Pullman makes a comment in an interview somewhere about not writing for people who are stupid. He goes on to qualify this by pointing out that he regards everyone as prone to stupidity but possessing the ability to choose to think in an intelligent manner. He says something to the effect that we are split down the middle and can go either way. I find this a useful idea, corresponding to my experiences in the classroom teaching a wide range of abilities over the years. It also corresponds to my experience of my own stupidity and from it I adduce the following: we are a remarkably stupid species; theists & polytheists of all colours - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists (are they atheists?), Zoroastrians, - agnostics, atheists, the lot. Really incredibly and, considering what we have managed to do to the planet, possibly terminally stupid.
The bright spot in all this is the ability to intelligently recognise our stupidity and, possibly, make amends.
For some reason, probably my own stupidity, I find myself unable to reply to recent comments made to From A Far Place. Autolycus has weighed in recently with two beauties, one under yesterday's entry that made me laugh immoderately but, sadly, cynically. The chief corrective to stupidity is, of course, humour, which is why the fools are so dangerous in Shakespeare and Erasmus praised them so effectively.
2 comments:
I think the 'correct' way to read Pullman (that is, the way which makes the most sense) is not to read him as a children's fantasist or even as a main-line fantasist at all. Rather, he is a satirist of the Swiftean type masquerading as a fantasist in order to sell more of his pernicious satires.
It is quite clear that he is satirising the quantification of soul and its (ahem) immoderate and inappropriate uses thereafter. Once you see this is the key to his His Dark Materials trilogy, you can ignore the beast and move on to his other works, which are much better children's fiction since he is being more honest as a writer.
Pernicious satires! I like it! Yep, definitely no fantasist. My favourite Pullman: I Was A Rat. But I wouldn't give up His Dark Materials without a struggle. Too much fun.
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