The Golden Compass

The novel for this week from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass; a novel of spiritual education. I was able to read half of The Golden Compass and it was different than what I had expected. Lyra,as the main character, definitely makes her the most interesting since the reader follows her journey. Since, I have only made it half way through the novel, Mrs. Coulter has not played a major role, but Pullman set up the plot in a way that the reader knows she will begin to play a more prominent role in Lyra's journey, which finding out Lyra's origins was definitely a surprise. After Lyra had run away from Mrs. Coulter, Lyra finds out that Mrs. Coulter was truly her mother and her "uncle" Lord Asriel, was in actuality, her father.
Pullman's character development allowed me to envelop myself in the reading. The mystery of Mrs. Coulter and her purpose was intriguing. Her daemon, the golden monkey, revealed some of her personality, especially when he would lash out in anger at Pan, Lyra's daemon. Pullman's invention of the daemon gave the novel and characters more depth. From what I noticed while reading, the daemon's were a part of the character's souls. For example, Pan was an extension of Lyra's life force, and whenever something happened to Pan, Lyra could feel it. The daemon’s helped with the fantasy of the novel and they acted kind of like the consciousness of the characters.
As I was reading The Golden Compass, I did not pick up on the spiritual aspects throughout. I am not entirely sure if it was because Pullman had embedded the teachings to certain happenings throughout. If the spirituality of a book is not obvious, it is hard for me to find it. When we had discussed the novel in class, the teachings and spirituality became clear, but it was through discussion that I finally realized. Pullman most likely embedded the meanings on purpose so it would teach morality and lessons, but the novel could also be entertainment. This would allow for multiple types of readers.