48 pages • 1-hour read
The Winged Watchman
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Symbols & Motifs
Windmills
Because of their vital role in preserving the land and safeguarding the Dutch people, windmills become a broader symbol of protection in the novel. When rain falls relentlessly and there is an electricity shortage, the newer windmills are inoperable, and the resulting floods jeopardize crops, livestock, and homes. Father’s traditional windmill, the Watchman, is the community’s only viable method of pumping out the excess water and saving the area. The titular Watchman’s role as a protective symbol is evident as the narrative states, “The results of the Watchman’s success were soon apparent. […] Their polder had been drained in time, and the crops had been saved” (171). In this critical moment, the Watchman prevents disaster and saves both the crops and people’s livelihoods.
Additionally, windmills provide safety in a more specific sense. The Verhagens make their home within the broad-winged Watchman, and the abandoned Giant harbors the British airman Charles King. On the night when the Verhagens help Charles relocate, Joris flees from Leendert, and his sentiments upon beholding his home aptly illustrate his family’s regard for the structure: “The Watchman…the Watchman […] Winged Watchman…guardian angel” (71). Because Joris’s only chance of escape lies in the windmill, the edifice literally serves as his “guardian angel” when he jumps onto its moving wing and clings to it as Leendert runs past, unsuspecting. The wing protects Joris and buys him time to slip inside. Later, when the singing at the dike is broken up by German bullets and threats, the Verhagens collectively rush back “to the Watchman,” and its proper name is invoked to signify the protection and comfort that the mill provides for the family. In many ways, the windmills of Holland serve as guardians over the people and land, ultimately representing stability and security.
Freya
Joris’s beloved dog, Freya, becomes a symbol of loyalty and serves as a motif for the novel’s focus on The Importance of Making Ethical Choices. From the outset, Freya will do anything for Joris. When Mother sends her son on a quest to gather mushrooms, the dog accompanies him and helps him as best she can. Despite her dislike of mushrooms, Freya faithfully finds them and even protects them until Joris arrives. Additionally, she barks whenever there is a visitor, alerting the family of the need to hide the “underdivers,” like Charles or Hildebrand. In fact, on the day when everyone gathers at the dike, Freya thwarts Leendert’s attempts to infiltrate the Verhagens’ home. As Hildebrand relates, “He wanted to go up the stairs, but she stood guard on those steps like a jailkeeper. He couldn’t get through and then she lost her patience and bit his leg. Did he yell! He was off like lightning, she after him” (169). The gleeful tone of Hildebrand’s description cements the descriptions of Freya’s unwavering loyalty to the Verhagens and their guests.
Moon
The moon, which often serves as a silent companion to the characters’ nighttime resistance activities, symbolizes hope and optimism. When Joris sneaks out to deliver food to Charles King, he walks in the dark and watches as “the moon flood[s] the landscape with silver” (50). Thus, the moon guides his way along the dike and shimmers with a silver light that connotes a sense of goodness within a murky sea of danger and threats. Like a silver lining on a dark cloud, the moon implies positivity and infuses the landscape with an implicit sense optimism as Joris makes the dangerous trek to the Giant.
By contrast, the absence of the moon in certain scenes underscores the dangers involved in some of the characters’ efforts, as when the boys and Cor bring Charles to the Watchman and note that “it [i]s a much more frightening journey this time than it had been before. There [i]s no moon, only wind and rain, and they kn[o]w Schenderhans [i]s on the prowl, looking for the missing aviator” (70). Without the silver light of the moon, the threats seem “more frightening” and ominous than on the previous journey. This fear is reiterated in a later scene when Joris follows the wagon to the weapons drop and warily notices that “the moon [i]s hidden behind clouds” (142). In this case, the lurking darkness represents the boy’s uncertainty. However, when he sees little lights pop up throughout the meadow, “the moon br[eaks] through the clouds, flooding the landscape with its eerie silver” and heartening the boy with its presence as he realizes that he is witnessing the weapons drop (143). In this moment, Joris appreciates the illumination of the moon and feels comforted by the idea that the Resistance has the means to fight back against the Germans.
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