Deterritorializing the 'Kingdom' in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials.

The paper analyzes Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials through a Deleuze and Guattarian lens, reading it as a utopian imaginary that attempts to provide an alternate vision of the world. Acclaimed to be a path-breaking work, the trilogy transcends traditional genre classification by addressi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:IUP Journal of English Studies Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 76 - 91
Autor principal: Bakhshi, Medha
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: IUP Publications Sep2024
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The paper analyzes Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials through a Deleuze and Guattarian lens, reading it as a utopian imaginary that attempts to provide an alternate vision of the world. Acclaimed to be a path-breaking work, the trilogy transcends traditional genre classification by addressing some existential, philosophical, and metaphysical questions while romancing the young-adult literature genre. It moves effortlessly across the boundaries between past and present, reality and fantasy, and the eminence of the works lie in the conflicts that emerge at these meeting points. Through his iconic work, Pullman attempts to displace the power of the Western metanarrative and suggests his own democratic version of identity formation. He displaces the metanarrative of the 'Kingdom of Heaven' and replaces it with the notion of 'The Republic of Heaven' placing its roots in a utopian scheme that envisages a society ungoverned by any religious institution, where sexual pleasure, gaining knowledge, and living to the fullest form the basis of good living--a reterritorialized world of freedom and agency. The works have a trenchant poignance in the post-pandemic dystopia and provide solace with their life-affirming alternate vision.