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In Fantasy movie, The Shape of Water (2017), Eliza always take a egg timer near her tub.

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    Because if it was too far away she wouldn't hear it.
    – Edlothiad
    Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 8:39
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    Because she doesn't want to be late for work. She has a (self-agreed) amount of time set aside for her ablutions and (ahem) other activities.
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 8:58
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    Are you asking 1) Why it is an egg timer specifically 2) Why it's near the tub or 3) Why she uses any kind of timer at all?
    – Kitkat
    Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 12:59
  • @Valorum Sounds like an answer. Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 14:49

2 Answers 2

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According to the film's director it's because she is cooking eggs. Seriously.

“I wanted to show the way she dreams of water, uses water to boil her eggs, and then goes and gets in the water, and masturbates, shines her shoes, and goes to work. A perfectly acceptable routine by any standards,” he said, chuckling to himself. Elisa’s masturbation is part of her daily routine, becoming almost rote in the flow of the movie. Del Toro wanted to show female sexuality as something natural, which he recognized is so rarely done onscreen.

Guillermo del Toro on Why the Masturbation Scene in ‘The Shape of Water’ Is so Vital: Awards Season Spotlight Profile

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    Clever. This should be a comment.
    – amflare
    Commented Mar 9, 2018 at 18:29
  • I am honestly being serious. I thought it was because she likes eggs (&why she gives the one she always cooks to the 'monster' for its proteins)
    – Tim Dams
    Commented Mar 9, 2018 at 18:33
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    That's actually a pretty fair assessment. She finds the timer, goes into the kitchen (presumably to set her eggs off), then takes the timer into the bathroom
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 9, 2018 at 18:36
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    Could you add a bit more support to your answer then?
    – amflare
    Commented Mar 9, 2018 at 18:37
  • Done amflare, thanks for the feedback. Cheers
    – Tim Dams
    Commented Mar 9, 2018 at 18:46
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The film's official novelisation (co-written by the film's writer/director) confirms that her intention with the egg timer is to ... time eggs.

Instead, the world has conquered her. No amount of gewgaws picked up for pennies at garage sales and pinned to the walls can hide the termite-gnawed wood or distract from the bugs that scatter the second she turns on the light. She chooses not to notice; it’s her only hope to get through the night, the following day, the subsequent life. She crosses to the kitchenette, sets the egg timer, drops three eggs into a pot of water, and continues to the bathroom.

.... [a few minutes later]

But the timer, that infernal pip-squeak, ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-lings. Elisa splutters, embarrassed even though she’s alone, and stands, her limbs shiny and draining. She wraps in a bathrobe and pads shivering back to the kitchen, where she kills the stovetop and accepts the clock’s bad news: 11:07 p.m

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