The trilogy His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman's instant-classic contribution to the longstanding British tradition of fantasy narratives, has received countless awards, accolades, and fans of all ages, and rightfully so. Comprised of 1995's Northern Lights (released as The Golden Compass in North America), 1997's The Subtle Knife, and 2000's The Amber Spyglass, the books manage to take universal themes and present them in fresh and exciting ways, a hallmark of all great literature, and, indeed, great art in general. Pullman achieved such immediate recognition and reverence for his work that a mere three years after the publication of The Amber Spyglass, the books as a whole placed third in the Big Read poll, behind only Lord of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice as "Most Loved Book" of the British public.
Exploring the Worlds of Lyra Bellaqua
Commensurate with the popularity of the books has been the critical and academic analysis. Pullman expertly weaves history, religion, and science to such a degree that the books lend themselves well to deep study; the further one ventures into the worlds of Lyra and Will, the more intricate the patterns and numerous the layers of meaning.
The Gnostic Myth
Interestingly, however, the one word that best describes and encompasses the mythology of the series—Gnosticism—is rarely if ever mentioned in the myriad analyses that have been released in recent years. His Dark Materials is steeped and forged in the philosophy of Gnosticism, to the point where it would be impossible to separate almost any of the story's primary strands and themes from some underlying Gnostic source.
The Authority and The Demiurge
The most obvious manner in which His Dark Materials mirror a Gnostic portrayal of the world is its god/creator character, The Authority. The Authority—and, by extension, his regent Metatron—is the surrogate for the being known in Gnosticism as The Demiurge: a deeply flawed, extremely jealous, bitter and vindictive being who has entrapped all of humanity in a prison—our shared reality—and presented himself as God the Creator rather than a lesser being. These characters all represent the god of western religions. Here is how Pullman describes The Authority in a passage from The Amber Spyglass:
"The Authority, God, the Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, the Father, the Almighty—those were all names he gave himself. He was never the creator. He was an angel like ourselves—the first angel, true, the most powerful, but he was formed of Dust as we are, and Dust is only a name for what happens when matter begins to understand itself... The first angels condensed out of Dust, and the Authority was the first of all. He told those who came after him that he had created them, but it was a lie..."
Further Reading
The character of The Authority is only one of many aspects of His Dark Materials that mirror Gnosticism; to explore how William 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, ...
