His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
I chose to research and analyze Philip Pullman’s Lyra Silvertongue. As a kid, it was fascinating to have your soul on the outside of your body, and for it to it to be the opposite of your gender. If you are female, you are normally going to have a male daemon. With its deeply religious tones, the movie pulled me into its world, only to be devastated when I found out there would be no sequels because the Church deemed it to be heretical. When the TV show came out over a decade later, I was happy to live in a time when its critiques could be heard without hindrance. Now as an adult, who has read the books, I find myself in love with this universe where two scared children hold hands and hope for the best. The afterlife that comes out of their adventure is beautiful and worth analyzing.
As a member of the Catholic church, I recognize that my religion is not always amazing. Like any institution, it deserves to be critiqued for its misgivings and celebrated for its accomplishments. The reason I want to analyze Lyra in particular is that she grows up with all of these biases that I find happen when girls are raised in a very religious setting. It is interesting that normally girls like this go one of three ways: they either uphold the glass ceiling, they rebel within the confines of the system, or they leave the system all together. Lyra goes through all of this and a little more.
In addition to this text, I will be reading Paradise Lost by John Milton, as this work heavily influenced Pullman, and reviewing William Blake’s poetry. I want to get as many references as I can and see how Pullman either subverts or perpetuates stereotypes. As for the readings, I will submit some key passages that include background information and gender expectations.
Leave a Reply