Analyzing Cthulhu’s True Size based on The Call of Cthulhu

The Glimpses of a Monstrous Entity

Lovecraft provided glimpses of Cthulhu through the eyes of terrified witnesses in “The Call of Cthulhu”, hinting at an inconceivable entity that defies comprehension. When the sailor Johansen encountered Cthulhu, he was only able to describe it as “a mountain walked or stumbled”, suggesting a form that contradicts the very laws of nature. Later witnesses also saw something beyond their ability to fully describe or understand. Through these fragmented accounts, we can only infer certain physical attributes of the great old one to analyze its plausible size.

Cthulhu’s Abilities Suggest Immense Scale

One crucial detail comes from Cthulhueffortlessly snatching up three grown men with its flabby claws in a matter of moments. For any creature to hold multiple adult humans that way, it would need hands far larger than a person. Estimating from a 6-meter tall armed yacht’s bowsprit height and Cthulhu’s swimming posture, its bobbing head likely had a diameter of around 5 meters. This implies a standing height of 30-40 meters for its overall hulking form that resembles Lovecraft’s sketch.

Further Evidence Points to Vast Proportions

When the Alert rammed Cthulhu, the entity’s body burst apart yet was able to rapidly recombine in the distance. For such a maneuver to merely slow such a being yet not destroy it, Cthulhu must have been tremendously massive. Its remains recombining so quickly as the yacht gained speed also hints at an enormous original size able to reconstitute from across huge distances. The passage further describes Cthulhu filling the sailor’s vision “nearly up to the bowsprit”, corroborating an estimated lower height of 20 meters.

An Entity Beyond Normal Scales

As the cultist Castro claimed, Cthulhu’s shape “was not made of matter” as we understand it. Any measurements can only be inferences from the encounters, not definitive. Its living form may encompass scales far outside our comprehension. Like an eldritch nightmare, Cthulhu’s true immensity seems designed to overwhelm the human mind. While calculations place it at 30-100 meters, Lovecraft intended its visage to inspire “shrieking and immemorial lunacy” too profound to fully describe or contain.

The Sheer Scope of Its power

Cthulhu’s might is reflected in its ability to exert influence across unfathomable reaches of time and space. The creature’s telepathic pull summoned cults “in every part of the world” throughout history. Even sunk dormant, it retained a hold over the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred who channeled the dread tome Necronomicon. When finally roused, Cthulhu was able to pursue the Alert” with vast wave-raising strokes of cosmic potency”. Such language hints at forces on a scale to match its physical form - utterly beyond mortal ken.

Size as a Portal to Utter Madness

In the end, measuring Cthulhu serves to highlight how small and insignificant humanity is against such an entity. Contemplating its true dimensions risks shattering rational minds as thoroughly as its very form defies comprehension. Perhaps that is Lovecraft’s deeper message - our feeble concepts of size pale next to what slumbers in the depths. Glimpsing Cthulhu’s full proportions may well be the herald of insanity, a portal into realms where no natural laws hold sway. Its immensity is best left as a half-glimpsed nightmare, lest we become lost in the same shrieking lunacy it inspires.

Conclusion: An Outsider Beyond mortal Metrics

To conclude, while estimates place Cthulhu’s height at 30-100 meters based on clues, its living anomaly transcends earthly measurements. As an outsider god from beyond humanity’s cosmos, it exists at scales that break mortal minds. Its size serves to highlight our utter insignificance against such a being. Ultimately, Cthulhu and its ilk come from realms beyond where our concepts of physics or reality apply. Their true forms are as incomprehensible as their motives - best left in the half-glimpsed shadows of primordial madness where they dwell.