Where Is My Dæmon?

I’m having a hard time accepting the premise that the dæmons in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, which I’m currently engulfed in, represent people’s souls.

Granted, I’m only halfway book 1 but so far, most of what I’m reading makes it difficult to believe this. Or maybe it’s because I have a hard time believing in the soul. In any case, I’ve been trying to come up with an alternative way of thinking of them as I read along.

So, what else could they be?

Soulmates

I believe in those. But in regards to dæmons, it’s a difficult theory to hold up. A soulmate is a separate being of your own species whom you happen to click with. As deep and spiritual that connection might be, someone else can never be your dæmon.

Consciousness

The fact that dæmons go to sleep with their people, makes a strong case for them being nothing more than a materialization of who we are when we are awake. They’re our walking, talking personality and when we retire, they too disappear from the world. However, in at least one instance, Lyra’s Pantalaimon is up before she is, so this doesn’t make much sense either.

Conscience

Seeing there is a continuous dialogue going on between dæmons and their people, it may not be far-fetched to see them as our conscience. If we lose our conscience, we are lost as human beings. Since I prefer the humanistic idea of conscience over that of a soul, I am most inclined to go for this explanation. Still, a lot doesn’t add up here either, so the jury’s still out.

Alter ego

This one is the simplest, cleanest option. Or so it seems. As “a second self”, a character which is psychologically identical, but can act independently (to an extent) this explanation would do. However, the fact that alter egos often exist only when we don’t (from super heroes putting on their cape to schizophrenics lapsing into another state of self) makes it an impossibility. Dæmons clearly co-exist with their people, so this idea is out the door as well.

What else?

In the end then, I’m not sure. Perhaps dæmons are just dæmons and we shouldn’t try to read anything else into them. And, as I said, I haven’t read enough of the book, let alone the trilogy, to be certain.

This post, then, isn’t conclusive either, and I hope to reach more insights later on, or hear what you have to say.

What I can say is that it’s been a while since I read a novel this exciting and enthralling, so sweet and lovely, this fabulous and imaginative.

Where can I get one?

I haven’t been feeling too great lately, and the thought of dæmons as our close companions, our soulmates, is one that’s become particularly soothing to me. In a way, I feel like I lost many already. In another, perhaps, I’m still looking for it.

One thing’s for sure: I’d love to have one. We all should have one.

Tags: dæmons, golden compass, his dark materials, northern lights