Lyra Belacqua
Encyclopedia
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. Brought up in the cloistered world of Jordan College, Oxford, she finds herself embroiled in a cosmic war between Lord Asriel on the one side, and the first angel to come into being, called The Authority, and his Regent, called Metatron, on the other.
and Marisa Coulter
in an Oxford similar to our own. She was brought up at Jordan College, where the scholars, professors and servants largely treated her as an adopted daughter. She was raised believing that her parents had died in an airship crash, and that Lord Asriel
was her uncle, and later learned the truth from John Faa
, leader of the Gyptians. Lyra spends most of her time socializing with other children of the city, sometimes harmoniously, frequently mock-violently, and often by way of avoiding school-work. Her closest friend among the other children is a Jordan kitchen boy named Roger Parslow, whose disappearance early in the first book is Lyra's driving force throughout The Golden Compass.
Lyra is portrayed as dirty-blond-haired, with pale-blue eyes, thin, and short for her age. Her dæmon, Pantalaimon, is still capable of changing shape at the beginning of the trilogy, and is portrayed as a cautious and level-headed counterpoint to Lyra's impulsive, inquisitive, and sometimes reckless character. Lyra is unruly and tomboy
ish, and her complete disregard for her appearance and personal hygiene exasperates her adult caretakers.
Lyra receives a scant and haphazard education at the hands of Jordan scholars, being neither interested in scholarly study nor officially a student of Jordan College. However, she is highly intelligent, and is particularly talented at deceiving others; she is capable of making up complex yet plausible lies improvisationally. At Oxford she uses this talent to avoid punishment by her guardians, and to entertain and deceive other children, but later in the series employs it to save her own life and the lives of others. She deceives Iofur Raknison, king of the panserbjørne(armored bear in Germanic languages) of Svalbard, by suggesting that she can grant him a dæmon. Tricking a panserbjørne was a feat that her friend Iorek Byrnison had believed to be impossible for a human, and her success prompts Iorek to informally christen her "Silvertongue," which she adopts as a surname thereafter.
Lyra's original surname, Belacqua, is the name of a character in Dante's
Divine Comedy, a soul in the ante-purgatory, representing those who wait until the last opportunity before turning to God. The mood in the ante-purgatory is said to be one of helplessness, nostalgia and yearning — Belacqua and the other souls in ante-purgatory are caught between two worlds and lack clear understanding of themselves.
, Pantalaimon, is her dearest companion and the embodiment of her soul. She calls him 'Pan' as a nickname. In common with all dæmons of children, he can take any animal form he pleases; he first appears in the story as a dark brown moth. His name is that of a saint in the orthodox churches, St. Panteleimon
, and in Greek
means "all-compassionate". He changes into many forms throughout the series, ranging from a dragon
to an eagle
, but his favourite forms are a snow-white ermine
, a moth
, a wildcat
, and a mouse
. Lyra must be separated from Pantalaimon when she enters the World of the Dead, causing extreme pain to both of them; Pantalaimon avoids Lyra for a while afterwards. However, their surviving this separation allows the two to separate great distances from one another, an ability only witches and shamans possess. Pantalaimon soon enters his final form when Will Parry touches him, a beautiful Pine marten
, red-gold in colour.
, Northern Lights
(known in the United States of America as The Golden Compass), Serafina Pekkala tells of the prophecy
of a girl who is "destined to bring about the end of destiny
" at the expense of a great betrayal. The witches' prophecy states that this girl will be able pick the "correct" cloud-pine branch out of several, as indeed Lyra does. It transpires that Lyra's destiny is to be the second Eve
and fall into the temptation of the serpent
, represented by Mary Malone. Will Parry and the Dust
in the abyss are corrected, and the universe
s start to work in harmony
. However, in order to ensure the stability of the universes and protect people from the creation of Spectres, Will and Lyra must close all of the inter-dimensional windows with the help of angels and keep them closed forever - and since their dæmons cannot live outside of their own birth worlds, they must part forever. Despite this, however, they decide to sit on the same bench, next to each other, in the Botanic Gardens at Oxford
each year for an hour at noon on Midsummer's Day, so that they might find themselves in each other's presence.
She fulfills her destiny to "bring an end to death" by leading the ghosts out of the world of the dead. Lyra's inevitable betrayal can be interpreted as two separate occasions and either occurs when Lyra leads her friend Roger to Lord Asriel on Svalbard at the end of the first book, in the chapter titled "Betrayal", or when Lyra leaves her dæmon on the shore of the lake in the Land of the Dead.
In the most recent edition of The Amber Spyglass released in the UK, the post-script 'Lantern Slides' section shows Lyra studying the alethiometer with Pantalaimon at age 18. She is excited to start picking up on a pattern in the readings, and Pullman tells us that this discovery of a pattern is the "second thing she said to Will next day in the Botanic Garden", implying that the next day was Midsummer's Day, when she and Will would be sitting on the same bench in their separate worlds, and that there was something else, presumably that she loved him, that Lyra said to Will (and perhaps would say every year) before telling him of her reading.
Letters written by Lyra included in the companion book Once Upon a Time in the North
reveal that Lyra is researching her dissertation for a M. Phil in Economic History, indicating her to be continuing to study during her twenties. The title of her dissertation is 'Developments of patterns of trade in the European Arctic region with particular reference to independent balloon carriage (1950–1970)'. In the first letter, Lyra also mentions that she is continuing to study the alethiometer. Once she finishes her studies, she will be able to read the alethiometer not with grace, as she used to, but with certainty and knowledge.
In a 2003 radio adaptation, Lyra was voiced by child
actress Lulu Popplewell
.
The National Theatre in London put on a two-part, six-hour-long adaptation of the novels. The play ran twice, in 2003 and 2004. Lyra was played by Anna Maxwell Martin
in the first run and by Elaine Symons
in the second. In July–August 2007, Scottish Youth Theatre performed the Scottish premier of the production with Kirstie Steele and Sarah Helena Ord playing Lyra in parts one and two, respectively.
In The Golden Compass, the film
adaptation of the first book
, Lyra is portrayed by twelve-year-old Dakota Blue Richards
, who won the role after beating out 10,000 other hopeful candidates. British
singer/songwriter Kate Bush
wrote and recorded a song "Lyra" with choristers from Magdalen College School
in Oxford
.
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...
trilogy. Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own. Brought up in the cloistered world of Jordan College, Oxford, she finds herself embroiled in a cosmic war between Lord Asriel on the one side, and the first angel to come into being, called The Authority, and his Regent, called Metatron, on the other.
Background and life
Lyra Belacqua, age twelve at the beginning of the trilogy, is the daughter of Lord AsrielLord Asriel
Lord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series and one of the main protagonists of Northern Lights.Asriel is a member of the English aristocracy in a parallel universe dominated by the Church...
and 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...
in an Oxford similar to our own. She was brought up at Jordan College, where the scholars, professors and servants largely treated her as an adopted daughter. She was raised believing that her parents had died in an airship crash, and that Lord Asriel
Lord Asriel
Lord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series and one of the main protagonists of Northern Lights.Asriel is a member of the English aristocracy in a parallel universe dominated by the Church...
was her uncle, and later learned the truth from John Faa
John Faa
John Faa, the King of the Gypsies, was a historical character from Scotland, a contemporary of King James IV. Although historical sources place him in Dunbar, in the east of Scotland, much folklore associates him with the Galloway/Ayrshire border. He appears as a character in at least two novels,...
, leader of the Gyptians. Lyra spends most of her time socializing with other children of the city, sometimes harmoniously, frequently mock-violently, and often by way of avoiding school-work. Her closest friend among the other children is a Jordan kitchen boy named Roger Parslow, whose disappearance early in the first book is Lyra's driving force throughout The Golden Compass.
Lyra is portrayed as dirty-blond-haired, with pale-blue eyes, thin, and short for her age. Her dæmon, Pantalaimon, is still capable of changing shape at the beginning of the trilogy, and is portrayed as a cautious and level-headed counterpoint to Lyra's impulsive, inquisitive, and sometimes reckless character. Lyra is unruly and tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
ish, and her complete disregard for her appearance and personal hygiene exasperates her adult caretakers.
Lyra receives a scant and haphazard education at the hands of Jordan scholars, being neither interested in scholarly study nor officially a student of Jordan College. However, she is highly intelligent, and is particularly talented at deceiving others; she is capable of making up complex yet plausible lies improvisationally. At Oxford she uses this talent to avoid punishment by her guardians, and to entertain and deceive other children, but later in the series employs it to save her own life and the lives of others. She deceives Iofur Raknison, king of the panserbjørne(armored bear in Germanic languages) of Svalbard, by suggesting that she can grant him a dæmon. Tricking a panserbjørne was a feat that her friend Iorek Byrnison had believed to be impossible for a human, and her success prompts Iorek to informally christen her "Silvertongue," which she adopts as a surname thereafter.
Lyra's original surname, Belacqua, is the name of a character in Dante's
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
Divine Comedy, a soul in the ante-purgatory, representing those who wait until the last opportunity before turning to God. The mood in the ante-purgatory is said to be one of helplessness, nostalgia and yearning — Belacqua and the other souls in ante-purgatory are caught between two worlds and lack clear understanding of themselves.
Pantalaimon
Lyra's dæmonDæmon (His Dark Materials)
A dæmon is a manifestation of a person's soul in the Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials. Humans in every universe are said to have dæmons, although in some universes they are visible as entities physically separate from their humans, and take the form of animals, while in other universes...
, Pantalaimon, is her dearest companion and the embodiment of her soul. She calls him 'Pan' as a nickname. In common with all dæmons of children, he can take any animal form he pleases; he first appears in the story as a dark brown moth. His name is that of a saint in the orthodox churches, St. Panteleimon
Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon , counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletian persecution of 303 AD...
, and in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
means "all-compassionate". He changes into many forms throughout the series, ranging from a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
to an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
, but his favourite forms are a snow-white ermine
Ermine
Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
, a moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
, a wildcat
Wildcat
Wildcat is a small felid native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa.-Animals:Wildcat may also refer to members of the genus Lynx:...
, and a mouse
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
. Lyra must be separated from Pantalaimon when she enters the World of the Dead, causing extreme pain to both of them; Pantalaimon avoids Lyra for a while afterwards. However, their surviving this separation allows the two to separate great distances from one another, an ability only witches and shamans possess. Pantalaimon soon enters his final form when Will Parry touches him, a beautiful Pine marten
Pine Marten
The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
, red-gold in colour.
Lyra's role
In the first novel of His Dark MaterialsHis Dark Materials
His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife , and The Amber Spyglass...
, 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...
(known in the United States of America as The Golden Compass), Serafina Pekkala tells of the prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
of a girl who is "destined to bring about the end of destiny
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
" at the expense of a great betrayal. The witches' prophecy states that this girl will be able pick the "correct" cloud-pine branch out of several, as indeed Lyra does. It transpires that Lyra's destiny is to be the second Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
and fall into the temptation of the serpent
Serpent (Bible)
Serpent is the term used to translate a variety of words in the Hebrew bible, the most common being , , the generic word for "snake"....
, represented by Mary Malone. Will Parry and the Dust
Dust (His Dark Materials)
Dust in Philip Pullman's trilogy of novels His Dark Materials is a mysterious cosmic particle that is integral to the plot. In Northern Lights, Lord Asriel reveals the origins of the term "Dust" to be from a passage from the slightly alternate version of the Bible in Lyra's World: "In the sweat of...
in the abyss are corrected, and the universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
s start to work in harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
. However, in order to ensure the stability of the universes and protect people from the creation of Spectres, Will and Lyra must close all of the inter-dimensional windows with the help of angels and keep them closed forever - and since their dæmons cannot live outside of their own birth worlds, they must part forever. Despite this, however, they decide to sit on the same bench, next to each other, in the Botanic Gardens at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
each year for an hour at noon on Midsummer's Day, so that they might find themselves in each other's presence.
She fulfills her destiny to "bring an end to death" by leading the ghosts out of the world of the dead. Lyra's inevitable betrayal can be interpreted as two separate occasions and either occurs when Lyra leads her friend Roger to Lord Asriel on Svalbard at the end of the first book, in the chapter titled "Betrayal", or when Lyra leaves her dæmon on the shore of the lake in the Land of the Dead.
In the most recent edition of The Amber Spyglass released in the UK, the post-script 'Lantern Slides' section shows Lyra studying the alethiometer with Pantalaimon at age 18. She is excited to start picking up on a pattern in the readings, and Pullman tells us that this discovery of a pattern is the "second thing she said to Will next day in the Botanic Garden", implying that the next day was Midsummer's Day, when she and Will would be sitting on the same bench in their separate worlds, and that there was something else, presumably that she loved him, that Lyra said to Will (and perhaps would say every year) before telling him of her reading.
Letters written by Lyra included in the companion book Once Upon a Time in the North
Once Upon a Time in the North
Once Upon a Time in the North, a fantasy novella by Philip Pullman functions as a prequel to Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy...
reveal that Lyra is researching her dissertation for a M. Phil in Economic History, indicating her to be continuing to study during her twenties. The title of her dissertation is 'Developments of patterns of trade in the European Arctic region with particular reference to independent balloon carriage (1950–1970)'. In the first letter, Lyra also mentions that she is continuing to study the alethiometer. Once she finishes her studies, she will be able to read the alethiometer not with grace, as she used to, but with certainty and knowledge.
Lyra in other media
In the 1999 unabridged audio production, Lyra was performed by the voiceover actress Joanna Wyatt.In a 2003 radio adaptation, Lyra was voiced by child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
actress Lulu Popplewell
Lulu Popplewell
Laura Francesca "Lulu" Popplewell is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She is the younger sister of actress Anna Popplewell....
.
The National Theatre in London put on a two-part, six-hour-long adaptation of the novels. The play ran twice, in 2003 and 2004. Lyra was played by Anna Maxwell Martin
Anna Maxwell Martin
Anna Maxwell Martin , sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is a two-time BAFTA award-winning English actress who has won acclaim for her performances as Lyra in His Dark Materials at the Royal National Theatre, as Esther Summerson in the BBC's 2005 adaptation of Bleak House, and as N in...
in the first run and by Elaine Symons
Elaine Symons
Elaine Symons is an Irish actress active on television since 1997.She is most notable for her role as alcoholic mother-of-five Rose Kelly in the BBC One school TV drama Waterloo Road, making her first appearance in the first episode of the show's fourth series, screened on 7 January 2009...
in the second. In July–August 2007, Scottish Youth Theatre performed the Scottish premier of the production with Kirstie Steele and Sarah Helena Ord playing Lyra in parts one and two, respectively.
In The Golden Compass, the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
adaptation of the first book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, Lyra is portrayed by twelve-year-old Dakota Blue Richards
Dakota Blue Richards
Dakota Blue Richards is an English actress. Her debut was in the film The Golden Compass, as the lead character Lyra Belacqua....
, who won the role after beating out 10,000 other hopeful candidates. British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer/songwriter Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
wrote and recorded a song "Lyra" with choristers from Magdalen College School
Magdalen College School, Oxford
Magdalen College School is an independent school for boys aged 7 to 18 and girls in the sixth form, located on The Plain in Oxford, England. It was founded as part of Magdalen College, Oxford by William Waynflete in 1480....
in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.