Negative Narnia
Written: Apr 07 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Philosophically challenging, intriguing and page-turning
Cons: Is in accord with Nietzche's 'God is dead' statement
The Bottom Line: For critical thinking and a heavy dose of heretical ideas, read this series.
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| saumui's Full Review: Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials: The Trilogy ... |
I've just read all three of 'His Dark Materials' (a reference to Milton's Paradise Lost, book II) series by Phillip Pullman and have been left pondering, quizzical and troubled.
Pullman can write well - that's not in debate. All his characters develop throughout the three books of the series(The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) and Lyra and Will, the central figures of 'The Subtle Knife' and 'The Amber Spyglass' exert astounding sources of courage and wisdom. Marketed toward young adults, these pre-adolescent heroes serve as ideal role models for both the young and old.
However, with the conclusion of the series, we realize that Pullman has depicted a negative Eden, a negative creation story. The Authority, or God (he's called different names in the different worlds the children travel to) is not really the creator - and Heaven is only a story.
We learn that the rebellion in Heaven is about to re-emerge as an actual war between Lord Asriel (a thinly veiled euphemism for Satan) and the Authority who is the head of the Church and that Lyra and Will are the focal points for both sides. They have been destined to bring about the end of death.
Pullman's work has been compared to Tolkien and Lewis, but
I can only compare His Dark Materials to the Chronicles of Narnia in a negative sense. Where C.S. Lewis showed us the figure of Christ in the form of Aslan, Pullman has no Christ figure. Pullman shows this by reversing traditional notions of good and evil. In the final book, Lord Asriel emerges as a champion and the Authority as an evil, deceptive power.
From a Christian perspective, Pullman's notion that God is merely an usurper of authority is heretical. Pullman overtly criticizes the Church and utilizes the character of a former nun to propogate his anti-dogma. The underlying theory: God is a myth - but so is the Devil.
Where as in "The Last Battle" by Lewis, Aslan leads his people to a promised paradise, Pullman's series conclusion is more subtle. The war between the Authority and Lord Asriel ends in the deaths of God, the Devil and Babylon the Great. Pullman kills the archetypes of good and evil to prove that they don't really exist - that the only notion of goodness or badness lies in human actions.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
saumui
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Location: DC Metro area
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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