#Also I think there's more angel symbolism in other albums but I haven't listened to them yet

[mightydyke]

Angel Symbolism in New Albion + Ballad of Lost Hollow

so in this post I talk about how the line "be my angel" represents how the McAllistairs basically project all their desires onto Jasper and see him as a representative of what they want, disregarding his own wishes. An angel is a perfect being that brings messages from heaven and guidance. In Islam, angels have no free will. At the end of Dolls of New Albion, it's actually Jasper who calls Priscilla his "angel" because she is giving him everything that he wants by sacrificing herself to save him, essentially doing what Annabel and Byron expected/forced Jasper to do. So that's Dolls of New Albion.

In the New Albion Guide to Analogue Consciousness, when the Voodpunk pilgrims go to Elysium, they are attacked by "Angels". In my opinion, the fact that they went to Elysium expecting it to be a heavenly paradise, only to be met with creatures that kill them, is an echo of the McAllistairs taking Jasper from Elysium and expecting him to fulfill their wishes. It's ironic that "angels" are actually monstrous, and it shows the consequences of how the Voodoopunks didn't consider if the Angels wanted them in Elysium or not, similar to how the McAllistairs didn't consider if Jasper wanted to be taken from Elysium or not.

In the Room Beneath New Albion, the AIs, who are actually the Voodoopunk pilgrims, call themselves angels in order to get Alice to do their bidding. In this case, Alice believes she is doing something great, a special task sent from heaven for her to complete. However, in Ballad of Lost Hollow, we see all the trouble caused by the AI, and also the toll of them trying to fix the trouble they caused, and the effect on Alive herself. Again these "angels" are not quite as they seem.

In conclusion, Paul Shapera uses the images of "angels" to show that nothing is perfect, nobody exists simply to provide others with happiness, and to warn against the consequences of disregarding the feelings of others/ treating people as if their feelings don't exist or don't matter.

#Shaperaverse #New Albion #Ballad of Lost Hollow #Dolls of new albion #New Albion guide to analogue consciousness #The room beneath New Albion #Please feel free to disagree #This is just my interpretation #Also I think there's more angel symbolism in other albums but I haven't listened to them yet