He had no dæmon. He was alone, always alone
…and she almost turned and ran away; but Pantalaimon said, “Stop! Let me go talk to him.”
He was a tern, and before she could answer he’d flown off the fence and down to the icy ground beyond it. There was an open gate a little way along, and Lyra could have followed him, but she hung back uneasily. Pantalaimon looked at her, and then became a badger.
She knew what he was doing. Dæmons could move no more than a few yards from their humans, and if she stood by the fence and he remained a bird, he wouldn’t get near the bear; so he was going to pull.
She felt angry and miserable. His badger claws dug into the earth and he walked forward. It was such a strange tormenting feeling when your dæmon was pulling at the link between you; part physical pain deep in the chest, part intense sadness and love. And she knew it was the same for him. Everyone tested it when they were groing up: seeing how far trhey could pull apart, coming back with intense relief.
He tugged a little harder.
“Don’t, Pan!”
But he didn’t stop. The bear watched, motionless. The pain in Lyra’s heart grew more and more unbearable, and a sob of longing rose in ther throat.
“Pan–”
Then she was through the gate, scrambling over the icy mud toward him, and he turned into a wildcat and sprang up into her arms, and they were clinging together tightly with little shaky sounds of unhappiness coming from them both.
“I thought you really would–”
“No–”
“I couldn’t believe how much it hurt–”
And then she brushed the tears away angrily and sniffed hard. He nestled in her arms, and she knew she would rather die than let them be parted and face that sadness again; it would send her mad with grief and terror. If she died, they’d still be together, like the Scholars in the crypt at Jordan.
Then girl and dæmon looked up at the solitary bear. He had no dæmon. He was alone, always alone. She felt such a stir of pity and gentleness for him that she almost reached out to touch his matted pelt, and only a sense of courtesy toward those cold ferocious eyes prevented her.
Extract from the book The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman
All Rights Reserved.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf; Distributed by Random House, 1996
Call number: Y PUL
Extract submitted by Lynn Koh Ee Ling
Recommended Reads
Available at NLB
Sequels The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass
By Philip Pullman
Call Number: Y PUL
Mister Monday and sequels Grim Tuesday, and Drowned Wednesday
By Garth Nix
Call Number: Y NIX
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and others in the Chronicles of Narnia series
By C. S. Lewis
Call number: J LEW
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and others in the series
By J. K. Rowling
Call Number: J ROW
Wouldn’t you want your own dæmon, a friend who knows you so well by your side all the time, and who will never forget or leave you? You’ll never be alone when you have a dæmon.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:09 pm
It would be great to have someone who will be by your side all the time - someone who understands you completely. Sadly, there are no such things as daemons in our world. What we do have are family and our partners and friends. Though there will be disagreements and seperations, we do have people around us that we can rely on.
Sometimes we also need to be able to enjoy our own company. and I guess that’s where books come in - where we can enjoy ourselves in our own imaginations!
August 27th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
er.. yes, of course. But no one can be there for another person so completely and so pervasively. I would like to think that only God can do that.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I enjoy reading this book! Especially with the
daemons part. And it would be great to have someone who will be by your side all the time - someone who understands you completely. What we do have are family and our partners and friends. Though there will be disagreements and seperations, we do have people around us that we can rely on.But no one can be there for another person so completely and so pervasively. I would like to think that only God and our family can do that.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I enjoy reading this book!
Especially with the
daemons part. And it would be great to have someone who will be by your side all the time - someone who understands you completely. What we do have are family and our partners and friends.
Though there will be disagreements and seperations, we do have people around us that we can rely on.But no one can be there for another person so completely and so pervasively. I would like to think that only God and our family can do that.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
i have this book but have not started reading. This book, I heard, is a great book. It is an interesting yet gripping read.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:02 pm
A soulmate. How nice.
I hope there was such a person in this world, that would care no matter what. I just have to keep searching…
March 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I sure wish that I had my own dæmon, somebody who will always stick by my side - no matter how many guided missiles life throws at me.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:04 am
When I read the book when I was younger, I had the feeling that dæmons were something like a part of your souls/personality, and when you grow up they stabilize, and that’s why they stop changing form when you reach maturity.