Jane Chatwin - Watcher Woman

Jane Chatwin is an English Hedge Witch and the sister of Martin Chatwin. During their childhood, Jane and her siblings traveled to Fillory — a distant world of magic — where they reigned as the land's monarchs for years. During this time, Jane would be a target of the Watcherwoman, a Fillorian time witch, inspiring the young Chatwin to learn magic. When Ember and Umber, Fillory's twin gods, no longer allowed Martin to visit Fillory, Jane sought out a way to help her brother, gaining a magical button that allowed Martin to enter Fillory whenever he wanted.

However, when Martin began drinking from the Wellspring and learning dark spells, Jane searched for a way to stop her brother. For her quest to stop her brother, Ember gave Jane a magical watch created by the Dwarves to aid Jane should she fail. During her war on The Beast, Jane took over the mantle of the Watcher Woman and settled in the Clock Barrens, where she erected numerous, mysterious clock trees.

When Quentin Coldwater and his friends traveled to Fillory, Jane recruited them in her fight against the Beast, using her watch to create a new timeline every time they were defeated. In the 40th timeline, Jane was finally killed by The Beast on Brakebills campus, where she was buried.

Biography

Jane first appears in The Magicians as the paramedic Quentin encounters in the house where he was supposed to have his alumni interview. She gives him the supposedly sixth book in the Fillory and Further series, which she herself wrote. The book becomes Quentin's magical inspiration, and he uses the book later on in his magical journey. He finds that the book is Jane's version of events, correcting much of the details that Plover had gotten incorrect in the original novels.

Jane manipulates events behind the scenes multiple times in order to entice Quentin and his friends to visit Fillory and battle the Beast. These events include using a magical pocket watch — gifted to her by the dwarves — that allows her to manipulate the flow of time. Chatwin used this pocket watch on numerous occasions to essentially rewind time. Each time, she would change one minor detail, hoping that this would lead to the downfall of the Beast — this resulted in forty timelines being created, the final in which she ensured Julia Wicker did not attend Brakebills University. This was eventually successful in allowing Alice Quinn to kill the Beast. In her earlier years of using the watch, however, she caused hiccups in the timeline, eventually leading to her becoming the infamous Watcher Woman.

After destroying the stopwatch, Jane rapidly ages and retires to the Clock Barrens where she studies with the dwarves. Eliot and Janet visit her there to inquire about how to save Fillory.

Magic and Abilities

Magic

• Master Magician: Though she lacks the formal training from a magical institution such as Brakebills, Jane showed a high aptitude for magic, and was adept enough to be on the same level as other, well-trained magicians. Like her brothers, Martin and Rupert, Jane learned magic on her own, likely from studying the extensive collection previously held in Castle Whitespire's Armory prior to its looting.
  • Magic Manipulation: Chatwin is able to shape and manipulate the energy of the Wellspring to cast spells by writing specific formations with her hands, conjuring phosphorescent constructs of energy.
    • Time Manipulation: Jane was given a silver stopwatch by the Fillorian god, Ember, that was created by the Dwarves of Fillory. The powerful artifact allowed Jane to manipulate time on a cosmic scale and, according to Henry Fogg, Jane would use the pocket-watch to bend and reset time, essentially allowing her a second chance to battle her brother, Martin. Jane's continued abuse of this eventually gained her the name "Watcherwoman", and resulted in the creation of forty timelines.
    • Inter-dimensional Travel: Jane has been shown able to travel between Earth and Fillory with ease. She travelled between Fillory as a little child with the permission of Ember and Umber. However, during her adult years, it became apparent that she was able to travel between the two dimensions at will. She used this ability to travel to Earth, first assuming the persona of a paramedic — during her first encounter with Quentin — and then to assume the persona of Eliza.

Abilities

• Gifted Intellect: In the Fillory and Further series, Jane was described as extraordinarily clever, being able to solve complex riddles and escape difficult situations through use of her intellect. Even without the full comprehension of magical theory as taught at magical institutions, Jane is still intelligent enough to understand its basics. As is the standard for all Magicians, Jane possesses at least an above average level of intelligence that enables her to grasp the concept of magic and apply it in the physical world. She was able to escape the clutches of the Madness Maker, a trickster magician gone insane, by beating him at his own game, a testament to her intellect.

Equipment

• Magic Pocket Watch: After Martin Chatwin became a rogue Magician and began a campaign to control all of Fillory, Jane was given a magical watch by Ember to combat her brother and restore peace to the magical world.