Dæmons
From Srafopedia
Dæmons are soul-like companion to each individual human being. Dæmons are generally of the opposite gender to their human counterparts. In childhood, a dæmon can alter its form to reflect the emotions and concerns of its human. However, in adulthood, a dæmon loses the power to change, and it assumes a permanent form that best reflects the inner nature of its human. When a person's dæmon settles, the person begins to attract Dust. The Oblation Board concerns itself with this connection, by experimenting with intercision.
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Overview
Dæmons take a fixed form after puberty has set in. This form reflects the nature of the human in some way - for instance, Lord Asriel's dæmon Stelmaria reflects his cold and lone nature, Marisa Coulter's dæmon reflects her curiousity and beauty, and the dæmons of servants (invariably taking the form of dogs), show their obedience. The linking energy between a human and a dæmon is immensely strong, so much so that a dæmon can only stray a few feet away from their counterpart human before "part physical pain deep in the chest, part intense sadness and love" forces the two together again, although some strong bonds that are brought by parting for extended periods, for instance Lyra's parting with Pantalaimon in the Land of the Dead, can allow human and dæmon to seperate by a greater distance and for longer periods of time. As Lord Asriel shows at the end of the first book (The Northern Lights), harnessing the energy that is emitted by splitting a human from their dæmon can generate a bridge between the parallel universes that run side by side. When a human and dæmon are seperated, both die. When their human is killed, the dæmon gradually fades into Dust, just as the human is instantly killed when the dæmon is killed (although this instance is far rarer).
Dæmons take forms that symbolize their owners’ character, as they are the external expressions of people’s souls. Witches’ dæmons, for example, take the form of birds. This form represents the witches’ ability to fly, in the most literal sense. It also represents the witches’ freedom from the constraints of society. Dæmons also represent their owner’s strength or weakness.
Types of Dæmons
Different Species
Dogs
Servants tend to have dog dæmons, however in the case of servants a higher ranking servant will tend to have a more noble or imposing dog species. Fierce soldiers, such as all Tartar soldiers stationed at Bolvangar, have wolf dæmons, where Roger's dæmon Salcilia was often a terrier.
Cats
Will as well as Farder Coram have a cat dæmon, and Lord Asriel had a great cat, a snow leopard. Cat souls tend to be more solitary, and would rather be by themselves than with a large group of people.
Birds
Mary Malone has an Alpine chough, Serafina Pekkala has a snow goose, and the Master of Jordan, John Faa, and Ma Costa all have bird dæmons. Apparently, all witches's dæmons are a form of a bird.
Reptiles
Lord Boreal, in Lyra's world (Sir Charles Latrom, in Will's), has a Serpent as a Dæmon. The President of the Consistorial Court of Discipline, Father MacPhail, has a lizard dæmon.
Same-sex Dæmons
As the name suggests, Dæmons whose gender matches that of their human. This is extremely rare. General consensus follows that a same-sex pairing of dæmon and human is, rather than the heterosexual female/male pair, a homosexual soul.
List of People and Their Dæmons
Dæmon: Pantalaimon, settles as a red and gold pine marten.
Dæmon: Salcilia, not settled (took forms of terrier and bird at different points).
Dæmon: Kirjava, settles as a cat with a lustrous and rich fur of many colors.
Dæmon: Stelmaria, a snow leopard.
Dæmon: Golden monkey, unnamed. Called Ozymandias in the BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation.
Dæmon: Kaisa, a snow goose.
Dæmon: Sayan Kötör, an osprey.
Dæmon: An unnamed serpent.
Dæmon: Sophonax, a cat with lustrous autumn-colored fur.
Dæmon: Hester, a hare.
Symbology
One of the defining points in making the His Dark Materials trilogy unique has to be the inclusion of dæmons. The idea of dæmons originated in Ancient (500 B.C.) Greece, by philosopher Empedocles. He spoke of a creature that was a constant partner of man, who completed the idea that a man needs a female side, and a woman a male- hence the difference in gender between dæmon and human.
Plato, around 350-420 B.C., told of something "[a]s regards the supreme form of soul in us, we must conceive that the god has conferred it upon each...as a guiding genius [daimon] - that which...lifts us from earth toward our celestial affinity, like a plant whose roots are not in the earth, but in the heavens". This created the idea that the dæmon was a guiding companion- a conscience of sorts, rather than the later religious aspect that dæmons (more commonly known as demons) were an evil spirit designed to hinder the progress of the human they were bound to. However, regardless of the previous two philosophers, we perhaps owe the most to Socrates, who said he owed his creative inspiration to his dæmon alone, who he said warned him when he was about to do something wrong but otherwise remained silent. More mythology seems to conform to the idea of the existance of dæmons - cedarwood, traditionally and historically a magical wood in legends and old wives tales, has a soporiphic effect on these creatures.
The dæmon is by no means restricted to European mythology and religion. American Indian tribes, for instance Sioux, Cherokee, Apache, and so many others have traditions of Spirit Guides that do not appear in the waking state, but in a state of trance, as an animal specific to each person that guides them in a difficult situation, clearly echoing the idea of dæmons. The Australian Aborigines, while there is little mention of spirit guides, revere animals as important beings that should be respected rather than used, again, mirroring the treatment of dæmons in the trilogy.
Other examples are shown throughout the globe, and indeed history, which seem to prove that there is some kind of guiding force for each human. While improbable, the idea invariably conveys a sense of security and anticipation to meet this creature.
However the dæmon is percieved now (the spelling of the word has changed over the years from the Ancient Greek "Daimon" to the Roman "Dæmon", to the modern "demon", with all the connotations of such), it is clear that Philip Pullman, instead of giving an evil lean to the creatures, has intended the dæmon to be looked upon kindly, as a guide and a conscience for the world of Lyra. It is also clear that Philip Pullman by no means considers this world dæmonless - on the 26th page of The Subtle Knife (Book two of the trilogy), Lyra says:
"You have got a dæmon," she said decisively. "Inside you."
to Will Parry, who originates from the world that we know. Lyra's dæmon, Pantalaimon, is possibly the best example of what Philip Pullman attempts to convey. He, throughout the three books, is her constant companion - always sharing her thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and guiding her, conscience-like, throughout her adventures. It is unclear as to whether Philip Pullman means dæmons to be physical representations of the conscience, or whether they are something entirely different.
The dæmon, while probably only a flight of fancy- a permanent companion that would be nice to have along; still never fails to provoke a sense of longing, however small, in anyone who takes a serious interest in the series.
Philip Pullman on Dæmons
"I was discovering more about dæmons all the way through - right up to the very end of The Amber Spyglass. And I'm sure there are other aspects of them that I haven't discovered yet. I don't want to say anything about them which will give away some of the plot of the final book, but I will say that the dæmon is that part of you that helps you grow towards wisdom.
I don't know where the idea of them came from - it just emerged as I was trying to begin the story. I suddenly realised that Lyra had a dæmon, and it all grew out of that. Of course, the dæmons had to represent something important in the meaning of the story, and not be merely picturesque; otherwise they'd just get in the way. So there is a big difference between the dæmons of children and adults, because the story as a whole is about growing up, or innocence and experience."
"What would my dæmon be? Well, you can't choose, as Lyra learns in her conversation with the old sailor on the way to the north. You have to make the best of what it turns out to be. So I don't know; but I sometimes say that she might well be a magpie, or a jackdaw, or one of those birds that pick up bright shiny things and take them back to their nests. That's what I do as a storyteller - pick up little shiny ideas or bits of experiences, and steal them.
Rules about touching dæmons, etc. I didn't think them all out in advance; I discovered them as I wrote. The richness of the dæmon idea was such that after 1200 pages I was still finding new things to do with it - for example, when Serafina Pekkala explains to the two dæmons that witches do something similar to what Will and Lyra had to do in the land of the dead, and that was why their dæmons can range far away, and that Will and Lyra had thus unwittingly gained a new power... I didn't know about that till I got there. But setting up the relationship allowed that sort of revelation to occur.
How could Will see Pan right away, if you need to learn how to see dæmons? That is a very good question. That's one of the best questions I've heard for a long time. In fact it's such a good question that any answer I could give would be insufficient to match the profundity and complexity of the issues you raise. I shall have to confess my ignorance and tiptoe away...
Same-sex dæmons: it was clear to me from the beginning that occasionally someone might acquire a dæmon of the same sex. What might that mean? I don't know everything it might mean; it could mean something about their own sexuality, or it might mean something quite different. It's one of the many things I don't know fully about my world. Similarly with how dæmons are born. There wasn't actually any part of the story that depended on studying my dæmonic gynecology, so I didn't go into it."
Trivia
- When Lyra and a group of Gyptian children are about to fight, Pantalaimon transforms into a dragon.
- In the first edition of Northern Lights, when Lyra and Roger are looking at coins with the dæmons of deceased Jordan College Masters, one is said to be a "fair lady." This is removed in later editions.
- After the mutilated boy Tony Makarios dies and Lyra demands to know what happened to the fish he had, Pan becomes a snow leopard just like Stelmaria (Lord Asriel's dæmon), but Lyra doesn't notice.
Theories
In the Adaptations
In the Movie Adaptations
All the dæmons in The Golden Compass film are computer generated, except for some of the dog dæmons. Some real animals, puppets, and stuffed animals were used as stand-ins during shooting, to be replaced by CGI in post-production.
In the Stage Adaptations
In the Radio Adaptations
In the Radio adaptations the dæmons can make the noises of the animal that they are showing at the time, (example, as a dog Pan could bark). Dæmons' voices do not change as their appearance does.
External Links
In Cittàgazze
Dæmonology Forum in Cittàgazze
Other
“Demon” in The Catholic Encyclopedia at www.newadvent.org
Sources
Material in Philip Pullman on Dæmons from philip-pullman.com
