Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Pullman , Philip (2002-09-01), Golden Compass, Random House Childrens Books, Retrieved on 2011-08-10
Folksonomies: fiction atheism fantasy Memes
10 AUG 2011
The General Oblation Board
“Oh, yes,” said Lyra. “I’m safe from everyone here. Where I used to live, in Oxford, there was all kinds of dangerous things. There was gyptiansthey take kids and sell ‘em to the Turks for slaves. And on Port Meadow at the full moon there’s a werewolf that comes out from the old nunnery at Godstow. I heard him howling once. And there’s the Gobblers….”
“That’s what I mean,” the man said. “That’s what they call the Oblation Board, don’t they?”
Lyra felt Pantalaimon tremble suddenly, but he wa... 1 
notes
notesAnd how it relates to the people giving their children to the church to become "oblates."
10 AUG 2011
We Settle into a Comfortable Identity as Adults
She still felt seasick occasionally, especially when the wind got up and the ship plunged heavily over the crests of the graygreen waves, and then it was Pantalaimon’s job to distract her from it by skimming the waves as a stormy petrel; because she could feel his boundless glee in the dash of wind and water, and forget her nausea. From time to time he even tried being a fish, and once joined a school of dolphins, to their surprise and pleasure. Lyra stood shivering in the fo’c’sle and laughe... 1 notes
notesThe idea of the daemon, which changes shape, trying on different forms as a child, is a great metaphor for the masks and roles we wear growing up until we settle into who we are.
10 AUG 2011
Witches Own Nothing
“Well, that seems kinda precipitate. Seems to me a man should have a choice whether to take up arms or not.”
“We have no more choice in that than in whether or not to be born.”
“Oh, I like choice, though,” he said. “I like choosing the jobs I take and the places I go and the food I eat and the companions I sit and yarn with. Don’t you wish for a choice once in a while ?”
Serafina Pekkala considered, and then said, “Perhaps we don’t mean the same thing by choice, Mr. Scoresby. Witches own n...Folksonomies: immortality materialism
Folksonomies: immortality materialism
1 notes
notesTherefore cost does not factor into their reasoning, because they live long enough to know that every opportunity comes around again.
10 AUG 2011
Adam and Eve are a Religious Variable
“But…” Lyra struggled to find the words she wanted: “but it en’t true, is it? Not true like chemistry or engineering, not that kind of true? There wasn’t really an Adam and Eve? The Cassington Scholar told me it was just a kind of fairy tale.”
“The Cassington Scholarship is traditionally given to a freethinker; it’s his function to challenge the faith of the Scholars. Naturally he’d say that. But think of Adam and Eve like an imaginary number, like the square root of minus one: you can never... 1 notes
notesIncluded in theistic equations the same way the square root of minus one is used in mathematics.
10 AUG 2011
How the Church Cuts
“But they were cutting-” Lyra couldn’t bring herself to say it; the words choked in her mouth. “You know what they were doing! Why did the Church let them do anything like that?”
“There was a precedent. Something like it had happened before. Do you know what the word castration means? It means removing the sexual organs of a boy so that he never develops the characteristics of a man. A castrate keeps his high treble voice all his life, which is why the Church allowed it: so useful in Church ... 1 notes
notesIn the fictional universe, the Church cuts children from their souls, but in our own history they have castrated boys to preserve their ability to sing in the choir.
Parent Reference
His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber SpyglassBooks, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Pullman , Philip (2011-12-06), His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, Everyman's Library, Retrieved on 2011-08-10
Folksonomies: atheism fantasy 