Microsoft Word final-current Developments at the Intersection of British Children-online-version doc

Dark Materials
, there is no Fall but a conscious and voluntary katabasis by both main 
characters. Furthermore, Lyra does not betray Will on purpose. It is his own decision to 
follow her, and, like Lyra, to temporarily leave his soul behind for the journey into the 
underworld. Having plucked up the courage to face her fears and to engage the truth, 
something Lyra has had great difficulty with so far, the girl has an epiphany in the 
underworld. From the harpies she learns that telling stories does not automatically mean lying 
or letting your imagination guide you. Honesty and truth may not be as spectacular or exciting 
as invented stories, yet they reveal someone’s feelings. Since the latter make people 
vulnerable, being honest requires courage, whereas telling lies is something for cowards. This 
is one of the important lessons that Lyra has to learn. Freeing the souls from the underworld is 
a selfless deed which comes at great cost for her but proves to be immensely rewarding. Lyra 
has closed the circle of life and become wiser. Knowing her weak points and having met her 
true self, she is strengthened by this encounter. As with the biblical predecessors, there is the 
question of guilt, too. Both Lyra and Will have to leave everything in the form of their 
daemon or soul behind in order to be able to undertake the journey into the underworld. So 
the guilt they experience is not passed on through the generations as original sin requiring 
lifelong penance because they have betrayed themselves, no one else.
As long as they are still children, the daemon and the soul are still malleable and shift 
shape easily. Thus symbolising childhood, Lyra’s and Will’s daemon and soul had to be left 
behind. On their return from the underworld, the two main characters have changed and 
grown up. Consequently, their sudden and profound development causes a clash with the 
daemon and the soul. The latter have to come to terms first with having been left behind and 
need time to adapt to their estranged “owners”. Having learned the true nature of Dust and 
gained the knowledge of what is important in life and for the world, the main characters now 
have to put this into practice in their lives. At the end of the trilogy, Lyra’s and Will’s daemon 
and soul settle for good: The external indication that childhood is irretrievably lost now. Just 
like the girl and the boy can never return to their childhood, Pantalaimon and Will’s soul can 
never have the same intimate relationship as before. The guilt and the pain have caused 
wounds on all four of them. 

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236 
The role of God and the angels in Pullman’s His Dark Materials does not mirror that 
of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Although Milton’s God may appear surprisingly passive and 
reserved, thus permitting Satan to show extensive physical presence in the epic, he 
nevertheless does not forfeit the authority and respect that should be paid to him. By contrast, 
the god in His Dark Materials is portrayed in a very disrespectful way.
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God’s appearance, in 
a chapter soberly titled “Authority’s End”, is more than disappointing. The Authority against 
whom Lord Asriel rebels is far from being the powerful usurper and enemy he has been 
presented as throughout the trilogy. Encased in a travesty of Snow-White’s coffin, he is 
already treated as dead and only kept alive as long as Metatron, the Regent, pleases. 
Completely lacking glory, power and aura, this God turns out to be an empty shell and cannot 
live up to his name. Paradoxically, he makes his entry on the brink of death, thus causing 
disillusionment: A mortal God. What is more, he does not die a heroic death in battle against 
his enemies. He simply wilts away once freed from his crystal litter. Instead of fear or at least 
some respect, this demented, terrified and helpless being evokes only pity.
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Neither his 
position nor his death carry any weight. Once out of the litter, God dies from his frailty 
without any dignity. To him, death comes as a relief. Not only are God and a feeble, demented 
and dying person stark contrasts, but also the death of God becomes meaningless. Leaving no 
impact at all, he simply vanishes. However, the shock and disbelief this scene evokes is 
heightened even more by the terse statement that this scene takes less than a minute.
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Whereas the death of God, for many people scandalous and unthinkable, should be an event 
with an immense magnitude, impact and
repercussions, this God is so insignificant that his 
disappearance is only noticed by Lyra and Will because they happen to witness it. In the 
greater perspective it is nothing more than a peripheral phenomenon during battle; and even 
Lyra’s and Will’s attention is taken immediately afterwards by the grief over the death of the 
two Gallivespians. God is dead and no one notices nor cares.
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In Pullman’s His Dark Materials angels play a more important role than God itself, as 
it is the rebel angel Metatron who dominates the evil side and Baruch and Balthamos who 
represent the good side. Although Metatron is modelled on Milton’s Satan and shares traits 
such as lust for power and refusal of servitude and obedience to a higher being than himself, 
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This offensive, disrespectful portrait of God and the dealing with the institution of the Church in Pullman’s 
trilogy ought to have called into action more critics than Rowling’s supposedly occult heptalogy.
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Pullman, The Amber Spyglass, p. 431.
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Ibd., p. 432.
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This statement and all its implications alone would provide enough material for a study in its own right.

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237 
Pullman’s rebel angel is not as charismatic as Milton’s. He does not have to be, since 
Metatron is not an antagonist of equal rank of an almighty God. God is inferior to him, and 
Metatron has seized power long since. The angel’s defeat by Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel 
puts an end to his despotism. 
The good angels, by contrast, represented by Balthamos and Baruch, belong to a lower 
rank in the hierarchy and are weaker than human beings. The couple of angel lovers
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have 
their own character, with the older female Balthamos being dominant and Baruch reserved 
and docile.
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Despite her good nature, Balthamos cannot help making ironic and sarcastic 
remarks, which expose Will’s relative innocence to her experience of life. In their 
relationship, the two angels show unconditional loyalty, trust and love, thus setting an 
example for Will’s and Lyra’s tender bonds. Having discovered the secret about God,
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Balthamos and Baruch decide to support Lyra and Will and to take them to Lord Asriel, so 
that they can unite their forces in the battle against Metatron. Rather than remaining mere 
watchers,
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the angel couple intervenes and tries to positively influence the outcome of the 
battle. In His Dark Materials, angels are portrayed as pilgrims independent of space and time.
Taylor’s dark fantasy novels Wormwood, Shadowmancer, Shadowmancer: The Curse