The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

At its heart, La Belle Sauvage is a coming-of-age story as young Malcolm moves into adolescence and begins to lose his childhood innocence. In Pullman’s fantasy world, the strictly oppressive Magisterium views growing up and leaving innocence behind as a movement into sin. However, Pullman rejects this assessment and illustrates instead the beauty of growing up and the complexity gained in experience, especially the increased capacity for love.

At the beginning of the novel, 11-year-old Malcolm is the picture of an innocent boy. He is kind, curious, and annoyed by girls, especially Alice, who works in the kitchen. Outside Malcolm’s safe childhood bubble, religious and secular powers battle for control of England. However, the boy is largely unaware of these forces, living in a world “where everything was interesting and happy” (33). However, through a series of events, Malcolm starts to learn about the issues and complexities in the larger world, fostering a new awareness that causes him to lose his innocence and mature. 

The first of these incidents is the discovery of the acorn, which leads Malcolm to Dr. Hannah Relf. As a scholar, Hannah symbolically ushers Malcolm out of childhood by offering him access to new knowledge, both through involving him with Oakley Street and by loaning him books. Malcolm also begins to mature through his affection for Lyra, a child more innocent and vulnerable than himself who needs care and protection. He stops taking things like safety and “his mother’s endless, effortless, generous food” for granted (152), realizing that there is danger and uncertainty in the real world.

When the flood begins, Malcolm’s canoe acts as a vessel on his journey out of childhood. He is forced to take responsibility for Lyra and Alice, navigating the canoe and keeping them safe. Through this responsibility, Malcolm must learn to quiet some of his own desires, push aside unpleasant thoughts, and overcome fear, pain, and exhaustion. He also experiences a sexual awakening, noticing Alice’s body for the first time and feeling “a silent groan in his chest” when he looks at her (399). He also is exposed to a malicious side of human sexuality in Bonneville’s treatment of Alice following the Trout patrons’ advances at the tavern. While the process of growing up is difficult and often painful, Malcolm finds new strengths in himself. This strength is represented in the boy’s repeated dreams of wild dogs. The dreams are both “frightening and exciting,” and Malcolm draws on this energy when he kills Bonneville at the end of the novel. Facing the man, Malcolm imagines the pack of dogs as an energy “inside him that he [cannot] argue with or control” (425). He thinks of his love for Lyra and Alice and his need to protect them. This thought gives him the strength that he needs to strike Bonneville. Through growing up, Malcolm’s capacity for love has changed, and his new depth of emotion gives him strength and courage.