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Tobias Hunter asked this question about The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3):
So confused now... Where was this tempter Philip Pullman spent half the book leading up to? How did Mary tempt Lyra and what was the Fall? The sex?
Boy Blue The temptation was knowledge. Just as in the garden of Eden, Eve is tempted by knowledge. In Lyra's case this is knowledge of love and the other adult…moreThe temptation was knowledge. Just as in the garden of Eden, Eve is tempted by knowledge. In Lyra's case this is knowledge of love and the other adult emotions she is yet to experience. The tempter is Mary and the Fall is Lyra becoming aware of love and adult desire. The allegorical feeding of Will by Lyra again echoes the garden of Eden. This is all matched by the falling away of her innocence. Lyra goes from being an innocent child oblivious to the world around her, to a courageous young women with the ability to make a difficult moral decision about what window to leave open. The fact that she can't easily read the compass at the end of the series is also another sign that she has lost that spiritual purity or innocence. In its place she has been given the opportunity to actually learn how to use it, to gain knowledge through hard work and determination. In this way Pullman presents the Fall as a natural and good thing to happen, which is in stark contrast to the biblical version. He doesn't say it's easy but he does believe it's right.(less)
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The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman
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