His Dark Materials, the celebrated coming-of-age fantasy trilogy by Philip Pullman, is arguably the most analyzed literary creation of the past 20 years. The story—which begins with 1995's Northern Lights (released as The Golden Compass in North America), continues through 1997's The Subtle Knife, and concludes with 2000's The Amber Spyglass —has been deconstructed and reconstructed countless times, as critics and academics alike seek to find a label that encompasses all of its many facets. Although Pullman himself has acknowledged the one school of thought that best describes the philosophical foundation of the trilogy—Gnosticism—rarely have the critical and academic analyses discussed how central the tenets of this faith are to the story and its themes.
Lyra's Ascent from Innocence to Experience
The most obvious aspect of His Dark Materials that is inspired by the Gnostic myth is the character of The Authority, a false god that is called The Demiurge in Gnosticism and Jehovah (among many other names) in Western religious nomenclature. However, the personal development of Lyra Bellaqua is also extremely significant as a model of the Gnostic journey of self-discovery.
As she ages through the three books, Lyra gains a moral clarity as she becomes aware of her own assent into adulthood. This assent is most clearly portrayed by a realization of her romantic feelings for Will. These feelings are what the agents of The Authority most want to quench; their quest is to force children to forever inhabit the world of innocence—The Garden of Eden in biblical terms—instead of descending into the world of experience.
The Ascent from the Garden
From a Gnostic perspective, this "descent" is in actuality the miracle of existence that affirms our connection to the true creator—the goddess Sophia, referred to as Dust or Sraf in His Dark Materials. Without becoming aware of the world of experience, children would live as Lyra does early in Northern Lights—"like a half-wild cat," lying for the fun of it, unable to live a truly moral life simply because she is not even aware she has a choice.
As she becomes a woman through the arc of His Dark Materials, what Lyra is really uncovering is her own God-head; the light of being that is the true representation of The Sophia. It is, essentially, an inversion of the creation myth of The Old Testament; what is called The Fall from Grace—Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden—becomes the necessary process by which a child, with her childish sense of the world and morality, becomes a truly self-aware woman. Pullman masterfully weaves Lyra's journey from innocence to experience with other characters who also make this journey—Mrs. Coulter, Lord Azriel, the angel Balthamos, and Lee Scoresby, among many others, end up sacrificing themselves at the alter of collective victory for the side of Sophia and Dust in the everlasting battle against the forces of The Demiuge and The Authority.
The Republic of Heaven
The final words spoken in the trilogy encompass this contrast: Lyra and her friends have defeated The Kingdom of Heaven—a world ruled by a dictator, in which free will is squashed—and replaced it with The Republic of Heaven, a world of collective and individual freedom and fulfillment.
Further Reading
Philip Pullman found a great deal of inspiration in another celebrated British author who explored new interpretations of the Gnostic Myth: William Blake. To explore how Blake exerted a profound influence on the works and worlds of Philip Pullman, read Blake and Gnosticism.
Jerod Allen - Born and raised in Seattle, Jerod L. Allen has been writing in some capacity his entire life. His topics of interest include cinema, ...
