Leviathan

The Leviathan was a gigantic sea creature encountered during Eustace Hightower’s return voyage, whose collision with Lady Meredith damaged the ship and helped turn a perilous passage into a year-long ordeal ashore.

Description and Encounter

Eustace’s company came upon a pod of Leviathans at sea. One, described as a huge white bull larger than a ship, struck Lady Meredith deliberately and cracked her hull. The account gives no further description of the creature, but its size and the damage it inflicted make the encounter a decisive hazard in the voyage.

Consequences for the Voyage

After the collision, Eustace changed course for what he believed was the nearest landfall, the Summer Islands. The voyagers were farther south than he had realized and missed the islands, reaching the coast of Sothoryos instead. Lady Meredith’s damage proved greater than expected, and the crew spent a full year there trying to make her seaworthy again. The Leviathan’s blow thus preceded a prolonged repair stop on a coast where the crew also faced lethal dangers.