His Dark Materials
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His Dark Materials

A dæmon /ˈdiːmən/ was the physical manifestation of a human soul in Lyra's world. Humans in other worlds had dæmons. However, they were invisible to those who had not learned the technique to see them.

Dæmons were able to hold different intuitions to their humans and reveal emotional responses to their surroundings that might not otherwise be obvious in their humans.[1] Dæmons shared the same dreams as their humans and could communicate both verbally and non-verbally with them.[2][3]

Biology[]

Life cycle[]

Dæmons were named by the dæmons of the child's parents.[4] During the childhood of a human, a dæmon could shapeshift into any kind of animal. This change could be due to emotion, need for a particular skill such as night-vision, or simply a whim. Frequent changing of forms and a wide variety of forms were generally thought to be a good indicator of intelligence in a child.[5] Asta was able to add the characteristics of one animal to another form.[6]

Uncertainty in children translated into uncertainty in which form to take. Sister Fenella did not know how dæmons were able to take forms they had never come across before but her dæmon, Geraint, used to be a mole when he was frightened. Asta believed it was a question of feeling ‘moleish’ rather than knowing about them.[2]

When the human and their dæmon reached maturity, the dæmon would settle into a permanent form. This form represented the personality of their human.[7] Pan was able to turn into a small dragon and both he and Salcilia could take on the form of gargoyles; it is unclear whether dæmons could settle as fictional forms, or if these abilities were a result of youthful creativity that would be lost upon reaching adulthood.[8] It may also have been possible to assume the form of an extinct animal.

When dæmons took the form of an animal, they were never really animals, and all other animals would only be able to sense a human.[9]

Dæmons didn't always settle into a permanent form their humans wanted. An example given by Jerry was of a sailor who couldn't leave his ship due to his dæmon settling as a dolphin, and who was only truly happy when he was finally buried at sea.[7] Forms were sometimes linked to professions: both Mr Croker, a woodwork teacher, and Mr Taphouse, a carpenter, had woodpecker dæmons.[10][11] Roofers, tilers and steeplejacks had daemons that could fly or fit in a pocket to make ladder work viable. Kerin suggested that a settled form could not be chosen, but could be ‘helped’.[12]

Diania, a fairy who appeared in form similar to a human female, appeared to have a whole cloud of butterflies surrounding her, rather than a single dæmon.[13]

As a human and their dæmon were one being, the death of one resulted in that of the other.[14] Upon death, the dæmon instantly scattered as Dust.[15] Dæmons could also be permanently injured, as was the case for Gerard Bonneville.[16]

Gender[]

A person's dæmon was usually the opposite gender. It was uncommon, but not unheard of, for a human and their dæmon to have the same gender. Bernie Johansen was a man whose dæmon was also male.[17] Simon Talbot argued that dæmons usually took the opposite gender to fulfil a sense of incompleteness, taking on a complementary gender role without introducing a complicating sexual or jealous element to relationships.[18] A dæmon of the same gender might have indicated a certain quality in a person, like homosexuality or a gift like second sight.[19]

Toxicology[]

When a person drank alcohol, their dæmon would also become inebriated.[8] Cedarwood had a soporific effect on dæmons.[17]

Separation/Intercision[]

As a human and their dæmon were one being, it was physically and emotionally painful for them to separate too far from each other. Death usually followed such separation due to the severe trauma. The General Oblation Board attempted to perfect the intercision process, to separate the human and dæmon in a way which did not result in death. Nevertheless, this resulted in the human losing some of their willpower and vitality. Less advanced methods were used to create hollow servants called zombi.

Witches were known to be able to separate but the knowledge that humans could was less common. Will Parry and Lyra Silvertongue gained the ability after leaving their dæmons on the shore of the world of the dead, although this did not give them the longevity, power of flight or bird forms that also characterised witches.[20] As a shaman, John Parry was also able to separate from his dæmon without great pain.[21]

Humans were able to separate from their dæmons in moments of great necessity without dying. This allowed them to live completely independent lives in the most extreme cases. When he was eleven, Malcolm Polstead separated so that his dæmon Asta could stay to look after a baby Lyra whilst he went to help Alice Parslow fight off Bonneville.[22]

Dr Strauss and Anthony Hassall could separate after the completing the journey akterrakeh, which Strauss believed to be the worst and most necessary thing he ever did. Dæmons felt the incredibly painful journey into Karamakan to be a great betrayal. Chen, their guide, was feared and shunned by other camel-herders for his ability to separate.[23]

There was a dæmon trade in Seleukeia for those who had lost their own dæmon. Poor Tajiks and others in desperate situations sold their dæmons, or had them sold as children, and were then regarded with disgust and scorn for the rest of their lives. People like Chil-du and Yozdah were not even granted their own personal names, instead named after numbers (odd for women, even for men). Medical knowledge was advanced enough in Seleukeia to mean most that people survived the separation operation. There were rumours that big medical corporations were experimenting before moving into Europe and that they were powerful enough to encourage authorities to ignore any deaths and illicit trade. Among the sellers operating out of the Park Hotel was Selim Veli, who claimed satisfactory tolerance and even affection could be achieved. He boasted to have sold to Françoise Guillebaud, Amedea Cipriani and Gottfried Brande.[24]

People known to have been separated[]

See also: Intercision#Known severed people

Culture[]

Taboo[]

It was considered taboo for a person to touch another person's dæmon. Humans whose dæmons were touched by others generally felt a strong sense of repulsion. One exception was when two people touched each other's dæmons in a gesture of love, an act that marked the settling of Pantalaimon and Kirjava.[29] Malcolm Polstead observed that the taboo appeared to be learnt, rather than instinctual, when he was touched by a baby Pantalaimon. He was shocked by the experience but felt privileged rather than disgusted.[30]

Separation rituals[]

The witches had a rite of passage in which the witch entered a barren land where no dæmon could enter. After doing so, the witch and her dæmon were able to separate over long distances. One such place was Tungusk in Siberia.[18] Coram van Texel told Lyra of a gyptian man who could separate, having made the same journey as the witches in the hope that he would be able to live as long as his witch lover. He died soon after.[31]

Etymology[]

Dæmon is an Anglicisation of the Ancient Greek word daimōn which means 'spirit'. It is a neutral term with none of the malevolent connotations associated with the modern English word demon.

Behind the scenes[]

  • The idea of the dæmon was inspired by paintings such as Leonardo da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine" where there seems to be a psychological connection between the lady and the animal.[32] Pantalaimon changes to an ermine numerous times during the series, especially when sleeping.
  • Early editions of Northern Lights suggested dæmons could turn into humans. One coin for the dæmon of a previous Master of Jordan College inside the Jordan catacombs depicted a fair woman.

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 1
  2. 2.0 2.1 La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 14
  3. Northern Lights, Chapter 16
  4. BBC Radio 4 - Philip Pullman Webchat
  5. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 5
  6. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 3
  7. 7.0 7.1 Northern Lights, Chapter 10
  8. 8.0 8.1 Northern Lights, Chapter 3
  9. The Subtle Knife, Lantern Slide 2
  10. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 9
  11. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 6
  12. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 12
  13. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 21
  14. Northern Lights, Chapter 17
  15. Northern Lights, Chapter 6
  16. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 11
  17. 17.0 17.1 Northern Lights, Chapter 7
  18. 18.0 18.1 The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 16
  19. Interview with Philip Pullman on Avnet.co.uk.
  20. The Amber Spyglass, Chapter 36
  21. The Subtle Knife, Chapter 13
  22. The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 6
  23. The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 5
  24. The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 32
  25. The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 25
  26. 26.0 26.1 The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 20
  27. She showed some signs of unusual separation distance in Northern Lights, Chapter 15. The TV series made the ability explicit in both series.
  28. Serpentine
  29. The Amber Spyglass, Chapter 37
  30. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 19
  31. The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 15
  32. Intelligent Life - [1]
Species
Humanoid AngelsDæmonsDeathsGallivespiansGhostsHumansMermaidsWitchesZombi
Other Cliff-ghastsHarpiesMulefaNight-ghastsPanserbjørneSpectresWill-o’-the-wykes
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