"Asriel" redirects here. For other uses, see Azriel (disambiguation).

Lord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...

's His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife , and The Amber Spyglass...

series and one of the main protagonists of Northern Lights

Northern Lights (novel)

Northern Lights, known as The Golden Compass in North America, is the first novel in English novelist Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy...

.

Asriel is a member of the English aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

 in a parallel universe

Parallel universe (fiction)

A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

 dominated by the Church. He is described as being "a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark face, and eyes that seem to flash and glitter with savage laughter." Possessed of enormous determination and willpower, he is fierce in nature and commands great respect in both the political and academic spheres, being a military leader and a fellow of Jordan College in his world's version of the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

.

Naming

The name Asriel could be derived from the Hebraic

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 name Asriel, who, in the Jewish

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 and Muslim

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 tradition is the family of Asriel and is mentioned in the counting of the tribes. If one looks in the Bible in the Book of Numbers chapter 26 verse 31, you will see the source of the name. "Azrael" is the name of the Angel of Death. Alternatively Asriel, being an anagram for Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, could refer to the English translation of the name Israel, given to Jacob

Jacob

Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...

 in the Hebrew Bible - namely; "He who has struggled with God".
His dæmon is Stelmaria, a Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard

The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...

. Her name is possibly a variant of Stella Maria, a pseudo-Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 phrase that approximates "star of the sea" (see also Stella Maris

Our Lady, Star of the Sea

Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris, first reliably used with relation to the Virgin Mary in the ninth century...

). It could also derive from Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, in which case it would apparently mean "Star Mary", which raises associations with the Star of Bethlehem

Star of Bethlehem

In Christian tradition, the Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, revealed the birth of Jesus to the magi, or "wise men", and later led them to Bethlehem. The star appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew, where magi "from the east" are inspired by the star to travel to...

 and the Nativity

Nativity of Jesus

The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....

.

History within the novel

Lord Asriel was a highly respected member of the British (Brytish) aristocracy. He was an explorer and did work in experimental theology, through which he acquired much power, land, and money. But after having an affair with another politician's wife (Marisa Coulter), that resulted in a child, his life changed. Mrs. Coulter's husband, Edward Coulter, went after Lyra

Lyra Belacqua

Lyra Belacqua , also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own...

 and her foster mother with clear intent to harm and possibly murder her. Lord Asriel killed him in a duel. When the church found out, Asriel was tried in court and lost all his money and property. Lyra was sent to a convent. Lord Asriel, who hated the church, arrived one day and took Lyra to his almamater, Jordan College

Locations in His Dark Materials

This article covers the fictional locations in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.-Jordan College:Jordan College is a fictional college...

, where she was placed in the care of the Master.

After travelling to the South, Lord Asriel visited Jordan College where he was almost poisoned by the Master, who read his alethiometer and saw that Lord Asriel's actions would be dangerous. Asriel was saved by Lyra, who secretly watched the Master pour the poison into Lord Asriel's wine glass. Asriel raised money for an expedition using photograms of Dust and a city in the sky, as well as the extra shock value of a decapitated head that he said was Stanislaus Grumman's. He traveled to Svalbard but was imprisoned and guarded by the bear warriors known as the panserbjørne led by Iofur Raknison. This action was ordered by the General Oblation Board, one of Asriel's enemies and headed by his ex-lover, Marisa Coulter

Marisa Coulter

Marisa Coulter is a fictional character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and one of the main antagonists of Northern Lights. As with her lover, Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter undergoes several transformations during the series.-Lyra:In the beginning of the book The Northern Lights Marisa...

. He received hospitable treatment, and waited for a child on whom to perform intercision (a process to detach a child's dæmon that, without the proper equipment, results in the murder of the child in the process), to open a window in the aurora with the help of witches. Eventually a child arrived: Roger Parslow, unwittingly brought by Lyra.

Asriel entered Cittàgazze and, after a battle, allied himself with the rebel angels under Xaphania. He traveled to an empty world and built an enormous basalt fortress, gathering armies from many different worlds to start his rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven (making him a symbolic Lucifer/Satan). Ruta Skadi found him, and he told her his plan, also getting her clan's support in the war.

Later, he had his allies, King Ogunwe and Lord Roke, find and retrieve Lyra, the second Eve, from Mrs. Coulter. They captured Mrs. Coulter, but Lyra and Will escaped with two of Lord Roke's agents. Lord Asriel then attended to Mrs. Coulter and tried to influence Lyra and Will, as they held the key to renewing the Dust flow. Lord Asriel let Mrs. Coulter escape in an Intention Craft and had Lord Roke follow her to gain information from the Consistorial Court of Discipline. They learned that the Church made a bomb to kill Lyra, and Lord Asriel rescued Mrs. Coulter just in time, as well as destroying Saint-Jean Les Eaux (the location of the bomb) a moment too late with his Intention Craft.

Lyra survived, and Lord Asriel had his army search for her and Will's dæmons so the Authority's armies would be unable to control them. When Lord Asriel found that the bomb had blown a hole under all the worlds into the Abyss, he devised a plan to defeat the Authority's powerful Regent, Metatron. As his forces fought the armies of the Authority and the Church, Mrs. Coulter tricked Metatron into trying to kill Lord Asriel and take Lyra's dæmon. As they were standing on the Abyss' edge, Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter sacrificed themselves, falling into the abyss and taking Metatron with them. They become ghosts for eternity.

Marisa Coulter

Marisa Coulter was Edward Coulter's young wife. Lyra, the product of an affair with Lord Asriel, was born when Marisa was just 21. Marisa couldn't cope with her daughter and gave her up to Asriel, who placed their daughter with a gyptian woman, later found to be Ma Costa. When Mrs. Coulter's husband found out about the affair, he went in a rage to kill the baby Lyra. Lord Asriel fought a duel with him, and ended up the victor. Asriel had his wealth and status taken away in disgrace, and Lyra was placed at a convent. Asriel, outraged, took Lyra from the convent, and placed her at Jordan College, and ordered the Master to never allow Mrs. Coulter to see or speak to Lyra in any way. However, Marisa eventually turns up, intending to take Lyra north. Lyra agrees, but escapes when she realizes Mrs. Coulter's intentions toward all other children as the head of the Oblation Board. When Lyra is kidnapped and taken to Bolvangar, Marisa races in to rescue her right as Lyra and Pantalaimon are about to be severed. She later comforts Lyra and tells her (only in the film version) she is her mother. Horrified, Lyra escapes once again, and this time she seeks out Lord Asriel to deliver the alethiometer. Unknowingly, Lyra leads her friend, Roger, to his death, which also lead to the reuniting of Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel.

Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter meet once again in the Amber Spyglass, when Mrs.Coulter is captured by Asriel's men. She and Asriel join forces to defeat Metatron, the powerful regent of the Authority, simply to give Lyra, their child, a chance to live. They die together in a chasm between worlds.

Personality and appearance

Lord Asriel is perhaps one of the best examples of men who believe that the end justifies the means. Though he willingly sacrifices people, even children, to achieve his goal, he does not hesitate to give his own life in the course of achieving it. He acts not for selfish gain but to achieve a world which, in his eyes, is the best possible world for humanity.

He appears at first as a cold-hearted and seemingly unapproachable person, domineering to his servants and stern to his peers and niece. He shows little emotion, though several times throughout the story he displays sadness and regret for what is necessary, and in the end he shows his love for his child and his old flame, Marisa Coulter

Marisa Coulter

Marisa Coulter is a fictional character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and one of the main antagonists of Northern Lights. As with her lover, Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter undergoes several transformations during the series.-Lyra:In the beginning of the book The Northern Lights Marisa...

, appearing particularly angry when he thinks that fate has brought him Lyra to use as his 'sacrifice' to bridge worlds (Although he calms down when Roger is revealed to also be available).

Asriel is an intimidating presence, both physically and intellectually; he appears equally adept at outmanouvering his adversaries using his considerable wits and academic knowledge as he is at achieving his objectives through sheer brute strength. He is a tall, broad man of around forty, possessing the air of a powerful animal in his movement. In the film adaption he has a beard, though no mention is made of it in the books. He is also mentioned to have lively, "black" eyes, glittering with "savage laughter", indicating that beneath his cold and harsh appearance he is really a man with powerful emotions. His characterizing traits are his commanding nature and immense willpower - he is a man who literally shifts worlds. As one of the characters remarks, he accomplishes things in his relatively short lifetime that some would not be able to do in hundreds of years.

Stage adaptation

From December 2003 to March 2004, London's Royal National Theatre

Royal National Theatre

The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...

 staged an adaptation of His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife , and The Amber Spyglass...

. The role of Lord Asriel was played by Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton

Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...

 (Dalton played James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

, whom Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig

Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...

, who stars as Lord Asriel in the film, also plays).

Film adaptation

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig

Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...

 plays the role of Lord Asriel in the film adaptation The Golden Compass. Previously, on July 14, 2006, it was reported that actor Paul Bettany

Paul Bettany

Paul Bettany is an English actor. He has appeared in a wide variety of films, including A Knight's Tale, A Beautiful Mind, and The Da Vinci Code...

 was in final negotiations to play the role of Lord Asriel in the forthcoming film adaptation, with Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...

 joining him as Coulter. Author Philip Pullman had once indicated that he would like to see actor Jason Isaacs

Jason Isaacs

Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...

 play the role, but the author has no role in the casting

Casting (performing arts)

In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...

procedure.

Sources

http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org/srafopedia/index.php/Lord_Asriel
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0426.htm