Dave L,
Nothing I can directly put my finger on. It is strictly an over-all thing. An 'air', if you will.
My view (albeit based solely on a reading of Pullman's own website - [
www.philip-pullman.com] ) is only reinforced by the statement by Pullman that Simon quotes immediately after your post to me.
“I hate the Narnia books, and I hate them with deep and bitter passion, with their view of childhood as a golden age from which sexuality and adulthood are a falling away... I was looking at old copies of Punch , when it was infused by A. A. Milne's influence - all those beautifully drawn pictures of cutie little children that would never grow up, being sweetie little things to their mummies and daddies.”
It strikes me that Pullman wants to strip children of their ‘childhood’ at an as-early-an-age as possible, and, generally speaking, I think that this is wrong.
We should give our offspring every encouragement to enjoy their childhood with all its mysteries and fantasies, not take it away from them simply because it suits us adults.
Angst-riddled matters of sexuality and adulthood arrive in our lives soon enough. I see no sense in speeding up the process.
I should point out that my wife and I do not have children, so my opinion here is, in some ways, somewhat unqualified.
And, because it has some relevance to my take on this Lewis/Pullman business, I should also mention that I am an atheist (most of the time
).
Regards,
MJT