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

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ecause thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (3:15). With these words he appears to be suggesting that it is more sincere and less cowardly to stand on either one side or the other (the good or the bad), than be completely unaffected by and indifferent to either and stand in the middle. In all of the primary examined for this thesis sources the readers witness angels that have had, at some point, to make a decision between one of two sides. None of the three authors take an angel’s purity and goodness for granted, choosing, instead, to bestow upon them the element of free will; and although this appears to be a controversial premise, it is not entirely contrary to what medieval theologians believed: The early Fathers were uncertain as to exactly when the angelic sin took place and what its precise nature was. Two things were clear, however: that God did create the demons and that He did not create them evil. God created all things visible and invisible, and He created all things good. (Keck, 1998, 24) Therefore, if all angels were created good, it must mean that at some point in time, Lucifer, along with several other angels, had impure thoughts and fell. This very act of defiance against God (in whichever form it was manifested) must have presupposed the ability to choose between good or evil. But this issue was so multifaceted and profound that some decided to treat it separately; one example of this is Anselm of Cantenbury who “devote[d] an entire treatise to the subject, De Casu Diaboli” (Keck, 1998, 25). However, theologians of the time did believe that the angels’ “first free choice would determine forever their orientation towards good or evil, [and] the evil angels are incapable of being redeemed” (Keck, 1998, 24). In McNish’s Angel, however, this is not the case. Mestraal is an angel that appears, at first, to be evil. From his appalling dark appearance to his wicked and blunt intimidation of Freya, he primarily assumes the role of a ‘fallen’ angel. Later in the novel the reader discovers that he 20
was the strongest and kindest of all angels, and because the burden of appeasing human suffering became too intense and sometimes seemed futile, he decided to reject his guardian angel status and become a bystander. But towards the end of the novel, touched by Freya’s determination and kindness, he resumes his former role, thus demonstrating that what defines a person, or in this case an angel, is the choices one makes on an everyday basis, as each challenge and each difficulty must be met by a choice. Almond’s novel shares some of these elements in that Skellig is first found fragile and broken in a dilapidated garage. Although the reader never learns about his past and what circumstances led him to lie there in such a resigned and sad state, as Michael and Mina begin to take care of him, he slowly and reluctantly regains his strength and his —assumed— former glory. The parallel, of course, in Skellig with the angels of Scripture and their representation in the Middle Ages is particularly scarce. Not only is religion completely removed from the idea of the guardian angel’s existence, but through the words of William Blake and the philosophies that both Mina and her mother share with Michael, the angelic figure’s origin appears to be more closely related to Darwin’s theory of evolution than to God’s creation of the universe, although for Almond evolutionary science is not incompatible with the possibility of otherworldy beings or wonder in the unknown. Finally, in Pullman’s trilogy, the angels’ choice is reversed. Their decision to defy God —that is the false Authority who pretends to be the creator— means that they join the ‘good’ side, while Metatron and the other angels stand by (or keep ‘faith’ in) a fabricated and deceitful idea based on oppression and lies. As will be seen in Chapter 2, Pullman incorporates in his narrative several familiar aspects of Genesis and the Fall of Adam and Eve but purposefully deconstructs them, thereby annihilating the premises of organized religion altogether. And although his act of killing God towards the end of The Amber Spyglass caused considerable controversy, when looked upon more closely, what he truly succeeds in destroying is a corrupt being that has been responsible for nothing but cruelty for centuries. 21
Page 1 and 2: THE SECULAR ANGEL IN CONTEMPORARY C
Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT This thesis explores the r
Page 5 and 6: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I believe this thes
Page 7 and 8: Faith vs. Science & Innocence vs. E
Page 9 and 10: INTRODUCTION This thesis explores t
Page 11 and 12: to one’s morality based on the et
Page 13 and 14: part-angel, part-human, and through
Page 15 and 16: subject of angels, is indicative of
Page 17 and 18: the Book of Enoch (or 1 Enoch) and
Page 19 and 20: God with the scientific notion of D
Page 21 and 22: (Keck, 1998, 69). McNish’s angels
Page 23 and 24: your small existences?’ ‘But yo
Page 25 and 26: 1980, 7). In order to grasp Blake a
Page 27: and, in the final analysis, its som
Page 31 and 32: This reference to Blake points to o
Page 33 and 34: deconstruction-, its function “is
Page 35 and 36: childhood. Almond has mainly used d
Page 37 and 38: argument, and the heroes of the sto
Page 39 and 40: act of killing God, to the slow sec
Page 41 and 42: mentioned, the intertextual element
Page 43 and 44: meaning of words” (Allen, 2000, 3
Page 45 and 46: Transformation Transformation is a
Page 47 and 48: narrative the process is set into m
Page 49 and 50: secondly, it bears testament to Fre
Page 51 and 52: the crude awakening of the fact tha
Page 53 and 54: CHAPTER ONE DAVID ALMOND’S SKELLI
Page 55 and 56: appalling at first. His first meeti
Page 57 and 58: him, and serves as a mirror through
Page 59 and 60: are some of the parallels that can
Page 61 and 62: Blake & Intertextuality William Bla
Page 63 and 64: With these verses she is signalling
Page 65 and 66: Blakean passages that Almond has in
Page 67 and 68: a process which ultimately leads hi
Page 69 and 70: Michael’s mother, who faces a cer
Page 71 and 72: are not only symbolic and allegoric
Page 73 and 74: the first time, whereas Skellig has
Page 75 and 76: Mina read the sentences out loud. S
Page 77 and 78: see and closely observe the two met
Page 79 and 80:
Mina is the one who teaches Michael
Page 81 and 82:
however, does not constitute the ep
Page 83 and 84:
that such a change in our nature an
Page 85 and 86:
trepidation, there is no surprise w
Page 87 and 88:
doctors whose responsibility it is
Page 89 and 90:
have ultimately learned and exercis
Page 91 and 92:
This very process of change, of bot
Page 93 and 94:
may be offered along the way, this
Page 95 and 96:
of by doctors, Michael tries to hel
Page 97 and 98:
this entire process for Michael and
Page 99 and 100:
in Almond and McNish’s work, as b
Page 101 and 102:
witnesses the wings on his own back
Page 103 and 104:
character and an idea. The artist
Page 105 and 106:
Pullman wished for this story to re
Page 107 and 108:
concepts. As a result, the Fall’s
Page 109 and 110:
case of these three authors it is i
Page 111 and 112:
Malone, who often voices opinions s
Page 113 and 114:
Roger, true fear and loneliness ove
Page 115 and 116:
egins by gathering all the elements
Page 117 and 118:
intertextual umbrella under which t
Page 119 and 120:
driven by malevolence and revenge.
Page 121 and 122:
have to be considered as they are d
Page 123 and 124:
drawn between the two girls, Lyra a
Page 125 and 126:
the end of the GC where Lord Asriel
Page 127 and 128:
considered preferable or superior i
Page 129 and 130:
act is what brought sin into the wo
Page 131 and 132:
punishment for disobedience is not
Page 133 and 134:
work of the General Oblation Board
Page 135 and 136:
Especially in the case of Asriel, h
Page 137 and 138:
Lyra finds Dr. Mary Malone, a scien
Page 139 and 140:
opposite to the religious one; whil
Page 141 and 142:
subject to the laws of optics. They
Page 143 and 144:
homosexuality to child readers as p
Page 145 and 146:
could be, according to Schweizer, a
Page 147 and 148:
as adults. Although she knows what
Page 149 and 150:
conception of the angel Uriel” as
Page 151 and 152:
however, could be intentional on th
Page 153 and 154:
‘I propose to send a man to find
Page 155 and 156:
substitution of this erroneous fait
Page 157 and 158:
come after death. In this way, Pull
Page 159 and 160:
towards adulthood is not always rel
Page 161 and 162:
Pullman parallels childhood and inn
Page 163 and 164:
double significance. In Lyra’s ca
Page 165 and 166:
Instead, he seems to willingly and
Page 167 and 168:
and its innocence, as well as the s
Page 169 and 170:
eligious views myself, and therefor
Page 171 and 172:
The issue of intertextuality is not
Page 173 and 174:
style: shining, fully-robed, [their
Page 175 and 176:
fails to pass the first time. Freya
Page 177 and 178:
McNish appears to harbour the idea
Page 179 and 180:
species closer together to the poin
Page 181 and 182:
this point, it is important to atte
Page 183 and 184:
guardian angels was as conscious as
Page 185 and 186:
has created his own moral code and
Page 187 and 188:
where Luke and Tate are standing in
Page 189 and 190:
2011, 100). He writes that the Jewi
Page 191 and 192:
with this everlasting feeling of de
Page 193 and 194:
to assist and comfort each other. W
Page 195 and 196:
Faith vs. Science and Innocence vs.
Page 197 and 198:
education, and social structures wh
Page 199 and 200:
in angels is not out of the convict
Page 201 and 202:
McNish’s portrayal of innocence a
Page 203 and 204:
All this changes when Freya first m
Page 205 and 206:
enters a state of experience which
Page 207 and 208:
The debate between state-school edu
Page 209 and 210:
or strict, he also draws attention
Page 211 and 212:
following peer victimization” (Tr
Page 213 and 214:
Stephanie feel accepted and more se
Page 215 and 216:
house. Furthermore, he has also had
Page 217 and 218:
Stephanie wants to become her frien
Page 219 and 220:
called from the window. ‘It’s n
Page 221 and 222:
elationship with Stephanie and its
Page 223 and 224:
This he exemplifies both in Mestraa
Page 225 and 226:
thesis, however, it was argued and
Page 227 and 228:
increasingly accurate perceptions o
Page 229 and 230:
interesting things” (Franks, 2011
Page 231 and 232:
strength of the book, and I made ea
Page 233 and 234:
225
Page 235 and 236:
227
Page 237 and 238:
Anonymous, “A Dark Agenda?” Sur
Page 239 and 240:
Bleich, D. (1978) Subjective Critic
Page 241 and 242:
Chambers, A. (1985) Booktalk: Occas
Page 243 and 244:
Damon, S.F., Eaves, M. (1988) A Bla
Page 245 and 246:
Fairer, D. (2002) “Experience Rea
Page 247 and 248:
Gibbs, N. (1993) “Angels Among Us
Page 249 and 250:
Hunt, P. (1994) An Introduction to
Page 251 and 252:
Kochenderfer-Ladd, B., Troop-Gordon
Page 253 and 254:
Manlove, C. (1999) The Fantasy Lite
Page 255 and 256:
Mishna, F., Scarcello, I., Pepler,
Page 257 and 258:
Pfeiffer, J. (1999) “‘Dream not
Page 259 and 260:
Rosenblatt, L. M. (1982) “The Lit
Page 261 and 262:
Squires, C. (2004) Philip Pullman
Page 263 and 264:
Warner, N.O. (1982) “The Iconic M
Page 265:
Yampbell, C. (2005) “Judging a Bo
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