Should I bother reading The Rose Field?
*TSC and LBS spoilers ahead*
I just finished TSC and I was instantly revolted by the blossoming romance between Malcolm and Lyra. I have no objection to the age difference; I am disturbed by Malcolm's transformation from caretaker to lover. I read LBS right after I had a baby and was super invested in the save baby Lyra plotline, even if the book itself was meandering and questy. I love the way Pullman writes children with such complexity and agency. But this new relationship felt like a violation. Malcolm stayed at Oxford and taught Lyra as a child. When did he start developing feelings for her? Is the awkwardness that Lyra remembers as his student because she can tell he's attracted to her as a child?
The fact that Pullman was an Oxford scholar himself adds a layer of lechery to this. It feels like Malcolm is a proxy for him - cultivating this little girl into a woman until it is socially acceptable to make a sexual object of her. Am I the only one reading it this way? Is their relationship resolved in any sort of satisfying way - considering my take above - in TRF?
I want to read it. I'm still very interested in the thematic explorations of the soul and afterlife, in the criticism of organized religion, and of the ways early adulthood challenges your sense of self. I want to see Lyra come into her own again, but after reading TSC I find myself resentful of the fact that the only way I can access her is through a writer who has positioned himself as somewhat of a dirty uncle and a voyeur.
For those who have read TRF, I'd love to hear your thoughts.