"You know the feeling when you are swimming and something brushes your legs down below--it scares the hell out of you if you don't know what it is. It's the fear of the unknown. So I decided to exploit this fear as much as possible in filming Creature from the Black Lagoon."
                                     --Jack Arnold, director and co-writer (Brosnan, 92)

      The gill-man, like King Kong, threatens society's relationship boundaries. The Creature shows distinct interest in the female member of the expedition, Kay. At first, he is a bashful observer of the woman's playful swimming and he demonstrates empathy through mimicry (Jancovich, 179). As long as distance is maintained, there is harmony among the characters. However, when the gill-man ventures into Kay's air-filled world, her reaction to his appearance is surprise (vocalized as a scream). The peace is shattered and the men are spurred into violent action. Society, represented by the men of the expedition, cannot abide by the Creature's attention to Kay. When he finally closes the gap between Kay and himself, taking her away from the men who dismantle the earth's crust and threaten his independence, a showdown occurs between the gill-man and David, her other suitor. With help from rifle-toting comrades, David claims Kay for himself. He then asserts his dominance by permitting the gill-man to return, broken, to the water. The pairing of unlike characters is not tolerated, and the taboo against intimacy between individuals of different race, class, or-as in this case-species is reinforced.
      The gill-man is an evolutionary adolescent, caught between the aquatic childhood of primordial life and the terrestrial adulthood of modern humanity (181). He is shown at the left emerging from the water, like a pioneering species millions of years ago. For eons he has lived undisturbed but by a few errant natives who created legends to preserve their existence and insulate his world. As modern scientists encroach upon his Lagoon, the Creature fights to defend his home (178). The more he struggles to maintain the sanctity of his Lagoon; the more fear is conjured up in the scientists. The expeditionists confront their fear with the tools of evolved man. The mature male figures in the film are rational scientists, dependent on reason and intent on fulfilling goals. They analyze, plan, and prepare their tools while the Creature watches and reacts. When the Creature does enact a plan (using Kay as bait to draw rival David into the open), he is rendered powerless in a world he in which he does not belong. The gill-man finds himself in a rivalry for a woman as a mate, requiring strategies to achieve his goals. These qualities are associated with the humans that have evolved and do not fit the gill-man's natural profile. By playing by modern rules, the ancient Creature forfeits his innocence and his existence. Therefore, the Creature's resistance to evolution was tragically futile.