One of the most original elements of Pullman’s trilogy
is the daemons. In Lyra’s world, every human has a daemon—a visible
version of the soul that takes on an animal form. In creating the daemon,
Pullman draws on medieval traditions in which witches and wizards
have animal “familiars,” creatures animated with some unearthly
spirit who can carry messages from the witch or wizard to the world
beyond.
In Pullman’s fiction, not only does everyone in Lyra’s
world have a daemon, but also everyone has a ghost that emerges
when he or she dies. The existence of these three parts of one being
mirrors Catholic theology, which posits that people consist of a
body, a soul, and a spirit, all of which are linked but distinct
from one another. The relationship between humans, daemons, and
ghosts is similar. A person dies when his or her daemon dies, and
a daemon dies when its person dies, but the third part of the person
continues to exist and becomes a ghost.
One’s daemon reflects one’s lot in life. Servants have
daemons that take the form of dogs, which are willing, friendly,
and obedient animals, just as servants are expected to be. Sailors’
daemons are often seabirds. A daemon can also reveal something about
the state of one’s soul. Mrs. Coulter, for all her outward charms,
can’t hide her essential nastiness and thus her daemon is a cruel
golden monkey.
Daemons don’t take their final shape when their owners
are still children. With this conceit, Pullman points out the malleability
of childhood. At the age of eleven, Lyra’s character is not yet
fixed. She can try out different personalities and ways of being,
all of which are reflected in the different shapes of her daemon.
When a person’s daemon settles, it means that the person’s character
has formed. Lord Asriel gets at this idea when he shows his slides
of the aurora borealis and the special projections of Dust. These
slides reveal that Dust is more attracted to adults than to children.
We don’t yet know what Dust is, but we know that it has something
to do with the difference between innocence and experience, the
difference between age and youth, and the process by which a person’s
daemon becomes fixed in one shape.
Summary: Chapter 6–Chapter 17
After escaping from Mrs. Coulter’s house, Lyra and Pantalaimon wander
through London. By the wharves, they are almost caught by a band
of slavers, but Tony Costa, a Gyptian, rescues them. Tony brings
Lyra with him to the houseboat on which he lives with his mother,
Ma Costa. The Gobblers have stolen Tony’s brother, Billy. The Costas
bring Lyra with them to a meeting of all the Gyptians, who are under
the control of Lord John Faa. As they travel, Lyra and Tony discuss
what the General Oblation Board is doing with the kids they steal.
Though they know where the kids are taken, nobody can figure out
what happens to them.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Coulter and the General Oblation Board
have police scouring England for Lyra, but the Gyptians keep her
hidden. At the meeting of Gyptians, which is called a Roping, Lord
Faa rallies his people to send a band of men north to rescue the
kidnapped children. After the meeting, Lyra goes to meet with John
Faa. She also meets Farder Coram, a wise and kindly old Gyptian
man. John Faa tells Lyra that she is really the illegitimate daughter
of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter and that Ma Costa nursed her as
a baby.
