In the fifteenth chapter of The Amber Spyglass, Iorek begins to mend the shattere subtle knife, but the process turns out to be much more emotionally exhausting than anyone planned for. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Amber Spyglass.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE FORGE
I’ve never particularly been great with good byes.
As difficult as it was to read this chapter, the foreboding sense of finality is what drives the point home: Lyra and Will are now utterly on their own. Iorek’s interest in the subtle knife never really was interest: he was unsettled by its very existence, and disturbed by what he had done to repair it. Even the Gallivespians know that they’ve reached a critical moment: Either Will or Lyra must be convinced to come with them to reach Lord Asriel, or the whole plan would fall apart.
The bulk of this chapter is spent detailed the incredibly complex and involved process by which Iorek uses his ability to forge the subtle knife. I believe I’ve addressed it in past reviews, but if not, I’m fine repeating it here: I am not very talented with things physical in nature. If you attended by panel at LeakyCon and were there early, you got to witness it first hand! I am a klutz of epic proportions. On a daily basis, I drop something or stub something, run into an object, hit myself, or otherwise cause harm in a manner that embarrasses me. Years ago, I was told it was because of a brutal ear infection I got as a child that messed up my inner ear, affecting my balance, but I think it’s more fun to believe that the universe gave me the talent to string words together and do complex math in my head, and then balanced it out by taking away physical coordination.
This manifests most strongly in my inability to do most things involving my hands. How I am able to play the guitar and the bass at all is beyond me. I cut myself when chopping things. I routinely get mixed up tying shoes. I have these fat, stubby fingers that are always in the way and can never seem to communicate with one another. I can’t hold things together, and even my mind is not visually based. I could not build something out of LEGOs without instructions. I was horrific at arts and crafts in elementary and junior high, and if you ever want to see something that’ll make you scream or cackle, ask me to draw. Can’t do it!
The reason I’m sharing all of this is the fact that while I was totally and completely enamored by the forging process, it was a little bit like reading a detailed explanation of particle physics. I understood the concepts and what each action meant, but visualizing a lot of it in my mind? Thinking about myself doing it? It only inspired self-deprecating laughter. Seriously, if by some stroke of luck I was in the same situation and I’d managed to survive this far, I would have burnt my arm off at this point. I’m not even being hyperbolic. How many times on Mark Watches have I spoken about literally punching myself in the face on accident?
So while I appreciated the lengthy scene and I was certainly completely entertained by it, I was also reading it all with this thought in my head: “YEAH, I COULD NEVER DO THIS.â€
What I didn’t anticipate but actually did understand was the idea that the subtle knife, whatever its intentions may be, need all three of those beings to be in that room to help forge it back together. (Plus, the more Lyra is involved in things, the better this is.) When Will first starts thinking about how imperative it is that this knife be repaired and starts thinking about the knife in terms of its actual atomic structure, I thought that was a little…strange? As in, “Dude, you can’t even see the atoms, what are you doing?†That’s when Iorek clued Will (and, thereby, me as well) into the fact that this knife depended on Will as well:
Iorek roared above the clangor, “Hold still in your mind! you have to forge it, too! This is your task as much as mine!â€
It speaks to how well Pullman wrote about the subtle knife in the last book that this makes so much sense to. Cutting windows into other worlds was every bit about mental and intellectual concentration, so it stands to reason that putting the knife itself back together would require the same attention. I don’t even necessarily need an explanation for why Will feels this way, either. He’s the bearer of the subtle knife. That’s good enough for me.
Exhausted after the process, Iorek seemed desperate to talk to Will by himself, and it’s here that I learn what I said earlier, that Iorek’s interest in the knife was anything but.
“Maybe I should not have mended it. I’m troubled, and I have never been troubled before, never in doubt. Now I am full of doubt. Doubt is a human thing, not a bear thing. If I am becoming human, something’s wrong, something’s bad. And I’ve made it worse.â€
I’m reminded of how it first felt when one of the scientists at Bolvangar grabbed Pantalaimon, and how easily I slipped into revulsion in response. I do not have a dæmon and Pullman was able to convey this idea of wrongness as if it was second nature to me. Sadly, our world also doesn’t have ice bears who can talk (SERIOUSLY, FUCKING TRAGEDY, Y’ALL), but I’m able to understand how wrong this is: bears have little to no resemblance to human culture and experience.
So what is it about the knife that brings this out in Iorek? Iorek quizzes the boy about this while communicating just how awful he feels. When the bear learns that Will saw his mother in Mrs. Coulter’s face just before losing concentration, he asks the boy what he is going to do with the knife. When Will responds that he doesn’t know, the massive bear PUNCHES HIM DOWN THE HILL.
What the hell, Iorek? Offended at the very idea that Will holds this horrific weapon and is uncertain about what to do with it, Iorek lashes out at Will. I think part of this reaction is motivated by the fact that Iorek now knows exactly what doubt feels like, and it repulses him, too. For Will, though, his uncertainty isn’t so much about doubt as it is about the moral crisis brewing within him. Does he give up this “mission†to return home? Does he go to Lord Asriel as Balthamos told him? Does he follow his best friend to the world of the dead, where he may well die himself? Each choice has its own logic that supports it, and each choice fills Will with fear. As he puts it:
“So I have to think it through. Maybe sometimes we don’t do the right thing because the wrong thing looks more dangerous, and we don’t want to look scared, so we go and do the wrong thing just because it’s dangerous. We’re more concerned with not looking scared than with judging right. It’s very hard. That’s why I didn’t answer.â€
Philip Pullman, I love you until the end of time. That is simply gorgeous.Â
The first of the good byes comes here, and Iorek imparts upon Will one final bit of knowledge:
“If you want to succeed in this task, you must no longer think about your mother. You must put her aside. If your mind is divided, the knife will break.â€
Iorek must feel that this is what caused the knife’s destruction, and it comes after he just told will that his actions may have caused the destruction of his own bear kingdom as well. When Will thanks Iorek very simply, I was suddenly struck with such a dreadful sense of terror. Why was Iorek saying farewell? Where was he going? What had he done?
Iorek speaks alone with Lyra after this, and I believe this is the first time he has ever ben affectionate to Lyra, licking her wounds and nuzzling her hands. As comforting as that was to read, it bothered me. As I said in the beginning, this all had a ring of finality to it, and Iorek confirms that when he finally speaks to Lyra about her plans to visit the world of the dead. It breaks my heart to read just how much he clearly cares for Lyra, and how he almost treats her like he is her father, worried for her life. He speaks openly about the war he knows is coming, and warns her that if she does die, she will never see him again, as bears do not have souls. But if she survives, she will be “a welcome and honored visitor to Svalbard,†where he is going to return home with his fellow ice bears.
But he has one parting message for Lyra, and it’s one that brought me to tears:
“I am not happy that you should do what you plan, but there is no one I would trust to go with you except that boy. You are worthy of each other. Go well, Lyra Silvertongue, my dear friend.â€
Are you ready for this? I was not.
After a minute he stood up gently and disengaged her arms, and then he turned and walked silently away into the dark. Lyra thought his outline was lost almost at once agains the pallor of the snow-covered ground, but it might have been that her eyes were full of tears.
I don’t know why, but I have such a strong feeling that Lyra will never see him again. I think Pullman will bring him back, like Lee Scoresby, but only to narrate what will be his final battle. The relationship between Lyra and Iorek is one unlike anything I’ve read before, both because it’s so nontraditional and because their love is so fierce and determined. And yet all I can imagine is that snowy white bear disappearing in the horizon, and I fear that this is the last we’ll see of him.
This is how Lyra comes to realize the solitary nature of her journey, and she vocalizes it to Will. I’d like to take back what I said at the end of yesterday’s review: these two have never been more vulnerable than they are right now. This depresses me so much, not because I don’t believe they can accomplish the impossible, but because the fate of all these universes is in the hands of two people who so desperately wish to be loved. I want this to work out because of empathy. I know what it feels like to sense this sort of cosmic loneliness, and I am happy that Iorek is right: these two are very worthy of one another.
So Lyra and Will resolve to find the world of the dead, and promptly announce it to Tialys and Salmakia upon returning to where they were camping. Will is firm and direct: the two can return to Lord Asriel empty-handed, come along with them, or Will shall kill them with the subtle knife.
They obey, and they follow Will and Lyra into a new world. We end with the Chevalier composing a message, and I wonder how Lord Roke will take the message that these Gallivespians have not succeeded in bringing back these children to Lord Asriel.
———-
Make sure to check in on BridgeToTheStar’s contest for Mark Reads, where you can win a signed copy of The Amber Spyglass. They are also hosting this week’s spoiler thread for chapters 11-15.
I find it strange that you kind of glossed over the forging process. For me, it's one of the most intense scenes in the entire series. I'm not sure why, but every time I read this chapter, I get so into it that I physically react, like the I start breathing heavily and getting tired. I'm not sure why this scene does it for me – maybe because I am not a physical person? I know I couldn't do what Lyra and Will do in this chapter, and for some reason that makes it all the more impressive (this doesn't seem like the right word) that they do it.
This chapter resonated with me. I loved it so much. Maybe it's because I can make things with my hands. Well it was my job for so many years to do alterations in the fashion dept of a large department shop. I can relate to how you fix something that's broken. I loved reading how Iorek just knew how to fix the knife. What to use, how to set up a work area and then the actual physical effort of doing the repair. How all of them worked to repair the knife and how it was different because you can never do a repair that will make the item like new. This just touched someting deep inside me. Then when Lyra and Iorek said farewell, my heart broke. Lyra saw Iorek as I came to see my father in the time before he died. Someone who'es clock was ticking down and I cried at that passage. I didn't cry when Lee was killed even though it did touch me deeply, but I cried when Lyra spoke about how old Iorek looked, how thin and hungry he was. And I love the Chevalier and Lady Salmalkia.
Yay! The knife is fixed! I'm kind of glad that Pullman didn't drag out the problem of not having the knife for very long
Mark can't draw, Mark can't draw, Mark cannot draw.
He only reads books, and he can not draw,
Even if he's reading a how to draw book.
SORRY I COULDN'T HELP IT.
going to read the review now
he really is Hermione
A+ forever.
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Haha, ah, I hadn't seen this before I posted below! Exactly where my mind went, I couldn't help it 🙂
GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE. 🙂
This is exactly where my mind went miliseconds after reading that Mark can't draw…
This depresses me so much, not because I don’t believe they can accomplish the impossible, but because the fate of all these universes is in the hands of two people who so desperately wish to be loved. I want this to work out because of empathy. I know what it feels like to sense this sort of cosmic loneliness, and I am happy that Iorek is right: these two are very worthy of one another.
Ok, now I'm sad.
Couldn't Iorek stay? I know he has to go back to his bears, he's their king, but I just want them all to be together, let me be selfish please.
But yay, the knife is fixed!
Again: how badass would the forging have been onscreen? Sigh.
Yeah, I'm sure they'd do a FANTASTIC job.
Iorek: "Go to sleep little ones, this process does not involve you."
CUT TO MORNING.
Will: "Wow! It's finished!"
Nah, they'd film it, but it'd get cut out in post because of it being too controversial.
Honestly, I bet the whole knife getting broken subplot would get cut from a movie. It's more character development than plot development, which movies seem to care less about.
Movies don't have time to explore character development, they have to find some time to blow up buildings.
Michael Bay, is that you?
And have Harry and Voldemort go on a romp through Hogwarts.
But at least Voldy got a chance to be nominated for MOST AWKWARD HUG EVER. I will never not laugh at him trying to hug Draco.
SO MUCH THIS. XD (And the comment above, too)
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It'd be like when Tony Stark made the first suit of Iron Man armor, except with a BEAR. IN A CAVE! WITH A BOX OF SCRA-wait, no, just the pieces of the knife and some fire and stuff.
Sorry, before I comment on anything serious:
…if you ever want to see something that’ll make you scream or cackle, ask me to draw. Can’t do it!
<img src="http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac220/thealisaurus/GIF Animations/Hermionecantdraw.gif">
Mark can't draw, Mark can't draw…
I'm a clutz too, although I'm okay with my hands. It's walking properly that eludes me. Even in familiar places I'm always walking into things and tripping over myself and losing my balance. Thanks to a lifetime of this, I have pretty good recovery and can usually avoid face-planting, but not always. And the thing is, I'm a classically trained dancer. I should be able to move. But regular movements? Nothing doing.
The dancing in that gif. I can't.
Gosh, I know. I can't decide who is my favorite dancer…it might be a tie between Draco and Neville!
I'm the same way, I can do things fine with my hands, but when it comes to my feet….. the other night my 2-year-old niece and I were chasing each other around the house. I'll give you one guess as to who tripped and broke a vase!
*hint* it wasn't her
I'm just a full out klutz. I'm not terrible with my hands, but my hand-eye coordination does leave something to be desired (which is why I'm very reluctant to use hammers). But walking is really hard! I think the fact that I dance does help since it has taught me to be quicker on my feet to avoid landing on my face most of the time. However, I still manage to fall down a lot. And walk into things, stationary things. Door jambs are particularly tricky since I tend to lose my balance and sometimes they're narrow. But how do I manage to walk into a lamppost multiple times? It's not like I can have not seen it or that there wasn't ample space for me to have avoided it. And I never know how it happens, I just all of a sudden feel pain on one side of my body.
I also happen to have an unfriendly relationship with stairs, street curbs, and cobblestones.
I'm fairly certain that street curbs are just unfriendly to everyone. They're not the friendly type.
They're terrible! One made me fall in front of a bus, twist my ankle, and have to crawl out of the way of said bus because it was about to move since the driver didn't see me go down. 🙁
My dad fell off a curb and broke his ankle once. Curbs are evil.
I have serious problems with corners in hallways. Somehow I always manage to run into them with my shoulder. I also have problems with doorjambs. Stationary objects are trying to attack us all!
RIGHT
WHY ARE THEY SO EVIL
Corners and doorjambs are my mortal enemies. And I swear, it's mostly my right side that has trouble. I'm gonna blame all of those ear infections I had as a kid.
Ear Infections!!! *shakes fist* I was in and out of the doctor's office almost every week when I was young because of ear infections. Eventually I had to quit competitive swimming because my eardrums burst (thankfully not both at the same time) and I still can't go down into deep water.
I got swimmers ear constantly as a teenager (honestly, I never got it before puberty and then BAM every time I swam) and to this day I still get pain if I swim too deep.
It was a real issue when I taught swim lessons for a summer. For one of the more advanced classes we'd have kids swim down and get things off of the bottom of the pool. And I would always sit there thinking "I really hope these kids can get that stuff, because I sure can't!"
Maybe this is why I ended up teaching the baby class for three weeks in a row…..
Ouch, that sucks.
I walk into corners all the time and it's not like small, low down ones either. Whole walls! I constantly misjudge my turning radius or smtg. I'm an SUV that thinks it's a compact.
That's my life. Though funnily enough, I'm a good driver, never have any trouble judging timing or distance no matter the size of the car, and I can parallel park in my sleep. I only have these spatial issues with my own body!
Corners on anything….totally not my friend. Not long ago I managed to get TWO giant bruises on my arm in the space of about half a day, and unfortunately, they looked like someone had grabbed me there. I spent close to two weeks that my boyfriend does not beat me and that I'm just clumsy and walk into things on a daily basis. So glad others have the same problem!
I thought I was the only one! I blame it on my right foot and astigmatism mostly though (my right foot is "flat" although it isn't like super bad, at this point it's more like weak/non existent arches than anything). I always run into the very edge of doorways and bang my shoulder/hip. Among other things like tripping up stairs/over nothing.
Klutzes united 😀
Definitely what I thought the first time. Mark needs to watch AVPS.
Mark, I'd like a picture of you tying your shoes, please. 🙂
I love this chapter, because it's Iorek in his element. I think the epigraph is really important, here: "As I was walking among the fires of hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius…" Iorek understands metalwork and how to reforge the knife better than just about anyone in any universe. He knows exactly what must be done, and he does it so intensely that he can ignore the pain and difficulty of doing it, and hold off his doubts until he's done. He just does what he's good at, and it's an intense pleasure to read even if you can't fully conceive of how he's doing it, like you mention. And then he goes on to dole out guidance to Will and Lyra. He's the best. I love his relationship with Lyra. It's fatherly, even though he's a bear (and wouldn't that be contrary to bear nature?), and they love each other dearly. But he's troubled, and old, and hungry, and he has to leave Lyra so that she can continue her journey. I don't think you can ever be ready for:
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/657rs5.gif">
Mark, I'd like a picture of you tying your shoes, please. 🙂
I love this chapter, because it's Iorek in his element. I think the epigraph is really important, here: "As I was walking among the fires of hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius…" Iorek understands metalwork and how to reforge the knife better than just about anyone in any universe. He knows exactly what must be done, and he does it so intensely that he can ignore the pain and difficulty of doing it, and hold off his doubts until he's done. He just does what he's good at, and it's an intense pleasure to read even if you can't fully conceive of how he's doing it, like you mention. And then he goes on to dole out guidance to Will and Lyra. He's the best. I love his relationship with Lyra. It's fatherly, even though he's a bear (and wouldn't that be contrary to bear nature?), and they love each other dearly. But he's troubled, and old, and hungry, and he has to leave Lyra so that she can continue her journey. I don't think you can ever be ready for:
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/657rs5.gif">
Julia Stiles cries so good. I may need to watch 10 Things I Hate About You for the jillionth time tonight.
She really does. And I too will never get sick of that movie.
I tried to make an HDM-themed version of the poem: "I hate the way you talk to me / and the way you cut the air…"
That's…amazing. I apologize for this. I'm going to pretend getting lazy in the middle makes this less sad:
I hate the way you talk to me
And the way you cut the air
I hate the way you drive my cart.
I hate it when you glare.
I hate your big dumb jutting jaw,
And the way you read my mind.
I hate you so much it makes me sick;
It even makes me rhyme.
I hate it, I hate the way you’re always right.
I hate that you can’t lie.
I hate it when you make Pan laugh,
Even worse when you make him cry.
I hate it when you’re not around,
And the fact that you’ve yet to snyy.
But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you.
Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.
And infernalserpent, if you see this, along with your comment up there and the call sign thing yesterday, I'm going to see Allison Janney typing all of your comments. Which is about the best thing ever.
That's brilliant!
OMG, that’s genius. Pure and utter win. Also, I love ‘Ten Things…’
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I've been loving your Dark Materials posts. This has been one of my favorite series ever and this chapter was incredibly detailed and beautifully written. The forging scene will always be one of the most intense scenes in the book.
I hope i'm not being intrusive (and if I am, you don't have to answer this) but are you going to read Good Omens? I was looking over the Suggestions page, which has given me a massive book list, and it received 141 votes which is the most I've seen. Its not that long, maybe 2-3 weeks and a good one to go for is you want to fall out of your chair laughing for a month. I think you'll love it. It's on page 2 of the Suggestions page if you want to see the pitch.
” Years ago, I was told it was because of a brutal ear infection I got as a child that messed up my inner ear, affecting my balance, but I think it’s more fun to believe that the universe gave me the talent to string words together and do complex math in my head, and then balanced it out by taking away physical coordination.”
If I could like/retweet/reblog this sentence i would. Siriously there has never been a more perfect sentence in the history of sentences.
I will be crying forever at Iorek and Lyra's goodbye. FOREVER
Like I said yesterday, they are life companions. A great friendship that has bridged incredible differences and difficulties. If life was fair, they would never have to say goodbye. If life was fair, no one who loved each other would ever have to say goodbye. I had difficulty breathing when that moment came in this chapter, when Iorek gently pulled away from Lyra and walked away.
The worst part of loving someone is having to say goodbye.
Oh, I was away for a few days and now I return! Back to posting epigraphs, here is today's chapter:
<img src="http://www.bridgetothestars.net/misc_gallery/albums/Extras/TAS-Epigraphs/scan0048.jpg">
UGH SUCH A GOOD BLAKE QUOTE.
I feel kind of weird sympathising with Iorek today, since that 17 year old British boy was just mauled to death by a polar bear in the real Svalbard…
I don't really have a comment on the chapter, but I would like to say this:
Mark, I really love your blogs. I love that you are opening people up to books and having them discuss literature in new and creative ways. I'm always sad when I see kids in classrooms glossing over books because they think it's boring. I really hate how the educational system forces things down their throat. I'm of the mind that, if you let a kid pick out something of interest, they will read it. Hell, I wasn't into reading until my father read me The Wind in the Willows when I was very young. (I had picked out the book and begged him to read it to me.) I hope that there are educators out there reading your blog and maybe getting ideas on how to get more kids into reading. Once again, thanks, Mark, for being awesome. =)
I hope everyone else has an awesome day as well.
Just out of curiosity, Mark, are you dyspraxic? I'm aware this is really nosy so please ignore me if you want!
Iorek smacking Will and hovering over him is one of my favourite scenes from the books. It's just perfect. Iorek is patient, but what he isn't is stupid or human, and so when he's lied to he'll not only know instantly but show exactly why he's the King of Bears. I also feel like Will's used to being able to intimidate people, so it was good that he was finally given a lesson in humility; he's strong, but not always right (still think he's awesome, though.)
After a minute he stood up gently and disengaged her arms, and then he turned and walked silently away into the dark. Lyra thought his outline was lost almost at once against the pallor of the snow-covered ground, but it might have been that her eyes were full of tears.
I really love this paragraph and Lyra's goodbye. It's just such a sad and emotive image, and helps to create a huge sense of foreboding. Actually, foreboding pretty much defines this chapter. The pieces are in place, and Will and Lyra know what they have to do.
On the world of the dead. Yikes.
Well obviously now you have to draw us a picture of a scene from this book and scan it in here for all to see 🙂
Not related to this chapter but…
Two days ago (Chapter 13) I remember reading a post in the comments lamenting a lack of female protagonists in scifi. I cant remember where it was and I wasn't part of the discussion but I was wandering around the internets and I basically stumbled over this page:
http://tamorapierce.com/recbooks/sf4fem.htm
where the amazing Tamora Pierce reccomends some scifi books with female protagonists.
I can personally vouch for 6 of the books/series on that list as awesome.
Great list! Yeah, I can vouch for nine of those myself, and would add in some others by a couple of the authors.
Tamora Pierce is awesome!
You should join us at Sirens – a conference devoted to female authors and female characters in fantasy 🙂 Tamora was one of our guests of Honor in 2009. Here keynote was very much going through this list and talking about why she loved some of these books and who they changed her. *love her forever!*
We've put together a good reading list to… http://www.sirensconference.org/connect/readingli…
Obviously my hands were going a little too quick for my brain… "her" and "how" 😛
Oh, shit. Oh, Mark. No. No no no no no. Not definitive sentences. There're too many of them. Don't make any definitive sentences, you'll never be prepared like that.
How am I going to get through the weekend without a chapter review of TAS?!
I love everything you've noted.
Lyra and Iorek's goodbye…
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2w6z685.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
… yeah. I don't remember how I reacted the first time, but this time it started when he was licking her hands. Oh, Iorek. :'( That broke my heart.