The secular angel in contemporary children's literature: David ...

substitution of this erroneous faith with a more virtuous one; one that can successfully
incorporate science, nature and benevolence. It is my belief that his narrative not only grants
this ‘replacement’ but also encourages it. The amber spyglass, a tool with which Mary Malone
is able to see these dark materials, may be a metaphor for both science, in that its construction
was based on scientific principles, and faith; faith in humanity’s ability to first build
something, as well as consciously seek to see and uncover the truth, which in HDM is Dust,
the true materials that form and shape reality.
Dust is an especially interesting concept in the trilogy, and one that appears to be
multifarious, both in meaning and in the different purposes it serves, one of them being the
manifestation of the loss of innocence and the transition towards puberty. It is also considered
to be original sin by the Church and consciousness by the scientists who first discovered it.
Pullman writes that it was experimental theologian Boris Mikhailovitch Rusakov of Muscovy
who discovered Dust:
‘and they're usually called Rusakov Particles after him. Elementary particles
that don't interact in any way with others-very hard to detect, but the
extraordinary thing is that they seem to be attracted to human beings.’
‘Really?’ said the young woman, wide-eyed.
‘And even more extraordinary,’ he went on, ‘some human beings more than
others. Adults attract it, but not children. At least, not much, and not until
adolescence. In fact, that's the very reason—‘ His voice dropped, and he
moved closer to the young woman, putting his hand confidentially on her
shoulder. ‘—that's the very reason the Oblation Board was set up. (Pullman,
GC, 88)
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