The conflict between authority and freedom in Philip Pullman. The new ways of fantasy in children's literature

Abstract

The “shimmering dust” of knowledge and the conflict between authority and freedom in the writings of Phillip Pullman. The new fantasy routes of literature for the young. Travels, adventures, and the search for identity come together in different narrative genres such as adventure tales, stories of classical adventures, or the more recent, and very important Fantasy genre with its widespread success in Western society. The term ‘Fantasy’ is used to indicate a literary genre which represents the imaginary dimensions of “Fantasyland” of fabulous worlds which are different to ours. However, the fantastic and the wonderful are not an escape from reality, but, rather interpretations of it. As with fables and legends, the marvellous or wonderful encompasses a sacred, universal dimension. This paper highlights the narrative/emancipator/broadminded value of the trilogy His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, one of the great contemporary authors of literature for the young.