42 pages • 1 hour read
Philip PullmanThe Subtle Knife
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Cats
Cats appear repeatedly in The Subtle Knife, and often propel the plot forward in meaningful ways. Will is established as a cat lover when he wonders what will happen to his pet, Moxie, while he leaves. He first finds himself in Cittàgazze by following a cat, whom he saves and which saves him and Lyra in turn when they are nearly caught breaking into Charles’s house. Will’s love for and protectiveness toward cats establish him as a sympathetic character.
Cats symbolize Will’s personality; he has always felt the need to blend into his environment, and to make himself as inconspicuous as possible to protect both himself and his mother. Pullman will explore this symbolism further in The Amber Spyglass, when the cat from The Subtle Knife becomes Will’s daemon. Pantalaimon’s leopard form can, similarly, be seen as a personification of Lyra’s bold and sometimes aggressive manner. While Will tries not to be noticed, she stands up for what she wants and believes in herself with no hesitation.
Oxford
The city of Oxford is a symbol of education and power. Through Oxford, Pullman explores subtle yet important differences between Lyra and Will’s worlds. Both versions of the university town are very similar, with ancient colleges, lush parks, and people studying diverse topics. Lyra’s version of the city does not appear directly in The Subtle Knife, but she notices several distinct differences when she visits Will’s Oxford. Many modern conveniences such as cars do not exist in Lyra’s world, and she finds the city to be too fast-paced and busy.
The dingy, underfunded physics lab that Lyra visits reflects the lack of value placed on esoteric learning within Will’s world. She expects to find scholars engaged in studying “Dust” in elaborate ancient halls, and instead finds an underfunded physics lab in a bleak modern building and scientists whose life’s work is about to be put on hold due to budget constraints.
The Fall of Man
The biblical fall of humanity, and its associated symbolism, are a motif used throughout The Subtle Knife. Lyra is a direct allegory for Eve, a fact which sets the His Dark Materials story in motion. In The Subtle Knife, her altheiometer symbolizes the fruit of the tree of knowledge. The “serpent” Mary will eventually help her use to its full advantage.
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