From what I could tell from the book and 2007 movie, you could easily hear what another person's Daemon was saying, and it was sometimes embarrassing because Daemons often have minds of their own and will have differing opinions about a subject compared to their owner. Some Daemons are shy, and won't speak to anyone but their owner. Others don't know how to shut up.
They never wander far from their owner, due to the soul connection. In this universe, human souls are housed within the body of a daemon, rather than their own bodies. It was okay to touch your own daemon, but it was taboo to touch another person's daemon, because that person could physically feel every part the stranger was touching. One way you could torture someone was to just to torture their daemon, and it hurt the owner physically. Daemons could also touch each other with no bad consequences.
Children's daemons can morph into any animal they want, whereas once a person in that world hits puberty, their daemon "settles" and becomes only one animal. The type of animal shape they "settle" into is reflected by the owner's personality. Even their version of the Bible reflects this, saying that Adam and Eve had daemons that morphed all the time, but when they were cast out of the Garden of Eden, their daemons settled down into single animals.
It should also be noted that most people have Daemons that are the opposite gender from them. An example would be, Lyra's daemon is male, whereas Lord Asriel's snow leopard daemon is female. It was very vaguely hinted in the book, but apparently homosexuals had daemons that were the same gender as them. (One of the footmen at Oxford had a male Basset Hound daemon). They didn't mention this at all in the 2007 film either, though I have no doubt that since this show is being made in the late 2010s, we'll be seeing an over-representation of them on this show.
They have actual animals in Lyra's world. Because of the way daemons behave, it's really easy to tell them apart. Real animals don't talk, they can live independently of humans, are not disciplined, and don't have sentience.
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Otter (24464)
5 years ago
The whole daemon thing doesnt bear too much thinking about. Like, how do the daemons talk, when they are in the forms of moths or dolphins and dont gave anything like human laryxes or tongues? If all servants have dog demons, is that because anyone whose daemon becomes a dog is forced into the service industry whether they like it or not - or does taking a servants job at the usual age cause your daemon to take a dog form? Why isnt their society completely different from ours, since everybody there has an all-forgivning best friend attached and doest need humans for emotional support?
Good thing the story is "young adult", and shouldnt be thought out.
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chrisjdel (2714)
5 years ago
The original books actually do delve into that. People from many worlds (like ours) don't have daemons. Where they do have them, it's like their consciousness is distributed between their human body and the daemon. What we experience as an internal dialogue is externalized, if you want to look at it that way. Or you could say that human and daemon share one soul. The two together are a single person. This is why their society is similar to ours; your daemon is just giving voice to your own inner thoughts, it's not the same as talking to someone else.
The fixing into a permanent form happens when a child becomes an adult and decides what kind of person they are, what path they're going to follow in life. The animal and its temperament reflect the individual's personality.
Later on when we see them experimenting, cutting the link between children and their daemons, the kids act like they've been lobotomized afterward. Because basically they have been. It's been many years since I read the books, so if I missed a few minor points I apologize. But those are the rules as far as I remember them.
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Bowilly (171)
5 years ago
Very good explanation! I’m midway through the first book, and I love it so far. I’m trying to pace myself with the book while the show progresses.
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Jennie_Portrait (804)
5 years ago
Do Daemons have to be fed? I think of them as akin to the Native Americans' Spirit Animals or Spirit Guides. But in this particular world, the Daemons seem to have a corporeal presence, it would seem that they have to eat.
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R_Kane (15828)
5 years ago
I haven’t read the books, but, if a daemon is a soul, it needs spiritual nourishment, but not material food. As chrisjdel said, don’t overthink this. The point is the narrative, not the details. Forest, not trees.
I eat food daily. My body lives. I pray daily. My soul thrives.
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AmeriGirl26 (14790)
5 years ago
I don't think they need to eat. Their welfare is based more on the health of their human counterpart, rather than on physical needs.
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