The Amber Spyglass: Quick FAQ

[Soapy]

Hello there! This FAQ is intended to answer some of the frequently asked questions that have popped up on this forum over the years. The answers are under the spoiler tags.

If you have another, quick question that is not included here and that you don't think needs a lot of discussion, then please post the question in this thread and we will try to answer it. If it's a question likely to come up again we will add it to the list.

Please note that some of these questions contain spoilers, so read at your peril!

Abbreviations are used as follows:
NL = Northern Lights
TGC = The Golden Compass
TSK = The Subtle Knife
HDM - His Dark Materials
PP = Philip Pullman


Was that priest in the chapter Vodka a pervert?

Spoiler:

Yes, probably.

Did Will and Lyra have sex?

Spoiler:

We never actually find out for sure if Will and Lyra have sex. When asked, Philip Pullman has also stated that he does not know if they have sex.

Some have interpreted a few sections of the book, namely the bit where they “bathe” together, the bit where they touch each other’s daemons and the bit where they have a whole 2 weeks of unexplained time on the Gyptian’s boat back to Cittagazze as evidence that they did have sex, or at least some kind of sexual contact.

Others have said that the characters being so young make it unlikely that they had sex. Others still simply do not care either way, as what matters is that they loved each other. Whatever your opinion, there is no wrong or right answer to this question, but if you’d like to debate the issue we have a long running thread devoted to it here.

Why why why did Will and Lyra have to separate?

Spoiler:

They had to separate because they could not continue using the Subtle Knife to open windows into other worlds as this was A) making Dust leak out of the multi-verse and B) creating Spectres. They also could not chose to live in each other’s world as they would have died 10 years or so after being away from their own world for so long. They decided to separate so that they could live out their full lives and commit themselves properly to building the Republic of Heaven.

But they were allowed to leave one window open!

Spoiler:

Yes, but they decided to leave the window out of the Land of the dead to allow all of the ghosts out. One window was allowed because if they could build the Republic of Heaven then enough Dust would be created to replace the Dust lost from that one window.

If they had not separated they would never have been able to build the Republic of Heaven in their own worlds and thus replace the lost Dust. The Republic of Heaven can only be built where we are, because for us there is no elsewhere.

But… but… I want them to be together!

Spoiler:

Unfortunately, the ending is rather bittersweet. Will and Lyra gave something up; they sacrificed their personal wants for something that they believed in. And while that is sad, it is also admirable and heroic. Eventually we must get over it and move on with our lives.

However, if you still feel the need to discuss loopholes as to how Will and Lyra could have been together, there is a thread on the forum right here and here.

Is the Authority supposed to be God?

Spoiler:

An equally interesting question is whether Dust is supposed to be God. The answer depends on your own personal beliefs, although Pullman has said that the Authority is the God of the Inquisition, the burners of "witches", and the God that people claim to be acting in the name of when they do an evil act. Whether the Authority is supposed to literally be God, or whether he exists merely as a metaphor for that God created by human corruption, is really up to you to decide for yourself. Keep in mind that Xaphania said that the Authority wasn't the Creator, only an angel who gave himself titles and power since he was the first. Whether Dust adequately fills the role of God is also open to debate.

Did Will and Lyra kill God?

Spoiler:

Technically the Authority was not killed by Will and Lyra. Rather they allowed him to die by letting him out of his crystal cage.

Were Baruch and Balthamos gay?

Spoiler:

Again, this question is not a question you can answer with a simple yes or no. Without physical bodies, it is unlikely that angels can actually have physical relations or sex, but Baruch and Balthamos are certainly partners in every other sense.

Does the bench that they agree to meet at really exist in our world?

Spoiler:

Yes, it does. It is in the Botanic Garden in Oxford and it is very beautiful.

How come Lyra lost the ability to read the Alethiometer?

Spoiler:

When Lyra was young she read the Alethiometer through a sort of innocent grace. She did not understand why she could read it, but she could. As she grew up and lost her innocence and her grace she also lost the ability to read the Alethiometer. It is said that she can regain the ability to read it, but only with knowledge, hard work and determination. This will give her a different sort of earned grace.

If you’d like to learn more about this, read Heinrich von Kleist’s essay “On the Marionette Theatre” which was a big influence for Pullman in this part of the story. You can read it here

What does it mean when it says that Mary should play the serpent?

Spoiler:

This is a reference to the Judeo-Christian story of Adam and Eve where a serpent tempts Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and thus brings about original sin. In a twist, in this book Mary is urged to tempt Will and Lyra to fall for each other by telling them stories of her own love life. Listening to her story, Lyra begins to feel new things and this makes her more aware of her feelings for Will. By accepting that she loves Will, she falls from innocence, like Eve upon eating the fruit. The same goes to Will, who later mimics part of Mary’s story when he gives Lyra one of the little red fruits just as the boy in Mary’s story gave her some of the Marzipan

[Bellerophon]

I have a minor quibble with the second sentence of the answer to the Baruch and Balthamos question in light of the Judeo-Christian tradition that inspired HDM. Both the text of the Old Testament and a number of scholarly commentaries suggest that sex between angels and people is one of the worst sins. Remember the story of Sodom and Gomorra? Also recall the sins that precipitated Noah's Flood. If angels could have sex with people -- albeit unforgivably sinful sex -- I don't see why we should assume that they couldn't have sex with each other.

Perhaps this partly explains why Baruch and Balthamos were with the rebels; they might have been cast out by the Authority for beginning a sexual relationship while Baruch was still human. Not only were they gay, but they violated another, graver taboo. ¡Viva la Revolución!

[Soapy]

I have a minor quibble with the second sentence of the answer to the Baruch and Balthamos question in light of the Judeo-Christian tradition that inspired HDM. Both the text of the Old Testament and a number of scholarly commentaries suggest that sex between angels and people is one of the worst sins. Remember the story of Sodom and Gomorra? Also recall the sins that precipitated Noah's Flood. If angels could have sex with people -- albeit unforgivably sinful sex -- I don't see why we should assume that they couldn't have sex with each other.

Perhaps this partly explains why Baruch and Balthamos were with the rebels; they might have been cast out by the Authority for beginning a sexual relationship while Baruch was still human. Not only were they gay, but they violated another, graver taboo. ¡Viva la Revolución!

An excellent point. I shall add it to the answer.

[Mr Anderson]

You should mention Xaphania's remarks on the existence of a creator being, the possibility of which is left open. Is the Authority supposed to be god? If your definition of god is the being which created existence, then no he certainly isn't. By extension, Lyra does not kill god, which is possibly the most common misconception I have heard; it's up there with potatoes are from Ireland, and Hitler was an atheist.