Dæmon (His Dark Materials)
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A dæmon is a manifestation of the soul of a conscious person in the Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials. In those universes with physical dæmons, they exist external to the human in the form of animals representative of the person's personality, although children's dæmons may change form at whim. The bond between dæmon and human is intimate, and dæmons must remain within a small distance of their human; contact between a person and another person's dæmon is taboo, although dæmons may touch each other. Many characteristics of a dæmon match the concepts from other cultures or psychology.
Form
In Lyra's world, a dæmon takes the form of an animal[1] and has a separate identity from its respective human, despite being an integral part of the person (i.e. they are one entity, though two bodies).
In our universe and others, the books suggest that dæmons are integrated with the person, without any external or physical form. They have a physical manifestation only in Lyra's universe and a select few others. (Dæmons that are already physical, such as Pantalaimon, remain external manifestations when they visit universes with normally-internal dæmons, such as our own.)
Dæmons can touch each other freely. However, "the worst breach of etiquette imaginable" is for a person to touch another person's dæmon (even in battle, most soldiers would never touch an enemy's dæmon), though exceptions can be made (for example, between lovers). If one does touch someone else's dæmon, it causes great weakness for the person whose dæmon is being touched.
A child's dæmon has no fixed form, and may change form according to whim and circumstance. As children resolve their mature personalities (approximately the age of puberty), their dæmons "settle" into a form reflective of the person's personality characteristics. For example, a human with a dog dæmon may tend to follow authority, whereas a person with a cat dæmon may be very independent. At the beginning of the trilogy, Lord Asriel claims that the act of settling triggers Dust to begin to be attracted to the person.
A person's dæmon is usually of the opposite sex to its human. However, in some cases it may be the same sex as the person; Pullman has admitted that the reason for this is unknown even to himself, and that it might represent homosexuality, but then again it might indicate some other sort of gift or quality, such as second sight. [2]
Lifespan
It is uncertain when or how a dæmon is "born" or into what form they are "born". When a person dies, their dæmon appears to fade away, like "atoms of smoke." Likewise, if a dæmon is killed, the human often dies. The origin of a dæmon's name was not given in the books but clarified by Philip Pullman[3] as normally given by the parents' dæmons. As Will Parry came from our world, his dæmon had no name initially and was named Kirjava (a Finnish word, meaning mottled or many-coloured) by Serafina Pekkala.
Ghosts and Deaths
Aside from dæmons, all people possess a ghost which lives on after they die, and a death that leads their ghosts to the underworld. For those with external dæmons, the ghost appears to represent the part of the person which inhabited their own body (as opposed to their dæmon, which dissipates upon death). Ghosts have vague forms resembling what the person looked like in life. Deaths can only be seen by their counterparts in certain worlds, like dæmons. They appear as plain and unfeatured, but kindly, figures, who move closer and closer to their persons as the time of death approaches.
Lyra is confronted with her death when she and Will enter the underworld in an attempt to contact the ghost of Lyra's dead friend, Roger. Although the dæmon dissipates upon a person's death, the ghost is lead away by their death and would become, at the time, trapped indefinitely in the underworld. Will and Lyra rectify this problem by creating a process by which the ghosts can escape. Once the ghosts exit out into the real world, they can disintegrate and rejoin with their dæmons, as disconnected atoms reuniting with the rest of the universe.
Separation
Generally, a person and his or her dæmon must stay within a short distance of each other. Forcibly separating a person from his or her dæmon causes unimaginable physical and emotional pain for both entities, often causing death; however, some cultures have mastered techniques that allow the dæmon to gain wider mobility. For example, witches, as well as humans who commit to becoming shamans, must endure grueling, ritualistic ordeals that involve leaving their dæmon for a time as they embark on a spiritual quest. After rejoining their dæmon they have gained the ability to separate from them. Both witches and shamans retain their intimate bond with their dæmon; the only change is in the distance they can travel apart from each other.
In the trilogy, a special guillotine is used by the General Oblation Board to separate people from their dæmon without killing them (intercision). However, unlike the ordeals undergone by witches and human shamans, the guillotine violently and permanently severs the bond between person and dæmon, and effectively renders the person a zombie; a being incapable of independent thought and without any identity. The General Oblation Board continually perfects the process through experimentation, but Lyra encounters at least one boy who could not bear living without his dæmon and dies. The separation process also generates a huge burst of energy, which was used by Lord Asriel to create a bridge into the world containing Cittàgazze. It is also stated that in Lyra's world, the Church had used intercision for centuries, though they did it through the process of castration in order to make eunuchs for choir sopranos.
Cittàgazze is notorious for an abundant number of specters, ghost-like entities that are only attracted to the settled Dust around an adult, and reciprocally can only be seen by adults and not by children. After an adult has been attacked by a specter, their dæmon disappears, and they lose all interest of the world around them.
Dæmons in our dimension
Concepts similar to that of the dæmon can be found in several cultures' belief systems. such as Fylgja from Norse mythology, Naguals and Tonals from Aztec mythology, aku-aku from Easter Island, and familiar spirits from early modern English witchcraft. Elsewhere, a parallel can be seen in the Jungian concept of the anima/animus.
Mary Malone is taught that, with practice, it is possible to see nonphysical manifestations of dæmons in our universe of people who do not even know they have one. The suggestion is that we all have dæmons, but we have not learned to recognize and display them.
Similar to this concept in His Dark Materials, the belief that one's own dæmon exists (in some non-physical, incorporeal form) and that one can communicate with it is explored by the website The Dæmon Page. [4]
In other languages
In the Norwegian and Swedish editions of His Dark Materials the word "dæmon" is changed to "daimon", simply because "dæmon" means "demon" in those languages[citation needed]. In Serbian and Italian editions, dæmon is also changed to daimon. In the Spanish edition, the term "dæmon" is changed to "daimonion". The Portuguese translation of the books render the word as "génio" in reference to the familiar spirits in Greco-Roman mythology. In Denmark the word 'deplonso' is used, a word which is Danish for 'partner by the side'.
Symbolism of named dæmons
The specific symbolic meanings of each character's dæmon-form are also noted.
| Character | Dæmon | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Lyra Belacqua: | Pantalaimon | Moth: the longing of man for God (Carl Jung), first form mentioned Ermine: purity (Renaissance Symbology), "favourite" form Pine Marten: grace and empathy (Celtic Myth.) [citation needed], settled form |
| Will Parry: | Kirjava | Cat: guardian and protector, especially in confrontational circumstances (Celtic Myth.), settled form. Kirjava means "mottled" in Finnish. |
| Lord Asriel: | Stelmaria | Snow Leopard: understanding one’s shadow side (Pagan Myth.), associated with the devil (Christian Symbolism), settled form |
| Marisa Coulter: | Ozymandias (from BBC Radio)[5] | Golden monkey (species never named): cleverness and curiosity (Chinese Astrology), settled form |
| Roger Parslow: | Salcilia | Terrier: fidelity (Celtic Myth.), common form, also explained to be a form suited for servants in the series |
| Mary Malone: | never named | Alpine Chough: settled form. A bird of the mountains.' |
| John Faa: | never named | Crow: the soul of magic and link to the spirit world (alchemical symbol), settled form |
| Farder Coram: | Sophonax | Cat: (see above) settled form |
| Serafina Pekkala: | Kaisa | Snow Goose: vigilance and protection (Celtic Myth.), settled form. The name Kaisa is a female name in Finland, although Kaisa the snow goose is male in the books. |
| Lee Scoresby: | Hester | Hare: The Moon and Resurrection (Pagan), settled form |
| The Master: (of Jordan College) |
Leonor (from BBC Radio)[5] | Raven: Bird used by Odin to collect knowledge, settled form |
| John "Jopari-Stanislaus Grumman" Parry: (aliases in likely order of origin) |
Sayan Kötör | Osprey: often linked to those of otherworldly vision; its also common a symbol of abundance, settled form |
| Carlo Boreal / Charles Latrom, CBE : | never named | Serpent: often linked with the ability to manipulate and influence people, and with cunning, settled form. |
See also
References and notes
- ^ Early editions of Northern Lights briefly mention a deceased scholar whose dæmon had the form of a "young woman". However, this was removed in later editions.
- ^ Interview at Lexicon (Unicon 2000)
- ^ IRC interview of Philip Pullman by the BBC
- ^ The Dæmon Page
- ^ a b In the BBC radio drama by Lavinia Murray, Mrs. Coulter's dæmon was named Ozymandias, and the Master's was named Leonor.
External links
- Of Dæmons and Angels and Dæmonology, two Bridge to the Stars essays on dæmons
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