The report of Dr Rowan Williams recommending the work of Philip Pullman to children (The Western Mail, March 10) roused me to read The Dark Materials trilogy. I but very rarely read a novel. Since the Archbishop of Canterbury gave his encouragement to delve it took12 hours solid to read the books.
My sad response to the attitude of the Archbishop is mainly very negative. He is quite frankly wrong. Technically in his philosophy of modern literary theory, if he has one, one could throw the whole polemic which surrounds Beckett's novels or Joyce. I assume these are part of modern curricula? Is it, however, for a religious leader to advocate these?
The genre of Star Wars, Matrix, Lord of the Rings, now Dark Materials does provide postmodern reactions to our contemporary religious systems. How dangerous is this? My own experience, direct, personal, from Tolkien's work many years ago (as far as I am concerned horror and evil), causes me to have serious doubts as to the good consequences for children from reading Pullman.
Let any independent reader ask the question if Pullman had invested his concepts in say Hindu, Jewish, Muslim clothing instead of those surrounding the Catholic, can anyone doubt the response to his work would have been different?
It is a fact, for children today, their intellect is left to grow wild. The case for atheism in theory and life perhaps does emerge to be tackled. In practical terms we are very atheist in our responses to politics, morals, structures and approach to science. My reading is that Archbishop Rowan's support for the clever novel of Pullman seems ill advised. The novel has a whiff of evil, as a detrimental cultural icon, such as I experienced long ago with Tolkien.
[© icWales.co.uk, 19/3/04]
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