{"id":488,"date":"2011-08-16T06:00:25","date_gmt":"2011-08-16T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=488"},"modified":"2011-08-14T22:28:03","modified_gmt":"2011-08-15T05:28:03","slug":"mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass-chapter-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/08\/mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass-chapter-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Amber Spyglass’: Chapter 22"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twenty-second chapter of The Amber Spyglass<\/em>, Philip Pullman finds joy in the world of the dead, and we realize it is the infectious, rebellious spark that is Lyra Belacqua. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Amber Spyglass<\/em>.<\/p>\n

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE WHISPERERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

If there was any question why His Dark Materials<\/em> focused on Lyra’s perspective more than anyone else’s, then this chapter is Pullman’s resounding answer: because it could not be anyone else who leads this rebellion against the Authority.<\/p>\n

It’s not spelled out at all in chapter twenty-two, so I’m still guessing, but I think the land of the dead is entirely the Authority’s doing, and that by doing what Lyra starts here, humanity can finally fight back against the oppressive force of God. And it’s now clear to me that destiny has jack shit to do with this. Even if Lyra has a prophecy written about her, it is not affecting her agency or her free will. Everything that has brought Lyra to this point was done entirely out of her own choice and her own desire to right the things that are wrong. Now I wonder…is that why Lyra could never know of the prophecy? Would it affect her agency? Hmmm.<\/p>\n

Anyway, THE LAND OF THE DEAD. I mean HOLY SHIT<\/em>. We’ll get to the actual physical layout of it, but I love that right from the start, this place makes you feel<\/em> something. For Lyra, the loss she’s experienced and the heartbreak leads her to feel that she’s worthless, that even her last refuge of power, her ability to lie, is her only hope, and she just lost that<\/em>, too. I did chuckle when Will replied to state that she could also read the alethiometer because….dude, what a shitty friend! I mean, I know what you meant, but if I told you I felt worthless and you replied, “Yeah, but you can ride a bicycle,” I’d probably punch you in the face. Metaphorically. Obviously, he wasn’t trying to say that this was LITERALLY the only thing she was capable of doing, but it made me laugh nonetheless.<\/p>\n

So they turn to investigating the world of the dead, which is just as grim and overwhelming as I imagined. In my head, aided by the descriptions that Pullman gives me, this world is devoid of any real color, or at least bright ones. I like the idea of it all being just shades of black and white, but straying far more towards the grays, and of millions of “ghosts” drifting aimlessly and without purpose. Of every detail Pullman does tell, I think that one is the most disturbing: For as long as anyone can remember, the only thing that has happened is the torment of the harpies and….nothing else<\/em>. Nothing happens, nothing marks the passage of time, and NOTHING HAPPENS<\/em>. God, that is horrifying<\/em>. Why has the Authority allowed this to exist?<\/p>\n

I don’t know why it happens for sure, but I’d be willing to make a guess as to why the dead can only whisper: they lost the will to talk, and for those who have been here hundreds or thousands of years, it’s been a long time since they have spoken. It’s clear just how difficult this plan of Lyra’s is going to be to execute. The sheer volume of ghosts present is going to make this a challenge to locate Roger, but how can they even attempt this if they can’t communicate with anyone?<\/p>\n

But it starts off slow enough, and the child ghosts are drawn to these clearly living creatures who have wandered into their world, and Pullman describes it as an attraction to their energy<\/em>, something I’d not really thought about. It’s an energy inherent in life, and no one in this world has seen anything like it since they arrived here. Yet the flow of ghosts becomes overwhelming:<\/p>\n

The two living children felt that little by little they hadn’t got an infinite amount of life and warmth to give, and they were so cold already, and the endless crowds pressing forward looked as if they were never going to stop.<\/p>\n
Finally Lyra had to plead with them to hold back.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
One ghost child in particular is enamored with the appearance of blood on Lyra’s forehead and she ends up being the first person to actually speak so that Will and Lyra can hear her. Unfortunately, it’s not good news in the slightest. We learn that the harpies pick on those who are newest<\/em> to the land of the dead. Why? Who knows! They’re evil? They guard the world of the dead and they can’t experience joy? I suppose it doesn’t matter in the slightest. They’re just another addition to THE WORST PLACE EVER.<\/p>\n
Yet Will and Lyra refuse to relent, despite the seeming impossibility of what they have before them. Pullman hadn’t even discussed the size of this world yet, and I knew that it was going to be a problem, but Lyra figures that they made it this far, so they might as well do what they can. BUT DARN THOSE PESKY HARPIES. Christ, must you always get in the way?<\/em> You know, when I first read this chapter, the thought had not occurred to me, but now I can’t ignore it. Whatever Will and Lyra decide to do, how are they going to get back past<\/em> the harpies? Surely the harpies will be none-too-happy about the prospect of people leaving<\/em> the world of the dead, and they’ve already proven to be willing to use violence to stop them.<\/p>\n
It’s partially answered when Will realizes that the harpies seem to be avoiding all physical contact with these living beings, and he guesses that it was actually a mistake<\/em> that No-Name had struck Lyra. I can’t pretend to understand why this is the case. Is it the subtle knife? Do they know Will has it? Or is it some rule of the world of the dead that the harpies are not allowed to touch anyone, only scream obscenities and insults at the ghosts?<\/p>\n
Either way, the very act of standing up to the harpies is clearly something that was previously inconceivable to the ghosts in the world of the dead. They begin to rise up and drift closer to the two human children who have finally found a way to reject the fury and misery of the harpies.<\/p>\n
“Will,” she said, “I’m so glad we came down here together…”<\/p>\n
He heard a tone in her voice and he saw an expression on her face that he knew and liked more than anything he’d ever known: it showed she was thinking of something daring, but she wasn’t ready to speak of it yet.<\/p>\n
He nodded, to show he’d understood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
AHHHHH I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH. These two deserve<\/em> one another, and the fierce rebellion both of them had building inside of them for years has now come to the forefront, but IN THE WORLD OF THE DEAD. But what is this idea that Lyra has???<\/p>\n
We don’t find out at first. A few children begin to speak openly about d\u00c3\u00a6mons with Lyra, asking where hers is, and offering up details about their own. One of these children is particularly upset at the notion that d\u00c3\u00a6mons disappear forever upon death, insisting they have to go somewhere<\/em>. Could this…could this be foreshadowing? Please? I just want Pan back. \ud83d\ude41 \ud83d\ude41 \ud83d\ude41 \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n
I thought it was also pretty awesome that Pullman doesn’t ignore that there are ghosts him from parallel worlds, such as one from Will’s world, and another from a world where your death is with you your whole life, much like a soul or a d\u00c3\u00a6mon. Yet all of these different experiences agree on one thing: The appearance of Will, Lyra, and the Gallivespians is the first thing that has ever happened in this world. Literally<\/em>. I can’t even conceive of that notion, that concept of repetition and banality. It’s just as confusing and repulsive to Lyra as well, and I got a better idea of what she wanted to do: set the ghosts free.<\/p>\n
There’s a great transition in this moment, too, as Pullman switches over to the perspective of the Gallivespians, who are flying high over this scene. They’re able to see how the thousands and thousands of ghosts are all drifting and swirling around these children, and it leads them to wonder if they, too, have d\u00c3\u00a6mons, and to ponder the nature of Lyra herself. It’s fascinating to me because their tone is such a marked change from what it was before this. Tialys, at the very least, no longer speaks with the same infuriated, pretentious air of importance, and I think part of that is the sheer spectacle of how Lyra has been able to command the attention of the dead<\/em>. When Salmakia asks if this <\/em>was the choice Lyra was destined to make, leaving her d\u00c3\u00a6mon behind, he looks upon Lyra below him.<\/p>\n
The Chevalier looked down on the slow-moving millions on the floor of the land of the dead, all drifting after that bright and living spark Lyra Silvertongue. He could just make out her hair, the lightest thing in the gloom, and beside it the boy’s head, black-haired and solid and strong.<\/p>\n
“No,” he said, “not yet. That’s still to come, whatever it may be.”<\/p>\n
“Then we must bring her to it safely.”<\/p>\n
“Bring them both. They’re bound together now.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Just like that, they agree to make this their sole mission. The spies have seen nothing like this in their entire existence, and even if this trip to the world of the dead results in the death of all of them, they can no longer deny that Lyra is something special. And she really is<\/em> special, and not in that ~speshul snowflake~ way; she possesses no unique powers or super strengths or magical abilities. The capacity of her heart is endless, and there are few beings ever who love like she does. It’s only a character like Lyra who would sacrifice her own d\u00c3\u00a6mon in order to apologize<\/em> to someone, “die” in the process, and then, when she reaches the afterlife, set forth to free all of the lost souls there<\/em>. She tells Will this plan, and…oh god, I’ll just quote it:<\/p>\n
He turned and gave her a true smile, so warm and happy she felt something stumble and falter inside her; at least, it felt like that, but without Pantalaimon she couldn’t ask herself what it meant. It might have been a new way for her heart to beat. Deeply surprised, she told herself to walk straight and stop feeling giddy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh, Lyra. There are so many layers to this, with the first being that Lyra said something to create a smile in the most grim, depressing location in every universe ever. That<\/em> is Lyra’s true power. And, of course, there’s the adorable subtext that she herself is pleased by Will’s approval; perhaps she is even beginning to experience a crush as well, but that is something to be dealt with at a much later time.<\/p>\n
That’s because this chapter finally–FINALLY<\/em>–gives us something from Will and Lyra’s story that is pure and simple bliss. Far ahead of these two, Lady Salmakia spots a lone ghost boy, confused by something the other spirits are telling him, and she calls out to him, asking if he is Roger. He confirms (!!!!!!!!!), and she flies back to Lyra with the news. He is but an hour’s walk away from them.<\/p>\n
Lyra’s infectious excitement spills over on to me, and even though the chapter ends at this moment, I’m going to allow myself this brief sensation. Lyra has traveled to the world of the dead, and she has found the friend she lost, and they are about to see each other. She has done the impossible.<\/p>\n
———-<\/p>\n
If you are just\u00c2\u00a0aching<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0to discuss the many spoilery things that this chapter and others I’ll read this week,\u00c2\u00a0BridgeToTheStars is hosting a conversation about\u00c2\u00a0THE WORLD OF THE DEAD<\/strong><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0and you should probably go hang out there with other\u00c2\u00a0His Dark Materials<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0fans. You still have a chance to\u00c2\u00a0enter the contest<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0BTTS is hosting in conjunction with me to give away a signed copy of\u00c2\u00a0The Amber Spyglass<\/em>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the twenty-second chapter of The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman finds joy in the world of the dead, and we realize it is the infectious, rebellious spark that is Lyra Belacqua. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,79],"tags":[23,81,62,80],"class_list":["post-488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-dark-materials","category-the-amber-spyglass","tag-mark-reads","tag-mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass","tag-philip-pullman","tag-the-amber-spyglass-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}