XPost: rec.arts.books, alt.books.cs-lewis, rec.arts.books.childrens   
   XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: kimmerian@fastmail.fm   
      
   Steve Hayes :   
      
   ["preachy"]   
      
   > I take it as meaning an attempt by the author be moralising and to tell the   
   > reader what to do or believe.   
   > In Lewis's case it is most obvious in the asides to the reader about never   
   > shutting yourself in a wardrobe etc.   
   > Also, for example,  in the long speeches by the planetary rulers at the end   
   of   
   > "Perelandra".   
   > In Pullman it is likewise seen in speeches by angels when they expound the   
   > gnostic worldview, and also when explaining the benefits of mingling your   
   > atoms with those of the rest of the universe.   
      
        I agree both Lewis and Pullman do some moralizing, but the   
   angels seen in _His Dark Materials_ aren't describing the   
   gnostic perspective.  You've got the idea that in Pullman, "the   
   deity Christians worship is the demiurge."  Trouble is   
   Pullman's angels say the opposite, explaining that the demiurge   
   isn't the Christian god:   
      
             "Tell me, then," said Will. "Tell me about   
        Metatron, and what this secret is. Why did that   
        angel call him Regent? And what is the Authority? Is   
        he God?"   
             He sat down, and the two angels, their   
        forms clearer in the moonlight than he had ever   
        seen them before, sat with him.   
             Balthamos said quietly, "The Authority, God, the   
        Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, the   
        Father, the Almighty, those were all names he gave   
        himself. He was never the creator."   
      
        Got that?  Yahweh "was never the creator" according to the   
   angel Balthamos (_The Amber Spyglass_ 15).  Gnosticism --   
   Christian and otherwise -- criticizes the creator of this world.   
   Pullman, by contrast, _exempts_ the creator from his   
   objections, putting the _Dark Materials_ books in conflict with   
   the gnostic outlook.   
      
        In fact Pullman's angels at their most preachy come across   
   as conventional Christian Sunday-school teachers demanding   
   patience, perseverance, cheerfulness, hard work, and submission.   
      
   -- Catawumpus   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)