Maturation in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials:
An Adlerian reading
Name: Sophia den Otter Student Number: s1382373 Supervisor: Dr. I Visser
Date of Completion: April 24, 2009
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Index
Introduction 1
Chapter One: Alfred Adler’s Theory of Maturation 4
Chapter Two: Maturation in The Golden Compass 14
Chapter Three: Maturation in The Subtle Knife 28
Chapter Four: Maturation in The Amber Spyglass 40
Conclusion 49
Appendix 53
Introduction
This honours dissertation explores the theme of maturation in the literary work His
Dark Materials by British author Philip Pullman. Philip Pullman, a best-selling author in contemporary Britain and America, has been publishing literary works since 1972, including novels, plays, non-fiction books, a comic and companion books to his works. Pullman is however primarily known for his novels, which make up the stock of his oeuvre. The larger part of Pullman’s novelistic oeuvre has proven to appeal to young readers, including Count
Karlstein, The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, The Ruby in the Smoke Quartet and the trilogy
His Dark Materials, having rendered him the denomination “children’s writer”. Having attained no outstanding commercial success in the eighties and early nineties, it was the publication of the books comprising the trilogy His Dark Materials which put Pullman in the public eye at the threshold of the new millennium. His Dark Materials comprises the books
The Golden Compass1, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, respectively published in 1995, 1997 and 2000. Apart from the 50 million copies which the trilogy has sold worldwide, the trilogy has yielded Pullman several of the most influential British prizes in the fields of both English children’s literature and English adult literature. For The Golden Compass Pullman has been awarded the Carnegie Medal (1995), The Whitbread Prize for Best Children’s Book (2001) and the “Carnegie of Carnegies” (2007)2. For The Amber Spyglass Pullman received the Whitbread Book of the Year Prize in 2002, which had not been bestowed upon a children’s book up till then.
In His Dark Materials, Pullman describes the coming of age of two children and their eventual return to the normal world, having become mature individuals in the course of their
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The Golden Compass is the American title for Pullman’s first volume of His Dark Matrerials, Northern Lights. As I have used the American edition for this dissertation, I will use the American title throughout.
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initiation. In this framework, which borrows the home-away-homecoming plot from traditional children’s literature, Pullman touches upon a broad range of themes including physics, theology, philosophy and spirituality by depicting a world in which the Catholic church controls personal lives and in which children grow towards a stable identity through attracting elementary particles, which are linked to coming into experience.
Since the publication of the last volume of His Dark Materials, The Amber Spyglass, literary scholars have taken up the trilogy as a subject for academical study. The result is a generous body of scholarly literature which touches upon the broad range of themes Pullman addresses, ranging from investigations into Pullman’s depiction of consciousness (Shohet) to the exploration of Pullman’s use of intertextuality (Scott). A number of edited works presents a diverse range of scholarly interpretations on the trilogy (His Dark Materials Illuminated;
Navigating The Golden Compass), but also works which explore a single theme (Rutledge; Rustin and Rustin) are part of the body of scholarly interpretations of Pullman’s trilogy.
displayed. This is opposed to established psychological approaches which do not see maturation as a process which is defined through the individual’s growing directedness towards others but rather in terms of the development of sexual fixations (Freud) and a final integration with the self (Jung). By using the Adlerian concepts of the Final Fictional Goal, the Life Style and Social Interest, the child protagonists’ maturation can be illuminated by the desire to belong and to bond with others.
The focus of my investigation into the maturation process of the child characters will be on their changing ways of feeling, thinking and acting as depicted in the narrative. Two important factors in the child character’s maturation process are the personality as established by the early social situation and the amount of social interest which has been shaped by the particulars of this situation. The early social situation accounts for the individual’s
characteristic behaviour, resulting in a potentially social stance towards life or a hostile stance. I will explore the child characters’ characteristic social behaviour as compared to the social behaviour which they display in the course of the trilogy.
In the first chapter of this dissertation I will elaborate on the concepts of Alfred
Adler’s psychological theory which I will use to illuminate the maturation process of the child characters. In chapter two, chapter three and chapter four, respectively about The Golden
Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, the social dynamics of the child characters’ changing way of thinking, feeling and acting will be investigated. Eventually it will be possible to consider significant moments of maturation across the three volumes of the trilogy and see how the children have developed into socially mature individuals, thus
Chapter One:
Alfred Adler’s Theory of Maturation
In order to explore the child characters’ psychological maturation, the specific changes which occur in their behaviour during their journey need to be outlined. By using the Adlerian concept of the Life Style, it is possible to discern the individual’s “characteristic” way of behaving. Behaviour which deviates from this characteristic mode of behaviour can then be explored for its maturational significance. In this chapter, I will elaborate on the particular concept of the Life Style and the other Adlerian concepts which I consider necessary to my analysis, the Final Fictional Goal and Social Interest. Since in this dissertation I apply concepts from psychoanalysis on a personal reading of literature, the relevance of the combination of these two academical disciplines in general, and to my personal focus in specific, needs attention first.
Literature and Psychoanalysis
As long as literary criticism exists, people have tried to deepen their understanding of
In the 20th century the psychological approach became associated with a particular school of thought, psychoanalysis (Guerin 85). Psychoanalysis provided a method of
investigation in the mind, a set of theories about human nature and a method of treatment for mental illnesses but was also extensively used by the founder of the psychoanalytic
movement, Sigmund Freud, as a tool to interpret literature: first as a way to uncover the psychopathological aspects of the personality of the author, of which Freud believed the literary work to be an expression (Bosmajian 104), later also to explain the behaviour of literary characters in terms of his theory on intraphysical, unconscious drives. I will elaborate on Freud’s foremost theory on the origins of human behaviour in the section below.
As I state that Pullman’s protagonists develop into socially responsible individuals, I have to employ a method which can trace this development. Since Alfred Adler’s
maturational theory, as opposed to Freud’s – whose maturational theory deals with psychosexual development - deals with psychological development in terms of social adaptation, Adler’s theory is a suitable means to illuminate the (social) development of the child protagonists.
Freud, Jung and (Children’s) Literature
functions to satisfy the pleasure principle, the primordal life-principal (Guerin 89). The Ego is the rational governing agent of the psyche. The Ego is needed to regulate the instinctual drives of the Id: the Ego is what we normally call the conscious mind. The third psychic zone was the Super-Ego, the moral censoring agency which represses or inhibits the drives of the Id, which are deemed unacceptable by society. Freud put his theory into practice in applying it during the conversations he had with patients suffering from mental illness or psychological impairments. By locating powerful emotional energy in the unconscious mind and
subsequently releasing it, Freud cured his patients from their mental disturbances. In addition to his work as a clinician, Freud pioneered in psychopathography (the study of the psychology of the author of a literary text), interpreting the work as an expression of the author’s inner conflicts. Freud also intermittently commented on characters in
literature3, which eventually lead to Dr. Ernest Jones’s Hamlet and Oedipus, the first full-scale psychoanalytical treatment of a major literary work (Guerin 94). In the 1920s, the psychoanalytical treatment of literature was a widely used type of psychological approach.
However, it was not until the publication of Bruno Bettelheim’s 1976 book The Uses
of Enchantment that children’s literature became involved with (Freudian) psychoanalytical interpretative practices. By focussing upon the child’s sexual energy as being a threat to a meaningful life and social order (Bosmajian 105), Bettelheim argues that fairy tales, by dealing with universal problems, provide the child with a moral education.
Also Carl Gustav Jung’s work on archetypes has been frequently used to enhance the reading of literature, and in particular of children’s literature (Bosmajian 106). Jungian readings traditionally involve discovering “archetypes”, which are universal psychic dispositions, in literature, which are important imperatives in different stages of human development. As Jung’s theory focuses on an original wholeness that can be regained after
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alienation is overcome, this theory is a suitable tool for the interpretation of children’s literature, as this structure is congruent with the resolution of many narratives for children (Bosmajian 107).
Although Freudian and Jungian perspectives have been frequently used to illuminate the psychology of literary characters, the psychological perspective of Alfred Adler, a psychoanalysist originally from the circle of Freud, has been neglected in literary analysis. Like Freud, Adler sees experiences in childhood as formative of personality but instead of viewing maladaptive behaviour as a consequence of sexual frustration as experienced in childhood, maladaptive behaviour can be explained through analysing external factors. Providing a focus upon the social context as formative of the children’s personality development in His Dark Materials, Adler’s theory is a suitable means to trace the development of the child characters.
Alfred Adler
Adler’s early ideas on the nature of human behaviour, which provided the firmaments for the theoretical conceptswhich I will employ in this dissertation, evolved from his personal life experiences4. From his early childhood, Adler suffered from physical ailments and was confronted with death on two occasions. Also as a student, Adler suffered from a number of physical ailments and seemed unable to learn mathematics (Stepansky 8; Mosak and Maniacci 2). Adler’s experience of his own physical inferiorities inspired his extensive writings about organ inferiorities at the beginning of his career as a physicist. According to Adler in his 1907 work The Study of Organ Inferiority and its Psychological Compensation, the weakness of
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one organ could be compensated by the human body. This compensation could be attained by the increased functioning of another organ, by the development of behaviour which hid the physical effects caused by the dysfunctional organ or by the formation of a psychological goal which involved activities with which this organ was particularly involved (Mosak and
Maniacci 34). In these observations, Adler’s emphasis on the universal human orientation towards growth is rooted: by experiencing or perceiving personal inferiorities, humans strive to overcome these inferiorities.
In his time as an ophthalmologist Adler developed an interest in diseases which were a consequence of social conditions and began to publish essays on general health. Together with his interest in socialism this laid the foundations for his idea of “Gemeinschaftsgefühl” or “social interest” (Mosak and Maniacci 2) which Adler explains as the potential we innately possess to form an empathic, emotional bond with each other and the world. By displaying this interest, true psychological development takes place.
revived through the efforts of the American-based psychiatrist Rudolf Dreikurs. This heralded the founding of a new American Adlerian society, the NASAP, and an international Adlerian association, the IAIP.
In the course of the 20th century, Adler’s ideas on the significance of external influences on human growth have been taken up by important scholars in the field of psychology such as Karen Horney, Erich Fromm and Harry Stack Sullivan. Although in literary criticism, Horney´s psychological theory has been extensively used to explore the behaviour of fictional characters5, the use of Adlerian theoretical concepts has been neglected. I believe that Adler’s theory has a similar potential for exploring the behaviour of fictional characters as it has a broad range of tools to its disposal to deepen the understanding of fictional characters’ behaviour.
Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology
Adler provided a different approach towards the structure of the human mind as theorised by Sigmund Freud in that he believed that an individual is a unity in everything that he or she thinks, feels or does, whether unconscious or conscious. Adler:
Very early in my work, I found man to be a [self-consistent] unity. The foremost task of Individual Psychology is to prove this unity in each individual- in his thinking, feeling, acting, in his so-called conscious and unconscious, in every
expression of his personality. (Adler qtd. in Mosak and Maniacci 14)
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Adler’s ideas are generally known as “Individual Psychology”, indicating Adler’s emphasis on the individual being as a subject of psychological investigation. According to Adler, the ‘unity’ in every individual’s movements could be proven by establishing the ultimate goal of this behaviour, the goal to which all movements are aimed.
The other important premise of Adler’s psychology is his emphasis on the importance of the social environment in human psychological development. Adler held external
influences in the early social situation accountable for particular personality characteristics and additionally saw the individual’s behaviour as conditioned by these external influences on the way. After having indicated Adler’s general psychological theory, a further explanation of the Adlerian concepts which I will use as a means to illuminate the psychological
development of the child characters, is therefore to be made. The Adlerian concepts I will focus upon pertain to the Final Fictional Goal, the Life Style and Social Interest.
Alfred Adler’s Final Fictional Goal
attractiveness, performance, conquest and so on. Although the final fictional goal may not be right considering the circumstances, it helps us dealing with reality more effectively and helps us to organize our environment.
By acknowledging the final fictional goal, the behaviour which is aimed at reaching this goal becomes visible. In this behaviour, psychological maturation is evident as the individual departs to reach their goals. In order to see whether the behaviour as displayed in the course of striving towards the final fictional goal provides a break with earlier behaviour - which indicates a change which may point at psychological maturation - it is necessary to establish features which are part of the individual’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting. These features are theorised by Adler in his concept of the Life Style.
Alfred Adler’s Life Style
skills that reinforce movement towards that goal are emphasized, and those that subjectively appear to be irrelevant are discarded (Mosak and Maniacci 42). The way the child perceives the final fictional goal and the choices which it makes in achieving this goal are characteristic of the child’s Life Style.
Adler saw the Life Style as influenced by both biological and psychosocial factors. I will focus on the latter as most useful for the scope of this dissertation, as I view the
psychological development of the child protagonists as particularly socially conditioned. In Adler’s view, the most important psychosocial factor which influenced the Life Style is that of the family constellation. Adler deemed the family climate (Mosak and Maniacci 38) a decisive factor in the development of the child. Especially the character of the relationship between the parents played an important role in the formation of the child’s character. Not only the family climate influenced the child’s character, also parenting styles played a role: according to Adler, pampering and neglect are the two styles which are potentially the most threatening to a child’s development into a healthy individual. Adler also saw the sibling constellation as decisive of character development. As the characters which are the focus of my analysis are not part of a sibling constellation, this psychosocial factor is not relevant for the present analysis. Another important psychosocial factor Adler distinguished is the effect of culture, neighbourhood and school upon development (Mosak and Maniacci 41). The values of a particular culture, the type of neighbourhood in which children perceive
themselves as growing up and the type of school and teachers affect personality development. By investigating the Life Style, the particular way the child character’s personality is constructed comes to the surface, and behavioural traits which stand out in the course of their journey can be compared to this set of characteristic behavioural features in order to
Alfred Adler’s Social Interest
Adler believed that social interest, “Gemeinschaftsgefühl”, was an attitude the individual needed to possess in achieving satisfactory relationships with others (Grey 61). Adler felt that every human being possessed an innate potentiality to display social interest which had to be developed. If in every generation people display feeling for each other and take responsibility for what happens in the world, humanity is on its way to perfection. If one strives for one’s own and others’ welfare, social interest is manifested in caring, compassion, social
cooperation and so on. If we however strive for our own well-being only at the expense of other individuals or societal obligations in the course of his striving, a low degree of community feeling is manifest. Adler was convinced that “horizontal” superiority striving, which entails the striving towards a plus situation while taking into account other people’s welfare, brought humanity a step closer to the “ideal society of mankind” (Mosak and Maniacci 113), which is characterised by the higher development of the individual and the group (Adler 5). Adler believed that goal-oriented striving without taking into account other people’s welfare halted the higher development of the individual and the development towards “the ideal society of mankind”.
Chapter Two:
Maturation in The Golden Compass
This chapter focuses upon the child protagonist of The Golden Compass, Lyra. In the course of several months, Lyra psychologically matures. Although this period may seem relatively short in order for psychological maturation to take place, the exploration of the process by using Adlerian psychological concepts proves that psychological maturation indeed takes place.
Apart from Kim Dolgin’s investigation6 into the maturation process of Lyra - and Will, who shares Lyra’s position of protagonist in the subsequent volumes- and Margaret and Michael Rustin’s exploration of Lyra’s development7, the process of (psychological)
maturation has not been explored as a subject per se. Although the theme of Lyra’s maturation has been discussed by literary scholars such as Amelia Rutledge (125), Millicent Lenz (6), Lauren Shohet (28-29) and Carole Scott (102-103) respectively exploring the different kinds of nurture which shape the maturation process (Rutledge 131), exploring maturation in terms of the expanding of consciousness (Lenz 1-13; Shohet 28-29) and exploring maturation in Miltonic-Blakean terms (Scott 102-103), the process of maturation has not been interpreted from a perspective of growth in which social interest is indispensable for reaching maturity.
In this chapter, I will discuss Lyra’s psychological maturation process by applying Alfred Adler’s concepts of the early social situation, the Life Style, the Final Fictional goal and Social Interest. The first two concepts are explanatory of Lyra’s personality and provide insight into her way of thinking, acting and feeling. The last two concepts illuminate Lyra’s maturation process in that they put the maturation process into a framework of psychological
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In ‘Coming of Age in Svalbard and Beyond’ Dolgin, a developmental psychologist, traces the maturation of the child protagonists by referring to several phases of cognitive development as determined by psychologists Jean Piaget, David Elkind, Lawrence Kohlberg and Sigmund Freud.
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forward orientation. By applying the concept of the Style of Life, Lyra’s psychological development can be assessed in terms of her (changing) mode of thinking, feeling and acting. In relation to the Style of Life stands Adler’s concept of the Final Fictional Goal, which serves to illuminate Lyra’s psychological development in terms of her need to belong. Finally, Adler’s concept of social interest sheds a light on the moral imperatives of Lyra’s maturation process.
Lyra’s Early Social Situation
Lyra’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting, whose redefinition is at the core of the maturation process, can be investigated by outlining the early social situation. Particularly the absence of nurturing parental figures is significant for Lyra’s behaviour in The Golden
Compass. The importance of the early social situation upon the personality and the personality development of the individual is acknowledged by Adler (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 205). The factors which are generally of influence to this social environment are gathered under the name “psychosocial factors” by Adler’ scholars Mosak and Maniacci (Mosak and Maniacci 37).
she unconsciously tries to achieve a sense belonging by identifying with her only known relative, Lord Asriel (GC 27).
In the introduction to his treatise on the meaning and importance of fairy tales, Bruno Bettelheim8, an internationally renowned child psychologist, touches upon the negative consequences of a lack of security for the child’s maturation process (Bettelheim 11). Without knowing what security is from the start, a child will encounter problems during his
maturation. However, at the points where Lyra achieves parental security – this I will discuss in the section “The Quest for Identity”- Lyra’s development comes to a standstill, which favours the interpretation that parental security arrests development. This can be illuminated by Adler, who is of the view that a “minus-situation” (Mosak and Maniacci 23) is a
prerequisite for further development: without experiencing a lack of something, which is in this case the lack of much-need parental nurture, Lyra’s development would be arrested. This is also observed by Amelia Rutledge, who argues that fulfilling the desire for parental nurture, would be a regression (Rultedge 125) for Lyra.
Lyra’s personality development is influenced by her early social environment: the lack of parental nurture is important for Lyra’s forward orientation. As Lyra’s personality is not exclusively shaped by external influences, but also entails characteristics which cannot be derived from the early social situation, I will turn to an exploration of these characteristics in the next section.
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Personality Characteristics
In order to investigate Lyra’s maturation process, it is necessary to outline her personality characteristics as displayed in The Golden Compass. Together, these characteristics provide Lyra’s basic behaviour, which will be extensively used in assessing the maturation process. The entirety of behavioural expressions has been theorised by Adler in the ‘Life Style’, which he summarised in the phrase “the consistent movement toward the (final fictional) goal” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 173).
The characteristic way in which Lyra thinks, feels and acts becomes evident when she experiences a heightened sense of a lack of belonging. This is caused by the disappearance of her friend Roger Parslow at the beginning of the volume (GC 45). The manifestation of the characteristics of Lyra’s personality in unfavourable circumstances can be illuminated by Adler’s theory about the Life Style: unfavourable circumstances lead to a manifestation of the individual’s “basic rules” of thinking, feeling and acting (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 173). The personality characteristic which becomes evident through the disappearance of Roger is Lyra’s distinct sense of right and wrong.
In both the above cases, Lyra’s acts upon her sense of right and wrong by respectively embarking upon a perilous journey and providing the severed child with a last honour. In order to do this she has to leave her “world of delight” behind and set aside her fear for dead people. The concern for the welfare of others which is present in her character paves the way for the great amount of selflessness which is needed to release the ghosts from bondage at the end of her journey. The development of an extended selflessness is an intrinsic part of Lyra’s maturation process in the course of the trilogy in that the challenges she meets require a sacrifice of the self. Without the sacrifice of personal concerns, Lyra’s psychological development would stop.
Lyra’s selflessness can be illuminated by Adler’s concept of social interest: according to Adler, social interest is displayed when an individual takes the well-being of others into account in his or her thinking, feeling and acting. Social interest is particularly displayed in the courage to be imperfect, contribution to the common welfare, caring, compassion,
creativity, commitment and closeness (Mosak and Maniacci 113). Although every individual posseses the potential for social interest, not everyone uses it to a similar extent.
right and wrong accommodates psychological growth: through the decision to save Roger, Lyra leaves her personal concerns for the concerns of someone else, which indicates mature action. Therefore, Lyra’s absolute sense of right and wrong is not the instigator of “an omnipotent delusion”, but it is a necessary characteristic for healthy psychological development.
The second personality characteristic which is part of Lyra’s Life Style is her rich imagination. This is expressed in her tendency to invent stories. Imagination is central to the plot of the trilogy, in that imagination is eventually needed for Dust – the terms used by Pullman to refer to the invisible particles which signify consciousness, knowledge and wisdom- to be created, thereby ascertaining the development of mankind towards a higher consciousness. Although critics such as Lenz (7) and Rustin and Rustin (103) see Lyra’s imagination being subject to redefinition only in the final volume of the trilogy, an Adlerian reading shows that Lyra’s imagination is subject to redefinition at an earlier stage already. The introduction of “artistry” in storytelling (GC 208) in order to escape dangerous situations shows that Lyra has to adapt her characteristic way of thinking: “She had to be careful not to say anything obviously impossible; she had to be vague in some places and invent plausible details in others; she had to be an artist, in short” (GC 208). The development of artistic abilities at this point paves the way for the artistry or “creative imagination” (Lenz 7) which is needed to tell true stories at the end of the trilogy. In the same passage, Lyra’s storytelling is compared to the act of reading the alethiometer, which only can be acquired by intense mental concentration and patience (Rustin and Rustin 103) which illustrates the advanced mode of thinking which is required for performing it. This illustrates my view that Lyra’s imagination is subject to change.
characteristic way of behaviour in order to overcome difficult situations. In the fourth chapter, the development of Lyra’s imagination will be further elaborated upon, as the artistry of imagination as developed in The Golden Compass evolves into a “disciplined artistic creation” (Lenz 7).
The Quest for Identity
In the early stages of her journey in The Golden Compass, Lyra unconsciously adopts changes in the way she thinks, feels and acts as a consequence of the search for an identity. This can be illustrated by Adler’s views on the individual’s formation of a goal: according to Adler, the goal of achieving belonging is the foremost goal of every individual and the individual’s Life Style is particularly aimed to achieve this goal (Mosak and Maniacci 17). In order to belong, Lyra adopts Life Style changes which will make her achieve her goal of belonging. This is the case when she is with Mrs Coulter, the gyptians and the seafaring people.
In the case of the gyptians (GC 84) and the seafaring people (GC 123), Lyra
voluntarily adopts their register and way of handling daily activities. By adopting community specific Life Style characteristics, her sense of security is enhanced. However, she is not given the opportunity to become a real part of these communities, but is rather impelled forward by the nurture she receives, a point also supported by Amelia Rutledge (Rutledge 125).
signifies Mrs Coulter’s manipulation of Lyra’s manner of behaving. Foreclosed individuals do not normally strive to explore their identity and rather adapt themselves to the role which they have been assigned. It is clear that Mrs Coulter likes to see Lyra in the role of the submissive, pretty girl, making Lyra fit her ideal by showing her how to groom herself and commanding her how to behave (GC 63, 65). Lyra’s new identity as forged by Mrs Coulter and Lyra’s initial adaptation to this identity, make that her personality development comes to a standstill. Mrs Coulter’s ambiguous motives are not only evident in the way she tries to mould Lyra into the shape which suits her goals, but also in her character’s association with coldness: “Have the caterers brought enough ice? […] Warm drinks are horrid” (GC 65). This brings to mind parallels with the White Queen of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, whose cold splendour and indulgence, like Mrs. Coulter’s, “inspires both terror and awe” (Rustin and Rustin,
Narratives of Love and Loss, 45).
Development of Creativity
As I have argued in the previous section, it is the desire to achieve a sense of belonging that lies at the base of Lyra’s psychological development. In this process, the development of creativity is a vital element, as Lyra needs a creative imagination to survive the underworld in the last volume of His Dark Materials and stop Dust from leaking out of the world. Although Lenz stresses that Lyra particularly evolves a creative imagination in the last volume of His
Dark Materials (Lenz 7), I observe that Lyra evolves a creative ability already in the early stages of her journey in The Golden Compass. These creative abilities involve seeing possibilities for past experiences to be used in present situations.
The first situation in which Lyra creatively uses past experiences to shape present experiences is when she and the children she has rescued from Bolvangar have to fight off a group of Tartan soldiers (GC 214). Initially convinced that “children can’t fight soldiers […], It wasn’t like the battles in the Oxford claybeds, hurling lumps of mud at the brickburner’s children” (GC 214), Lyra realises that she can apply knowledge she has gained in the past to shape the future and starts perturbing the soldiers. Another situation in which Lyra makes uses of past knowledge to shape the future is at the point where she forges a plan to escape Iofur Raknison’s bear palace: “Everything she heard about the bear king added up […] a way, finally, of getting to the place where they had put Lord Asriel, and taking him the alethiometer” (GC 246).
The growth that is inherent in the development of Lyra’s creative imagination in The
again is impossible (Mosak and Maniacci 20), because every organism, including humans, is orientated towards growth. Lyra’s instances of using past experiences to shape present situations are thus part of the process of maturation.
In addition to the sense of psychological growth which is connected to Lyra’s evolving creative imagination, Lyra’s psychological growth is evident in her growing skill of reading the alethiometer. Although in her article “Reading Dark Materials”, which discusses Lyra’s different modes of reading in His Dark Materials, Lauren Shohet stresses that Lyra reads the alethiometer by intuition as derived from innocence, I view Lyra’s (advancement in) reading the alethiometer rather as a mark of “experience”, which entails psychological growth: in order to be able to read the alethiometer, Lyra needs to concentrate and combine visual and mental skills, which are compared to those of “an expert player” (GC 112) of chess. My interpretation is affirmed by Rustin and Rustin, who stress the mature mode of thinking which is needed to read the alethiometer by pointing out the “intense mental concentration” which is needed for it and the ability to “bear ignorance” and be “patient for meanings to emerge” (Rustin and Rustin 103).
Lyra’s mature mode of thinking is ultimately evident when she is still being able to concentrate and find the right answers to the questions as proposed to the alethiometer when she is imprisoned in the bear palace (GC 241): Lyra’s “expert player” skills have become a part of her Life Style and allow her to stay calm in dangerous situations.
Development of Rationality
the ability to approach problems in a rational way instead of an emotional way. The first instance at which Lyra shows a tendency to rationally approaching a subject is when she tries to convince Farder Coram that she is an indispensable participant in the rescue party of the gyptians (GC 105). She adopts the kind of behaviour which she thinks is effective to reach her final fictional goal, which at this point entails the persuasion of Farder Coram. Instead of “screaming her frustration […]” (Rutledge 121), Lyra rather tries to convince them by arguing her cause (GC 140). In these cases, Lyra shows the ability to reason, which means that a change in Life Style has taken place since her departure from Oxford.
On two other occasions – the first at Bolvangar (GC 183), the second after Iorek Byrnison has left in order for Lyra to continue the chase after her parents (GC 286) – Lyra’s rationality provides a means to overcome fear and to continue her journey: “There was nothing that could be gained by wishing for it. A final deep shaky breath and she was ready to go on (Compass 286).” Lyra manages to rationalise her own thinking, feeling and acting: she overcomes her feelings of anxiety and continues striving towards her final fictional goal. Without this rationality, Lyra’s striving would cease, making her unable to save Roger from the world of the dead and to come into experience. The process in which rational impulses win over from emotional impulses can be illustrated by Adler’s view on the individual’s thinking, feeling and acting in order to reach the final fictional goal. According to Adler, unconstructive behaviour is discarded and more resourceful behaviour is emphasized in order to reach the final fictional goal (Mosak and Maniacci 42). As rational thinking provides in this case the strength to reach the final fictional goal, this behaviour is adopted and more
Lyra’s Ultimate Goal of Belonging
In The Golden Compass, Lyra is preoccupied with finding a sense of belonging through the attachment to her parents. In placing a concern which does not surpass the private realm - the quest for her biological parents -, above the goal to find back Roger, she eventually causes the latter’s death. Although critics argue that Lyra is displayed as a “moral exemplum” (King 115), who acts on “altruistic impulses” that involve a “protective responsibility” towards others (Rutledge 121), an Adlerian exploration of Lyra’s goal of belonging discloses that Lyra’s ultimate goal of belonging does not have a wider social implication.
Lyra’s feelings are divided between her parents and Roger on two occasions: the first occasion occurs when Lyra stays at Mrs Coulter’s. Lyra’s goal of (re)gaining a sense of belonging is divided between finding Roger and her urge to belong to Mrs Coulter. At this point Lyra feels that she can achieve belonging in two different ways, namely either by finding back Roger or attaching herself to Mrs Coulter. The situation in which a goal does not have one single form is described by Adler: a goal can have many permutations and
components (Mosak and Maniacci 17). The choice to stay with Mrs Coulter, which is aimed at personal security at the short-term in favour of the choice to continue her search for Roger show a selfish impulse in Lyra’s nature, as opposed to the “moral exemplum” Lyra is argued to be.
would go to Svalbard with the bear and take Lord Asriel the alethiometer, and use it to help set him free; and they’d build the bridge together, and be the first across (GC 141).”
Lyra is more preoccupied with taking Lord Asriel the alethiometer than with saving Roger. This is not in line with the “protective responsibility” (Rutledge 121, King 115) which is said to be a characteristic part of her character. On a semantic level, Lyra’s lack of interest for Roger’s cause is symbolized by the use of the general noun “the children” instead of the use of the proper noun “Roger”.
Lyra’s preoccupation with rescuing her father and achieving a sense of connection to him by embarking upon a joint project (GC 141) can be derived from the lack of parental nurture Lyra has experienced in her early social situation. When it turns out that Lord Asriel has a “self-serving intention” (Lenz 8), Lyra eventually abandons her plans of belonging to him. Lord Asriel’s non-parental behaviour (Compass 271) provides a growth opportunity for Lyra, for reaching her goal of belonging would, as Rutledge correctly argues, be a
“regression” for Lyra (Rutledge 125). In this sense, it is Lyra’s “mistaken sympathy” for Lord Asriel which impels her forward: the confrontation with her father’s wickedness makes her averse to further identification with him, impelling her to shape an independent identity.
Lyra’s failure to make the morally right decision to save Roger leads her to the realisation that she has been in the wrong. This is an important moment in Lyra’s maturation process since it impels a future design to change her behaviour: “Next time we’ll check everything and ask all the questions we can think of […]. We’ll do better next time” (GC 292). At this point, Lyra’s looses the sense of childish superiority she has previously been deriving from her connection to Lord Asriel (GC 27) and realises her own shortcomings. Through becoming aware of her shortcomings, Lyra takes a new step in defining her identity.
explore Lyra’s maturation process as depicted in The Golden Compass in terms of behavioural change. By investigating Lyra’s early social situation and personality
characteristics, the basis for her psychological growth is provided. Against this background, changes in behaviour can be observed and be illuminated. Adler’s theory of human
Chapter Three:
Maturation in The Subtle Knife
This chapter investigates the psychological maturation process of both the child characters of Will and Lyra in The Subtle Knife. I argue that both children’s need for cooperation gradually bends their way of thinking, acting and feeling into a socially useful direction. In the case of Will Parry, the main character of The Subtle Knife, the trust as developed in Lyra provides him with a new way of thinking, feeling and acting. This new behaviour is opposed to his characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting as developed in his early social situation. Firstly, Will’s early social situation will be outlined as Will’s early social situation explains his difficulties with cooperation.
Will’s Early Social Situation
Will’s personality, which forms the basis for the process of his maturation, has been shaped by his early social situation. According to Adler, this early social situation entails a number of environmental factors which can be clearly distinguished. The factors which have been of importance in establishing Will’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting, the Life Style, involve the particular constellation of the family and the effect of culture and school (Mosak and Maniacci 41).
Will’s Life Style is influenced by the lack of a stable family environment, created by the mental illness of his mother and the absence of a father. His mother’s illness has been of great influence to his behaviour, which is evident in Will’s unusual responsible and
is also forced to think ahead in such a manner that his mother comes to no harm: he anticipates future events to keep his mother from being “notice[d], comment[ed] [at] and stare[d] [at]” by children and by the authorities which he thinks are being after her (SK 301).
The importance of the mother’s influence on the child’s personality formation in early life is emphasized by Adler, who states that “the mother represents the greatest experience of love and fellowship the child will ever have” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 372). By
“nourish[ing] the child’s growing consciousness with true and normal conceptions of society, of work and love”, the child’s love for her is transformed into a “benevolent, confident and responsible attitude towards society and the whole environment” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 372). Taking into account that Elaine Parry’s mental illness has made her largely unable to transfer regular conceptions of society to her son - her mental illness excludes her from society - Will’s view of society is distorted and for the greater part shaped by the “searing experience[s] of life’s cruelties” (Rustin and Rustin, “A New Kind of Friendship” 234), which involve his mother’s persecution by authorities and the local children. These experiences have made Will adopt a defensive attitude which is occasionally expressed in violence (SK 489). The reflection of experiences in the personality formation process can be illustrated by Adler’s emphasis on external factors as the shaping elements of the personality (Mosak and Maniacci 37).
The absence of a father is also important for Will’s Life Style development. According to Adler, the role of the father is to provide, together with his wife, for the “care and
order to substitute the lack of protective ability of his wife is taken over by Will as a consequence of his father’s absence, which has forced Will to adopt behaviour which is normally associated with a caretaker rather than a child.
Will’s occasionally aggressive behaviour can be illustrated by Adler’s investigation into the general profile of “the problem child” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 384): aggressive behaviour is an indication of a hostile environment (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 390). Although Will does not fit Adler’s notion of the problem child (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 385) due to the fact that his behaviour is not rooted in a profound self-interest, Will’s Life Style is indeed influenced by the hostility of his environment. In their essay “A New Kind of Friendship” Rustin and Rustin affirm that external influences have been decisive for Will’s Life Style formation: “his [Will’s] experience of protecting her – from social services and from the persecution of local children, has toughened him, and made him unusually self-reliant” (Rustin and Rustin 228).
The hostility of the early social environment is the second important factor which has shaped Will’s way of thinking, feeling and acting to a great extent. Will’s home situation is characterised through “otherness” - his mother’s mental illness is considered divergent from the family ideal, as is the absence of his father- and as a consequence does not fit the standard norm of the family. The otherness of Will’s social situation is metaphorically contained in the appearance of their house: all the houses in the street they are living in are identical, except for their house, “which was by far the shabbiest” (SK 303). The unacceptability of being other is evident through society’s hostile posture which is particularly expressed through
initially bonds with the first child who is mentioned in relation to him, Lyra, only to pursue his own goals (SK 345).
Will’s unwillingness to cooperate stems from society’s insufficient understanding of his problems. Apart from being transferred by the mother, the individual’s “benevolent, confident and responsible attitude” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 402), which Adler gathered under the name “social interest” is first being transferred in the classroom (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 402). When a problem arises between children it is a teacher’s task to discuss the problem and propose that the children talk the matter out. As there is no teacher who picks up on Will’s troubled situation, there is no opportunity through which Will is able to develop a different view about his peers. As a consequence, Will believes in the hostility of other children and his conduct towards them is hostile in return.
Will’s Ultimate Goal of Belonging
The urge to attain identification with his father stems from the deficient sense of belonging Will has experienced in his early social situation. The “obsessional anxiety” (Rustin and Rustin 228) which regularly permeates Elaine Parry’s character is the reason that Will has not been able to experience the constant security which a child needs in order to develop a healthy attitude towards life. Will’s sense of belonging in relation to his mother is however
complicated: it is clear from the start that Will has indeed experienced a sense of belonging which is evident in his mother’s affection and his deep feelings of attachment in return: she is, when in one of her better tempers, “so full of sweetness” (SK 308) that Will “could think of no better companion, and wanted nothing more than to live with her alone forever” (SK 308). The strong urge for identification with his father is what makes Will eventually overcome the emotional difficulties he has with leaving his mother behind: the choice to leave his mother in order to pursue his father proves that the lack of belonging Will experiences is more important than the sense of belonging he already possesses. This situation can be illuminated by Adler’s theory on the individual’s continuous striving to a more advantageous position. Adler saw the striving for a better position as fundamental to psychological development, taking into
account that people are naturally growth-motivated and strive for perfection. Will eventually chooses to leave a minus-situation, in which he is regularly exposed to the cruelties of life, in the hope to attain a plus-situation. This plus-situation takes its shape in an action/adventure story in the manner of Indiana Jones, “hacking through the jungle, shading their eyes to gaze out across stormy seas from the deck of their schooner […]” (SK 307).
friends”, saving “each other’s life countless times”, laughing and talking together over campfires “long into the night” (SK 307). This has its roots in Will’s unfamiliarity with the nurturing relationship which is normally at the core of a parent-child relationship: Will is not aware of the possibility of being dependent of an adult figure because the only adult in his life, his mother, has taken up the position of a child rather than the position of a caretaker. Additionally, Will’s social isolation has prevented him from establishing any other
relationship of dependency which could have made him aware of the possibility of nurturing relationships outside of the family circle.
Will’s particular need for a strong parental figure is a reflection of Lyra’s early social situation for also Will lacks a true sense of belonging which is the main reason for embarking upon a journey. Children who come from regular nurturing environments have experienced a sense of security already before their maturation takes off, providing them with the idea what they need to achieve in order to feel secure in the world (Bettelheim 11). Will and Lyra, who lack a secure formative environment, are not aware of what they are looking for. However, it is the lack of primary sense of belonging that causes them to mature psychologically. In this sense the lack of family can be seen as stimulating the children to grow, or, as Kristine
Moruzi correctly observes “instrumental in helping the children becoming more independent” (Moruzi 58).
Will’s Life Style Development
As opposed to Lyra, Will’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting, his Life Style, is already evident before he embarks upon the journey to find back his father. This is a
been forced to adopt behaviour which has enabled him to carry out this task. This behaviour, which has unusual self-reliance at its core, has become an integral part of Will’s Life Style. Will’s Life Style becomes however subject to change due to social interaction. His “mistaken style” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 192) is brought nearer to social adaptation.
Will’s Life Style is changed drastically through the acknowledgement of his need for interdependence. Interdependence, or “social interest” as Adler called the need to be socially significant, (Ansbacher and Ansbacher) is not an intrinsic part of Will’s Life Style, taking into account that he has not been used to any form of cooperation with his peers (SK 309) as a consequence of his own distrust towards other children. Will’s ignorance of any form of a broader social usefulness (Adler 197) is particularly visible in the emphasis he puts on his personal goal and his unwillingness to cooperate in an interdependent relationship (SK 319). “[…] I ‘ve got my own things to do. You’ll have to find your scholar by yourself” (SK 319). Also the way in which Will exercises authoritive influence over Lyra in Cítagazze and
subsequently Oxford, expresses Will’s unfamiliarity with the mutual concessions which are at the core of healthy social interaction (SK 345, SK 375). Will’s lack of social interest takes such forms as a willingness to kill those who prevent him from achieving his goal: Will’s final fictional goal, acquiring a sense of belonging through finding back his father, is of such vital importance to Will that he is willing “to hurt someone […]” (SK 426) who prevents him from reaching his goal.
Apart from Will’s deficiencies on the socially useful side, Will is more mature for his age than Lyra. Although they are of the same age, Will assesses Lyra with an unusual
of them” (SK 317). Will sees through the eyes of an adult rather than through the eyes of a child and uses his mature perceptiveness as a way to reach his goal.
It is not until the point where Lyra tries to prove her worth to Will - Lyra makes herself conspicuous in order to diverge all suspicion – (SK 374) that Will is confronted with his mistaken Life Style. It is the first time that Lyra takes charge of the situation, which is a new development. Will’s authoritive attitude is once again evident in his rejection of Lyra´s characteristic way of handling difficult situations: “If you speak to people you just attract their attention” […] “You should just keep quiet and still and they overlook you. I’ve been doing it all my life. I know how to do it. Your way, you just - you make yourself visible. You
shouldn’t do that. You shouldn’t play at it. You’re not being serious” (SK 375). It is evident that there is however not one Life Style which is “the right one”: both Life Styles have been shaped by experience and have proven useful to the individual children in the past.
For Will, the confrontation with his own self-boundedness is a major moment of insight: Will realizes that he needs to open up for the possibility of cooperation in order to find his father and his defensive attitude changes into one in which there is room for
sympathy: “Will listened without comment, but attentively, with sympathy” (SK 378). Will’s newly displayed social interest will not only have the preservation of mankind at its aim on the long term, but is salutary to him on the short term – responsibility and trust rightly observed by Amelia Rutledge as just what he needs (Rutledge 125)-: “Will felt himself smiling. It was going to be all right” (SK 378).
According to Adler, a self-bounded individual forgets that his self would be
safeguarded better and automatically the more he prepares himself for the welfare of mankind (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 112). In Will´s case, the decision to cooperate with Lyra is
On a linguistic level, the cooperation between Will and Lyra is indicated by the personal pronoun “They” (SK 378) which indicates that the children’s individual strivings are substituted by a joint striving: “They felt as if they were home again. The wide warm night, and the scent of flowers and the sea, and the silence, bathed them like soothing water” (SK 378). This is also observed by Rustin and Rustin, who argue that the “we” of their relationship marks the transition from a lone quest to a mutually shared project (Rustin and Rustin “A New Kind of Friendship” 237).
Will’s Life Style at the start of his journey can be considered as unhealthy: he is authoritive, self-bounded and he does not shun violent measures in the course of his striving towards his ultimate goal of belonging. Will’s goal does not contribute to the welfare of mankind but rather to his own welfare: the identification with his father has meaning to Will only. A major Life Style change takes place when Will accepts Lyra’s trust, taking into account that Will has been viewing the world as prevailingly hostile. Will develops into a healthy individual whose striving towards his ultimate goal involves the development of social feeling, which at the end of The Subtle Knife evolves into a deep caring for Lyra.
Lyra´s Life Style Development
In The Subtle Knife, Lyra adapts her thinking, feeling and acting as a result of the new goal she has in life: the investigation into Dust. Now that Lyra knows the true natures of her parents, her journey is aimed at freeing herself from the idea of belonging instead of looking for a new source of belonging: according to Amelia Rutledge, she especially relinquishes the idea of the “family romance (that she, Asriel, and Coulter will live together as a family)” (Rutledge 125). Instead of gaining a new sense of belonging, Lyra’s ultimate goal is aimed at diminishing feelings of guilt.
sense of mistrust in others, a behavioural expression which has been deepened by the experiences during her self-initiated and self-accomplished journey. Lyra’s self-centered behaviour is also evident in her interpretation of the alethiometer’s message: “The
alethiometer answered: He is a murderer” […] “He could find food, and show her how to reach Oxford, and those were powers that were useful” (SK 320). As a consequence, Lyra adapts herself to the situation, which involves submission to Will’s authority: her tendency to contest authority is suppressed as a way to reinforce the movement towards her goal.
As it is more in Lyra’s nature to rule than to obey, Lyra attempts to take charge over situations as well in The Subtle Knife as in The Golden Compass. Her first attempt at guidance is denigrated by Will (SK 374), making Lyra’s sense of right and wrong once more evident: “But I en’t lying to you, and I never will, I swear it. If I hadn’t done that just then, you’d’ve been caught” (SK 375). Although Lyra initially responds to Will’s allegations furiously, intensified by her natural sense of superiority: “No one should speak to her like this. She was an aristocrat” (SK 375), ration takes however over from emotion, making Lyra argue her dedication and laying bare her vulnerability as a consequence: “I done that before. I betrayed someone. And it was the worst thing I did. […]. I hated myself for that […]. So I’ll try very hard not to be careless or forget and betray you” (SK 377).
The previous situation has derived from a moment of insight for Lyra: she has needed to let go of her own task and engage in Will’s task instead (SK 358). Additionally, she has had to abandon the act of lying, which has been serving her well on several occasions in The
others takes over from the concern for the self indicates according to Adler an advanced mode of psychological maturity.
Lyra’s failure to keep to this mature mode of behaviour and her subsequent feelings of guilt when she does not however prove that maturation is a troublesome process. In this sense, Lyra´s psychological development mirrors that of Will, who fails to stick to his cooperative behaviour as evolved in the beginning of the volume. Lyra is forced to take up responsibility, which involves taking risks: “there en’t any choice, Pan. It’s our fault. We got to make it right […]” (SK 422). This instance mirrors the end of The Golden Compass, at which point Lyra’s faulty Life Style has lead to betrayal as well. As Lyra needs to take Will’s well-being as her goal in order to overcome her feelings of guilt, Lyra develops into a caring individual who cares rather than is cared for: “You got come and lie down in a proper bed […]. Come on, I’ll make a new bandage, I’ll put some coffee on to cook, I’ll make some omelette, whatever you want” (SK 448). Even more important is the moment at which Lyra displays unusual wisdom when it comes about closing up windows: Lyra advises Will to let the pain in in order to be able to close off the windows which are cut by the subtle knife (SK 434). This particular action enables Will and Lyra to stop the Spectres. Until the end, Lyra keeps to her promise to guide Will instead of pursuing her own goals, although she does not know the reason for it.
Lyra gradually develops from a self-centred child, who is dependent upon the care of others, into a self-reliant and responsible individual who submits her own well-being to that of others. Her behaviour is forward-orientated on every point, which eventually leads her to her goal. Lyra’s maturation, which takes place in a context of social cooperation, can be
Chapter Four:
Maturation in The Amber Spyglass
In The Amber Spyglass, the third and final volume of the His Dark Materials trilogy, Will and Lyra’s concern with each other as developed in the course of The Subtle Knife evolves in a concern for the well-being of wider society. This is paralleled by significant Life Style changes, taking into account that both children’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting are not sufficient to overcome the challenges posed to them initially. Against the background of the psychological challenges Will and Lyra manage to overcome, a high degree of psychological maturation is evident, enabling them to ultimately sacrifice their own happiness for that of others. As in the previous chapters, the process of Will and Lyra’s maturation is analysed separately as to give a clearer idea of the children’s personal – increasingly healthy- way of moving towards their goals.
Will’s Life Style Development: Establishing New Relationships
in a network of social signification, in which the problems as well as the joys of life, love and work (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 135) are equally shared and contemplated upon.
At the start of The Amber Spyglass, Will’s Life Style is challenged. In order to reach his final goal of belonging, Will needs the assistance of other persons, forcing him to adapt his characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting. The “new relationships and
identifications” (Rustin and Rustin “Learning to Say Goodbye” 420) which Will encounters as a consequence of his need for assistance are formative factors in Will’s personality development as they provide examples of how Will wants to be.
In The Subtle Knife, Will has learned to operate in a social framework by joining forces with Lyra. However, that Will has not yet learned to cooperate in a relationship characterised by an equal measure of giving and taking is evident in his encounter with the angels Balthamos and Baruch. The “education in trust and shared responsibility” (Rutledge 125) which Will has received from Lyra in The Subtle Knife is not present in Will’s way of thinking, acting and feeling, evident in the negative way of “measuring up” the angels Balthamos and Baruch: “No, if I’m stronger you have to obey me. Besides, I have the knife. So I can command you: help me find Lyra. I don’t care how long it takes, I’ll find her first and then I’ll go to Lord Asriel” (AS 555). This resembles Will’s behaviour in his first
encounter with Lyra in The Subtle Knife, in which he is not yet attuned to social interaction. – in The Subtle Knife he has not assisted Lyra in achieving her personal goal - and therefore still moves “along a vertical plane” (Mosak and Maniacci 116). Will resorts to authoritive
behaviour in a situation which is unfamiliar to him, which indicates that social interest is not an integrated part of his Life Style yet.
Adler, an individual’s Life Style is “maladaptive to change” (Mosak and Maniacci 61). However, that a Life Style carries in itself an equal possibility for adaptation to life’s challenges (Mosak and Maniacci 61) is evident in the relationship of interdependence Will develops with the angel Balthamos. By clearly expressing that he needs Balthamos’ guidance to achieve his goal, Will, for the first time, affirms his own limitations, laying bare his
vulnerability to the outside world: “And if you’d die, too, that’ll be the end for me. Balthamos, I need you to guide me to Lyra” (AS 617). Will’s clearly stated need for
interdependence and the vulnerability which is inherent in this expression, provides a break with Will’s earlier behaviour. Although Will still exercises authoritive behaviour, he opens up to the goodwill of others.
Balthamos and Iorek also provide an important influence on Will’s development as a gendered, male, being. This is something that critics have failed to notice, reducing Balthamos and Iorek to merely surrogate nurturers in the course of Will’s striving (Rutledge 124, Rustin and Rustin 418). Balthamos embodies the female side of the male being Will has to
incorporate in order to become a healthy individual, guiding Will as a mother guides her children, staying with him “day and night” (AS 618). Like a mother would do for her child, Balthamos sacrifices himself more than once for Will’s protection. The female influence of Balthamos is also evident in his nature as an angel: angels are intuitive beings, a characteristic often associated with femininity. Iorek Byrnison is exemplary of the tough, manly side of the male being, teaching Will the necessary wisdom needed to achieve his goals (AS 691). Where Balthamos guides Will, Iorek mentors him in a strong, masculine way, which is evident in the severe blow (SK 869) Will receives when he lies about his true intentions with the knife. This is the first time that Will is “outfaced” himself, making him aware of his own vulnerability and confronting him with the submission to mature wisdom.
orientation, which will be discussed in relation to the instrument used for this orientation in the next section, is of major importance for the successful continuation of the journey: at crucial points, when Lyra is close to giving up, it is Will’s forward orientation which keeps her going.
In the line of Will’s transformation from an authoritive person to an unselfish person who is able to cooperate with others and accepts mature wisdom, his agreement to be taken care of by Mary Malone at the end of The Amber Spyglass indicates development, rather than the “revert[ing] to subordinate status” as argued by both Moruzi and Rutledge in their
respective articles (Moruzi 67, Rutledge 131). Although Will’s maturation process is the reverse of the traditional initiation rite in children’s literature, in which a child has to gain independence in order to experience growth (Bettelheim 11), the change Will experiences from an unregulated to a regulated environment does not indicate regression, but rather strengthens him to do the valuable and important work he is bound to do in his life. When translated into Adlerian terms, Will’s new dependence forms a growth-opportunity. The lack of regulation, which Moruzi and Rutledge consider to be the equivalent of “independence” has been disadvantageous to Will’s development in the past, so the “dependence” as offered by Mary Malone is an amelioration of his situation.
The Knife: Regression and Forward-orientation
Although Will’s general way of thinking, feeling and acting is characterised by rationality and forward-orientation– in The Subtle Knife Will has been able to survive through long-term thinking and planning- his development towards individual identity is ultimately challenged in
– a choice which is inherent to the identification with his father but which also enables him to develop as an individual, or the regression to the known – returning to his mother and caring for her. Although Will intends to suppress feelings of overt “regression” - a word used by Amelia Rutledge to indicate Will’s longing for parental security– Will’s movements carry in itself an ambivalence which makes his forward-orientation troublesome. At crucial points, Will’s forward-orientation, the search for his father, collides with his mind’s tendency to regress to feelings of guilt with regard to his mother: “[..] it was his own mother’s face, reproaching him, and his heart quailed from sorrow […]” (AS 662).
This situation gives a sense of the great influence Will’s early social situation maintains on his way of moving towards goals. Will’s abandonment of his mother feels unnatural, his feelings similar to those of a parent who leaves his child. Although Will’s guilt towards his mother is at this point at its summit, she is present in every movement of Will’s, taking into account that every step takes him farther away from her. Although his mind is constantly “divided” among two goals, the one of regression, the other of forward-orientation, Will maintains a sufficient engagement to keep going forward instead of backward, Will’s increasing effectiveness in using the subtle knife reflecting an increasing amount of mental strength, which is necessary for Will to proceed in his journey.
Will’s forward orientation is paralleled by an increasing willingness to accept personal grief. In the course of his journey, Will learns chooses to “grow” instead of regress, which involves the constant engagement with the unknown, by Karen Patricia Smith observed to be an intrinsic part of the maturation process (Smith 148). By accepting the pain of separation from not only his mother, but also from an indispensable part of himself – his daemon- in order to go to the underworld and make the dead part of the living universe Will sacrifices his individual needs for the needs of broader society. The ultimate sacrifice Will makes is
and untrammelled expression” (Lenz 8) and thereby helps to lay the foundations of a world in which “[…] thinking, feeling and reflecting […] gaining wisdom and passing it on” (AS 909) are the business of everyday life. In this action is contained that he leaves his newly found (adult) love behind and instead prepares for the work that he is destined to do in the world of everyday reality (AS 913).
The conscious sacrifice of individual concerns for concerns which greatly transcend the individual realm in the attempt to create an ideal society bears distinct similarities to Adler’s ideas on the use of social interest in the process to attain “the ideal community of mankind” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 142). In Adler’s view, the individual who feels connected to “the community sub specie aeternitatis” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 142), meaning the community under the aspect of eternity, partakes in the striving towards an ideal community. This is what Will does when deciding to close the last window in order to stop experience and knowledge from leaking out of the world. By taking his share in the
development towards the ultimate “societal evolution” (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 142), Will shows a responsibility for the well-being of future generations.
