home. It embodies the fear of helplessness before the circumstances.

The fairytale speaks of a priestess that is once killed, resurrected from compassion, and returns to defeat the monster. The reason the Glutton does not attack Heather might be that the priestess in the story is an embodiment of Heather, reborn from Alessa Gillespie out of compassion, returning to face the monsters.

Also, the folds hanging from the upper rung and the spikes protruding from the bottom rung slightly resemble a jaw full of teeth. The creature that is inside may actually be a representation of the monster's devoured victims as in the story.

Maternity and femininity

There is a running theme of maternity and femininity in Silent Hill 3 and its monsters due to the central conflict of the game centering on impregnation in the cult's attempts to force Heather to birth their god. The Glutton can be seen to be symbolic of various things involving this theme:

  • The Glutton may be symbolic of an infant, as infancy in all living creatures is a time of consumption and gluttony so one can grow. Although the creature is described as dangerous in the story, it is actually as harmless as an infant.
  • The Glutton may represent the female reproductive area, as its body's shape is slightly reminiscent of a medical diagram of that area in the way it starts out wide on the top and slenders down toward the bottom, just like the uterus and the vagina. Its two mouth openings could be taken to represent the urethral and vaginal openings as well. It is also worth noting that the vagina's primary function is to take things into itself (i.e. consume), such as the penis and semen, which fits the theme of gluttony. The soldiers the Glutton in the story eats could be seen to be a metaphor for sperm.
  • The creature within it could be symbolic of a fetus in the womb, which could be taken further to be seen as a breeched birth in noticing that its feet are coming out from the bottom. The subject of breeched birth can tie into women's fears of problematic pregnancies.

Harry Mason

Alternatively, the monsters may be symbolic of Harry Mason, as Heather reads the fairy tale not long before she discovers her father has been murdered. Claudia views Harry as a "monster" for stealing her childhood friend, Alessa Gillespie, away from her. This is evident when Claudia mockingly says Harry's name to Douglas Cartland ("That man, Harry Mason, stole her away and kept her hidden from us").

It is possible for the monster to reflect entrapment, in that the monster is barring people from being free. This may symbolize Claudia wishing to defeat the monster (possibly Harry) so that everyone can be free, attaining to her belief of a paradise that Harry is preventing.

Heatherharry

The monster, Harry, having been indirectly killed by the priestess, Claudia, to bring happiness to other people.

The act of killing the monster in the fairy tale apparently "had to be done". This strongly relates to Claudia's feelings toward Harry, who she believes must be murdered to birth God, in turn, giving everyone (in the fairy tale, the village) happiness. If the fairy tale was written by Claudia, then it would also correspond to the priestess being a "very, very kind" person; Claudia does not see herself as evil or self-righteous, but believes she is doing good for the world by trying to resurrect the Order's god and bringing salvation and Paradise to the people.

The priestess also uses words to indirectly kill the monster; likewise, Claudia uses the Missionary to indirectly kill Harry. Heather has no choice but to get rid of the monster, as it blocks her way out of the Hilltop Center, thus she can be seen reiterating the role of the priestess.

Trivia

  • A "glutton" is one who overindulges in food. Gluttony is also one of the seven deadly sins, a concept among some Christian groups, and means to hoard or consume any material thing in excess.

Gallery

v · e · d
Characters
Major Characters
Heather Mason - Douglas Cartland - Vincent Smith - Claudia Wolf
Other Characters
Harry Mason - Alessa Gillespie - Leonard Wolf - Stanley Coleman - Lisa Garland - Cheryl Mason - Jennifer Carroll - Joseph Schreiber - James Sunderland - Greys - Happy Birthday Caller - Danny - Confessor - Robbie the Rabbit - Sewer Fairy
Weapons
Beam Saber - Flamethrower - Handgun - Katana - Knife - Maul - Pipe - Shotgun - Stun Gun - Submachine Gun - Unlimited Submachine Gun
Monsters
Closer - Double Head - Glutton - God - Insane Cancer - Leonard Wolf - Memory of Alessa - Missionary - Numb Body - Nurse - Pendulum - Scraper - Sewer Monster - Slurper - Split Worm - Valtiel
Locations
Borley Haunted Mansion - Brookhaven Hospital - Carroll Street - Central Square Shopping Center - Chapel - Construction Site - Daisy Villa Apartments - Happy Burger - Happy Carousel - Hazel Street Station - Heaven's Night - Hilltop Center - Jacks Inn - KMN Auto Parts - Lakeside Amusement Park - Last Drop Cafe - Nathan Avenue - Underpass
Terms
Flashlight - Fog World - God - Map - Metatron - Monster - Otherworld - Paradise - PTV - Radio - Real World - The Order - Manifestation - Seal of Metatron - UFO Ending - Sexuality - Halo of the Sun - Red Square
Archives
Items - Keys - Memos - Puzzles - Soundtrack - Limited Edition Soundtrack - Secrets and Unlockables - Pachislot
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