His Dark Materials: questions. ****warning: SPOILERS*****

by greven 4 Replies latest social entertainment

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  greven

  Hey there!

  I liked the Dark Materials trilogy alot, yet there are some details unclear to me. If anyone has read this series please fill me in.

  Q1: Mary Malone is said to fulfill a great part in all the chaos. She is tolled through her computer linked up with the dark matter that she is to 'play the serpent'. Yet all she does is try to help the Mulefa, she saves some wheel seeds and feeds the kids when they arive. How is this playing the serpent? I expected her to tempt Lyra in some way...

  Q2: Lyra was to play Eve but was never tempted. Again how is this possible considering the prophecy?

  Q3: Her 'great betrayal' is rather small: she leaves her deamon alone for a while. Sure this is a betrayal of sortsand she suffers because of it. Yet all the witches have done the same in their youth. How is her betrayal 'great' when it doesn't differ much?. Surely not the great betrayal I expected.

  Still the series captivated me.... Much good stuff to think about for kids.

  Greetz, Greven
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  scotsman

  It's been a while

  Q1. Her role as serpent was about giving Lyra freedom to think, was it not, sharing knowledge.

  Q2. Can't remember.

  Q3. But Lyra wasn't a witch, and reading how close she and her daemon were, and the effect it had on their relationship seemed like quite a betrayal.
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  greven

  Hey Scotsman, thanx for the speedy reply!
  

  Q1.Her role as serpent was about giving Lyra freedom to think, was it not, sharing knowledge.

  
  Hmm.. Yeah. Could be. BUT it was said very urgently that she had to leave before the 'bad guys' would be coming, and that she had yet to play an important role: that of the serpent. After this event she packs and leaves for the world of the mulefa as it turns out. There she does little to help Lyra think, she feeds the kids but the thinking is completely Lyra's own (though guided by the female angel, Xaphania and Will). Malone helped lyra think differently but that all took place before she got the message about playing the serpent. Besides, Lyra taught Malone a thing or two as well. My problem is that after this message from the dark matter Malone does little.
  
  

  Q3. But Lyra wasn't a witch, and reading how close she and her daemon were, and the effect it had on their relationship seemed like quite a betrayal.

  
  Yes, I guess that is true. Though it was less than I expected...
  In fact the whole prophecy made me think that at the end Will and Lyra would play Adam and Eve and this time get it right. Or something like that anyway. The church even sends an assassin to prevent Lyra from being tempted at all. When you're dead you can't make the wrong choice, they reason. This assassin was killed by Balthamos, so I firured the temptation would still take place. Oh God, I even have another thing: the subtle knife was called the 'slayer of gods'. But gods and angels could easily be killed by bare human hands... The Authority dies of old age basically and Metatron is killed by Coulter and Asriel. Thanx for the help sofar... Any other takers? Greven of the frustrated-but-not-much class
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  mrsjones5

  Geez I may have to read the books again
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  greven

  Found something on a fan site under the FAQ's (guess I'm not the only one 'not getting it' LOL)

  How does Dr. Mary Malone offer temptation?

  In rough terms, Malone is the Serpent; as such, she has to tempt Lyra and Will into corruption. She does so when she tells Lyra about falling in love, and shows Lyra how to express her unconscious feelings for Will. By admitting their love for one another, Will and Lyra leave their effortlessly graceful childhood innocence behind them, and are "corrupted" by self-awareness and responsibility.

  The exact mechanics of how such a corruption would work is up to individual interpretation. Malone is central for the resolution, as Pullman has mentioned in the past that people "learn" to fall in love by observing others.

  Still, I disagree with calling it corruption... but if that is what the writer intended...

  Here's the site: http://www.darkmaterials.com/

  Greven