There are so many questions left unanswered at the end of The Golden Compass that it is hard to narrow discussion enough for a blog posting. I decided to let criticism on Pullman guide me with my topic, and although I had some frustration with a lack of available criticism in the TCU library, I did find an article relating Plato to Pullman. What grabbed me in this article was not further enlightenment on Pullman's use of Plato's analogy of the cave as we briefly discussed in class, but a phrase the author of the article used to explain intercision. He describes it as "a kind of spiritual castration, the soul being severed from the body" (Haldane 273). I am quite intrigued by this analogy because of the light it sheds on daemons's relationship to the body, the soul, and sexuality. By relating intercision to the sexual organs, I think Haldane rightly identifies part of the complex nature of the daemon. Again and again the book emphasizes puberty as a crucial point in the development of the daemon because of its stability at that time. I think our familiarity with the word castration helps us have a concept for the enormity and inhumanity of intercision, which can be difficult at first as we try to comprehend the complexities of an entirely foreign concept--having a daemon.
When I read the word castration here I also thought of the different implications for males and females. Male castration is a fairly familiar concept, and as the Oxford English Dictionary defines it simply as "the removing of the testicles," it seems to only apply to males. Female genital mutilation, however, has been in practice in various parts of the world for years, and although it is difficult to compare the two practices, just as it is comparing apples to oranges to compare the different sexual organs, an understanding of the implications of "castration" for females may help our understanding of intercision as well. Often the motive behind female genital mutilation is that after the procedure women will either not be able to have sex (perhaps until the procedure is reversed in some sense) or that she will have no pleasure in sex. The goal is the repression of female sexuality and sexual exploration. Clearly this is at least part of the motive behind intercision in Pullman's book as well. Mrs. Coulter says to Lyra, "but at the age we call puberty... daemons bring all sort of troublesome thoughts and feelings, and that's what lets Dust in. A quick little operation before that, and you're never troubled again" (Pullman 283).
My understanding of intercision is enhanced through this exploration by the possibility that detachment from one's daemon is as violent and horrific as castration. What, then, is Pullman trying to have us question? Not simply "castration is wrong." Pullman asks us to question the links between our sexuality, our bodies, and our soul. He also forces us to think about general acceptances of "right" and "wrong" in regards to sexuality and our bodies.
Finally, I would simply add that, in case you were uninformed before about female genital mutilation, it is a serious human rights issue. If you would like to learn more, you can go to the Amnesty International website.
Works Cited:
Haldane, Michael. "From Plato to Pullman--The Circle of Invisibility and Parallel Worlds: Fortunatus, Mercury, and the Wishing-Hat, Part II." Folklore 117.3 (2006): 261-278.
Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. London: Scholastic, 2007.
Purpose for Imaginative Literature
14 years ago
Wow, I think you have a very interesting interpretation here! I don’t know if you’ve read The Giver in the past—I know I haven’t in years—but this idea that as Dust settles it signifies, essentially, the sexual awakening of the child reminds me of that in a weird way. I remember in The Giver, that all the families share their dreams, and that once children start to have dreams about the opposite sex, they get put on medication to prevent them, and perhaps, the feelings and actions that are sure to follow. Its also an interesting wrinkle that the Church/government in both books are the ones trying to control the sexual impulses of their youth, as if these are kind of like “gateway crimes” to bigger and badder things that will one day threaten the entire society. At least in case of The Golden Compass, it seems that the prevention of these impulses is in fact a much more serious crime and breach of intimacy than anything most pre-teens would think up. Besides, with this kind of blatant abuse, there is no telling what kind of adults will come out of the severed children that are still able to function without their daemons. Will they all remain zombies, or will they eventually become sociopathic without their daemon-self keeping them sane?
ReplyDeleteSarah, I was thinking about The Giver and the medication when I wrote this! Also, I think of the use of "love" in that book and that it has lost it's meaning and parents tell their children that they "like" them. The Golden Compass does not discuss love directly very much, but I think we can see from Lyra's fractured family that love is a difficult issue for her parents who are concerned with dust and trying to control daemons. Every time I try to make conclusions about The Golden Compass I pretty much end up thinking I just need to read the next two books! I would be interested to see what happens if/when Lyra begins to have sexual interest or desires, and how her relationship with her parents, and especially Mrs. Coulter, develops.
ReplyDeleteWhoops. David L is actually Molly K. I was accidentally logged into my fiancee's account.
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