Frankel/Reinventing Eve/1
Valerie Frankel Words: 5,800
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Reinventing Eve: Bible and Myth Reborn in Harry Potter and His Dark Materials
Modern fantasy takes its roots in older legends: epic myths, fireside tales, and the stories of the Bible. The roots of a name, a hero’s talisman, a moment’s treason or loyalty: all allude to deeper things, strengthening the modern story through allegory. The Harry Potter books and His Dark Materials are no exception. Harry Potter is the foretold British king, determined to repair the betrayals and failures of King Arthur and usher in a new golden age free from betrayal. Likewise, Lyra quests for knowledge through her alethiometer, gladly falling as Eve did and losing her heaven-sent grace. Yet for Lyra, this is a triumph: the gift of growing into adulthood even with the losses and sorrows it encompasses. In both cases, the protagonists destroy the old regime in a glorious revolution of adulthood and growing power, casting Eve and King Arthur both as heroes reborn.
Reenacting King Arthur: Names in Harry Potter
Many notice startling similarities between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Eragon, and many other epics. These similarities derive from the hero’s journey: Dumbledore, Obi-Wan and Gandalf are much of a type because they are archetypal grandfather/sage mentors. Boy heroes wield swords, so it’s not surprising that each character has a magic one. Still Harry Potter enacts a far older story through allusions and offhand references. King Arthur appears in the wizarding world’s history, as “Merlin” and “Morgana” famous wizard cards. Likewise, the Goblet of Fire, the graillike object Harry quests for in his greatest task, is the only item (through its portkey magic) that can save him from Voldemort’s evil. Arthur, the Pendragon wielded a dragon banner, just as Harry defeats dragons in books four and seven. “Harry, like Arthur, is “The Chosen One,” the child of destiny. As Arthur was the only one who could pull the sword from the stone, so Harry is the only one who could pull the Sorcerer’s Stone from his pocket.”[1]
At the end of the epic, Harry accepts a challenge to single combat and dies in order to kill his great enemy, just as Arthur does, though Harry’s sacrifice isn’t permanent. Finally, he returns the Elder Wand to its rightful owner and discards the Resurrection Ring, like Arthur’s returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. Despite this long list of evocative events, Arthurian mythos is reborn even more strongly in character names: Arthur Weasley, Ginevra, Voldemort, and Percival.
Before Lancelot was later added to the story by Chrétien de Troyes, Guinevere was depicted as a powerful queen, ruling independently and named for the Welsh triple goddess, Gwenhwyfar.“Having been informed by JKR on her website that Ginny is short for Ginevra, not Virginia, we have only to note that Ginevra is Italian for Guinevere to realize that, as Guinevere was meant for King Arthur, so Ginny is the only one fit to be Harry’s queen.”[2] Thus, Ginny is a powerful heroine and suitable partner for Harry, the hero-king. She defends Harry from criticism and self-doubt:
When Malfoy claims that Harry is always making the front page, she bursts out, “Leave him alone, he didn’t want all that!” In Chamber of Secrets, Rowling has set up a connection between Harry and Ginny by making her the only other student of their time to be confronted by Riddle/Voldemort and experience the Dark Lord inside her head.[3]
This proves invaluable in book five, when Ginny uses her experience to convince Harry he’s not becoming Voldemort. “You don’t know anyone but me who’s been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels,”[4] she says angrily. Book five shows her as seeker like Cho: both of Harry’s girlfriends are his equals on the playing field as well as in life. She’s talented in Dumbledore’s Army, which she names, and her “Bat-bogey hex” gets her an invitation to the Slugg Club, based solely on her talent.
Ginny, of course, remains steadfastly loyal in the series, rather than committing the treason that brings down King Arthur’s kingdom. She willingly stays in safety at Hogwarts and with her parents, rather than distracting Harry or becoming a hostage for Voldemort. She only says, “I knew this would happen in the end. I knew you wouldn’t be happy unless you were fighting Voldemort. Maybe that’s why I like you so much.”[5]
Arthur Weasley is a hero, undisputed ruler of the enormous Weasley family. His children Ginny and Percy (Percival) emphasize the King Arthur connection once more. Also, Rowling stated in an interview that he was supposed to die.[6] This death would have marked the end of safety and a stable kingdom, forcing the next generation (in the form of Harry and his friends) to restore the lost Camelot of the Wizarding World. Instead, Arthur Weasley lives, defending a Camlot that never truly falls.
Voldemort is very much the Mordred character, and not just because of the “Mor” (death) root they share. Voldemort created Harry as his nemesis by transferring his powers and murdering his parents. Likewise, King Arthur created Mordred through his incestuous union with a half-sister. These rulers and challengers struggle for power throughout the story: one leads the forces of light, and the other, forces of death and destruction. Only through an epic battle can the war finally end. These forces are a metaphor for the son growing into adulthood, supplanting the high king, his father. King Arthur cannot return to childhood and hold the throne forever, thus he can only stop his successor, Mordred, through mutual destruction. Harry, however, destroys Voldemort’s regime forever, setting himself in place as a future Auror and new protector of the Wizarding World.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledoreoffers five names to readers. Albus is white, suggesting spirituality and goodness, while a Dumbledore is a mythic bumblebee. But what of the other names?
Percival, of course, offers the Arthurian link. He was a valiant fighter who quested for the grail (or in Harry Potter’s world, the Horcruxes) but failed in his goal. His teenage protégé Galahad succeeded, through immaculate faith and goodness. Clear parallels appear here with the Dumbledore-Harry relationship. Percival Dumbledore and his namesake, Percy Weasley, appear as knights who fail, but leave others to battle and complete the great quest. Galahad dies as he grasps the grail, just as Harry dies just after uniting the Deathly Hallows. Still, the protection of Harry’s blood binds him to life, allowing him to return as mankind’s’ savior.
Wulfric and Brian are both names of Catholic British saints: Wulfric of Haselbury was a hermit and miracle worker. Blessed Brian Lacey was one of the London Martyrs of 1591.[7] This connection to sainthood and martyrdom suggests pure goodness, but an altruism lacking the practicality to finish the war. Dumbledore indeed becomes a martyr, willingly sacrificing his life in order to save his students, Draco and Harry, among others. In Arthurian legend, Merlin safeguards and instructs Arthur, all the while knowing he will fall to Morgan Le Fay’s duplicity. Snape apparently betrays Dumbledore, striking the killing blow in the lightning-struck tower. Yet as we later learn, he is fulfilling his promise to Dumbledore, rather than committing treachery. The Merlin of the Wizarding World deliberately sacrifices himself and enlists his betrayer. Harry triumphantly tells Voldemort as they duel that Voldemort has failed to master the Elder Wand: Killing Snape was pointless as Snape never mastered the wand by betraying Dumbledore: “He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant,”[8] Harry tells Voldemort before defeating him in their duel. Snape’s loyalty and Dumbledore’s trust make Harry the master of the world’s deadliest weapon.
Casting Harry as Arthur with a touch of Galahad emphasizes his heroic role, but this charming fantasy repairs the tragedy and betrayal of the Arthurian Saga. Ron, the best friend, stays loyal to Harry (though many readers expected a three-way catastrophe over Hermione), and Ginny never betrays him. Merlin-Dumbledore and his betrayer work together, to ensure Harry masters the Elder Wand and defeats his enemy. Rather than losing Camelot forever, Harry preserves it, destroying the evil Mordred forever.
Pullman’s Names and The Biblical Pagan Dichotomy
The Golden Compass, of course, offers Biblical names symbolic of the great struggle reborn: paganism or Church, freedom or obedience?Along with Hebrew roots, there is a large amount of Greek, such as Lyra’s alethiometer,which comes from "alethia," "truth," and "meter" for "measure." Greece spawned an Orthodox Christian sect but also the beloved pagan myths of Zeus and his Pantheon. Lyra is destined to fall as Eve once did, Church officials say,[9] but there is an odd redemption in breaking from the Church that murders children and condemns Dust. As Lyra struggles to choose a side: Church or “Republic of Heaven,” these mixed allusions shed doubt on her entire world.
Many notice the link between Lyra and “liar,” her biggest hobby. At the beginning, Lyra is very much a flawed, misbehaving character, worthy of her Eve parallels. Self-centered and egocentric, “she does whatever she finds to be fun, and is only obedient so she can avoid being punished,”[10] as one critic comments.Yet she receives the alethiometer, truth incarnate. This guide preserves her from the Church, while offering her the divine power to read its message better than anyone else can. Iorek Byrnison names her Silvertongue when she fools Iofur Raknison, the King of the Bears, by telling him that she is a dæmon and that she is willing to change sides for the "strongest bear." Clearly the name refers to her skill at lying, reminiscent of Eve who fell to the snake’s lying words.
At the same time, silver is a feminine symbol, associated with water and the moon as well as spirituality. As Lyra calls herself a dæmon, she is reconciling her two selves, dæmon and human, and thus claiming power over her innate feminine magic. She is no longer divided into human and dæmon, Lyra and Pan: now she has taken on both roles. Thus armed, she can confront her parents and the Authority itself, defying both to do what she believes is right. As another critic ironically comments, “Little lying Lyra is the one who’s going to help save the world(s) through truth.”[11]
In the land of the dead, the harpies attack her for lying. Afterward, she realizes she’s lost her gift: “I can’t tell lies…it’s all I can do, and it doesn’t work!”[12] The next story she tells, the true story of the world of the living, wins the harpies to her side. There her silver-tongued gift changes to something far more profound—the truth that frees all those trapped in death. At last, “she and Will sacrifice their own happiness for the ghosts of friends and strangers alike”[13] thus ascending to the highest moral level of all. No longer a liar, Lyra has become a moral compass.
Her dæmon, Panteleimon, has a name so unusual it must “mean something.” In fact, Lyra calls him Pan, a nickname that evokes the crafty and mysterious satyr of Greek myth. This clashes with the more literal namesake: St. Panteleimon of the Orthodox Churches. "’Panta’ means ‘all’ in Greek, and ‘eleison’ means ‘have mercy’ in Greek, thus Pantalaimon means ‘all merciful.’”[14] So dear little Pan the shapechanger is part Orthodox saint, part pagan mischief-maker. He is a part of Lyra’s soul, yet with different thoughts and opinions. “A dæmon is a visible, external part of a person that represents facets of the person’s character”[15] writes Tony Watkins, author of Dark Matter: Shedding Light on Phillip Pullman’s Trilogy His Dark Materials. Sally Vincent adds, “It is your guardian angel, your confidante, your conscience, your representative.”[16] As angel or conscience, he offers advice and unflinching support. He is the “all merciful” one that can intercede between Lyra and God, yet he can be selfish and dismissive: the first time we see him, he suggests Lyra not save Asriel from the poison—hardly a merciful act. This myriad of contradictions always surrounds the shapeshifter, keeping him neither one thing nor, the other, especially for very long. This mirrors the confusion of Lyra’s task: deciding whom to trust when her parents betray her, the Church experiments on children, and only society’s outcasts can protect her.
Will, it’s been noted, has more “will” than most people. Like the Biblical Adam “earth,” he’s a simple primal character with a simple primal name. When we first meet him, he has a cat named Moxie, and later, a dæmon named Kirjava (Finnish for "multi-colored”). These animal sidekicks reveal Will’s hidden side through contrast: they exhibit the traits he lacks. In the beginning, Will lives at home with his mother, going to school and awaiting his father’s return. In danger, he hides. He indeed lacks “moxie,” as shown by the brave cat beside him, foreshadowing his future demon. By the time Kirjava has arrived, Will has grown into resolute strength: he bears the subtle knife which trembles and then finally breaks when his resolve is divided. Thus, his “multi-colored” dæmon is again his hidden side, as the bearer of the Subtle Knife cannot afford to be multi-faceted.
The name of Lord Asriel relates to the Hebrew Ashriel, who, in the Jewish and Muslim tradition is the Angel of Death, who separates souls from their bodies.[17]The Koran, however, regards him as helpful rather than demonic.[18]In English, Asriel is an anagram of Israel, which means “struggles with God.” Lord Asriel is the Lucifer figure, who rebels against God and is cast from heaven. Like Lucifer, he is beautiful and proud, commanding the scholars of Oxford and winning Lyra’s unquestioning loyalty in her childhood. He is charismatic yet dangerous, offering Lyra sanctuary is one moment, and murdering her friend Roger in the next. His window opens the world to atmospheric anomalies and chaos. Though technically on Lyra’s side through his rebellion, his morals are ambiguous and he doesn’t mind committing a few murders. Nonetheless, he rejects the Church’s fears of Dust and “sin.” Like the angels desire flesh, sin is no more than enjoyment of life, love, and earth’s joys. Without such sin there'd be no story to tell the harpies. Rejecting this “sin” really means rejecting all freedom. If the Church destroys Dust, which they think is Original Sin, that freedom will be lost forever, and the Authority's oppression will dominate all worlds. In this story, Lucifer, Eve, and Eve’s serpent, Mary Malone, have the right idea. Ending the Church’s idea of sin will only forbid joy and creative expression.
Lord Asriel's dæmon is Stelmaria, a beautiful, powerful snow leopard. The Latin roots, “Stel—Maria” mean “Star Mary,” associated with the Star of Bethlehem and the Nativity.Thus the Lucifer figure is constantly shadowed by Mary, light to his innate cruelty. Asriel is Lyra’s father (though he nearly sacrifices her at the end of The Golden Compass) and Stelmaria a divine mother-protector. As Asriel is the Authority’s adversary, Stelmaria’s name suggests his greatest divine follower. In this way, the leopard’s innate nobility helps to conceal Asriel’s treachery and cruelty until his murder of Roger at the end of The Golden Compass.
Mary Malone’s name suggests Mary, the saintly mother of Jesus and female figurehead of the Church: protective, mothering, and angelically innocent. Yet she is a fallen angel. Once a nun, she has become an atheist, turning from a devout believer in the Church to its antagonist. Her apparent sinfulness evokes Mary Magdalene a fallen woman who devotes herself to Jesus, as Mary Malone does to Lyra. The alethiometer has identified her as the one who will play the serpent to Lyra’s Eve.
Mary Malone's dæmon, the alpine chough, is a “black bird with red legs and a bright yellow beak, slightly curved. A bird of the mountains.”[19] Birds, the dæmons of choice for Serafina Pekkala and all the other witches, are evocative of air spirits and even the divine soul itself. Birds offer prophetic knowledge in Pagan myth; in the Bible they offer redemption and peace. Mary has indeed shaped the world with her knowledge of Dust and how its loss threatens nature. Though cast as the serpent, she has saved the world by preserving Dust and defying the angels. When Serafina helps her see her own dæmon, Mary reconciles her two halves and reaches this accord between seeking wisdom and finding it.