Marisa Coulter is one of the main characters of the trilogy In crossed worlds of Philip Pullman. Although it is not revealed immediately, it is the natural mother of Lyra Belacqua.

Introduction

Marisa Coulter appears at the beginning like an extremely tempting woman, who must have a little more thirty-five years; very intelligent and cultivated, it is moreover one brilliant speaker who exerts a frightening charm and a fascination on her entourage. It is a very active member of the Eglise: it founded the Conseil of Oblation. Its Dæmon is a monkey with the gilded peeling, whose name is not known, and who very seldom speaks. She was married for one short period with the politician Edward Coulter.

She seems very soft, with the listening of the others, and gains the confidence of people easily. When of its first meeting with Lyra, it attracts itself without sorrow its sympathy and its admiration by telling its voyages in the Northern to him.

But it proves well quickly that this adorable young person lady is actually a monster of the worst species, and that its Dæmon - monkey is as démoniaque as she.

Marisa Coulter is a woman terribly cruel, without pity and ambitious, ready with very to obtain the capacity. She assassinated, tortured, broke the life of innumerable people, always with pleasure. To discover the truth on the Original sin , it did not hesitate to sequester and mutilate hundreds of innocent children. Its organization, the the Council of Oblation, aims at discovering the secrecy of the Poussière while separating from small from their Dæmon S: one of the most monstrous crimes which are.

Its Dæmon - monkey assistance in all its plans, nozzle it for that to wound the Dæmon S of the others. In fact, just like she, he adores to make suffer the living beings and, inter alia, to torture Chauves-souris.

Manipulator, cold and lucid, Marisa use people as pawns of which it gets rid as soon as it does not need more them (Sir Charles Latrom, Lord Asriel, Iofur Raknison…). The feelings and the desires of the others hardly import to him. It is an excellent actress who misused the confidence of all and lied with jubilation. Never it showed of kindness or love without claiming something in exchange. In conclusion, it is, as the angel Métatron defines it, a “cesspool of moral obscenity”.

It hardly acts differently with her single child, Lyra, which it had with her former lover Lord Asriel - probably the only man that it ever liked. In the first volume, it collects it at it with an only aim of using it to kidnap other children.

However, as the history proceeds, it would seem that its feelings for Lyra evolve/move; with the third volume, she affirms that now she likes it passionately, as a mother loves her daughter, and than she regrets all that she made him undergo. It seems that in the content she is sincere, and that it is not another lie. She reconciles herself as more or less with her lover, Lord Asriel, as apparently she always likes. Of course, its innumerable lies return all that rather difficult to believe, but towards the end of the history, it achieves many sacrifices for Lyra and Asriel. Perhaps, finally, Marisa does Coulter have a heart?

History

Note: this is a summary of its actions before the beginning of the trilogy, whose Volume 1 the Kingdoms of North, and is based on the account that the gipsies tell with Lyra on its origins.

Marisa was married during a certain time with Edward Coulter', a politician in full rise, very near to the King: it is besides undoubtedly for this reason that she married it, obnubilated by its search of being able.

But the day when it met Lord Asriel, then exploring rich person and powerful, it fell instantaneously in love with him. However its feelings were reciprocal; and the fact that it is married did not stop them a moment. It is certain that Asriel was the only lover who counted for it, and the great love of its life.

When it fell pregnant from Lyra, their child, it did not want to acknowledge with her husband that he was not the father; but, after its birth, it proved that it resembled Asriel much, and Edward would end well up realizing truth. Marisa thus entrusted Lyra to a nurse gipsy, My Costa, with order to hide it, and claimed that she had died. Unfortunately, Edward had wind of its lie and precipitated at the gipsy to kill the baby. Asriel arrived in time for preventing some and drew above to him with its revolver.

As of this tragedy, Marisa Coulter gave up his daughter completely. Furious, disgusted of all the problems which it had brought, it completely eliminated it from its life, like Asriel. This last, judged for the murder of Edward Coulter, was private of his richnesses and its grounds and became a pauper. Nauseated by the attitude of its former mistress, it decided to do all that was in its capacity so that she cannot approach the child. What was quite useless, moreover: Marisa forgot it completely and thought never again of it. It was now now given to obtain the capacity by another means: the Church.

When the phenomenon came of the Poussière , Marisa seizes opportunity: she proposed in the “Magisterium” to seek her origin. It gave him its approval, and she founded the Conseil of Oblation.

Its idea was to separate the children from their Dæmon S to study the consequences of them: she thus invented the method of the Intercision, which consisted in slicing with a special blade the bond which linked Dæmon and human being. As horrible as this crime was, it did not stop it a moment. To tell the truth, the scientists who worked for it even made it clear that it took pleasure to see these mutilated small poor…

It must be at this time that she reconsidered with her daughter, Lyra, ignored during all these years. She decided to collect it at her so that she helps it to sequester much more children. To prevent Lord Asriel from intervening, it made it imprison by the bears of “Svalbard”. Then it went to “Jordan College” to meet her daughter.

Volume I: Kingdoms of North

Mrs. Coulter is introduced for the first time towards the end of the chapter 3 Lyra with the college . Lyra makes its knowledge at the time of a reception given by the Master of its College. It is immediately fascinated by this pretty so intelligent woman, who seems to him to be an angel: more especially as Mrs. Coulter, who travelled much, gives him the account of her voyages in Large the Northern. She does not reveal to him that she is her mother; Lyra believes the history which told him “uncle” Asriel, namely that his/her parents died when it be baby.

When the Master, concerned of his education, proposes to him to go to live at it, the young girl does not hesitate a moment. Mrs. Coulter thus takes it along to London, in her luxurious apartment. In the days which follow, it initiates it with the life of the high society of London, bringing it to the theater, in restaurants, institutes, presenting it to various personalities in sight; probably to gain its confidence and to make it have patience. She indeed promised to him to come with her in the Northern .

At the end of one moment, Lyra watch of the signs of rebellion, annoyed of this way of life which ends up becoming tiring; for the first time, Mrs. Coulter lets show through her true nature. Its Dæmon - monkey wounds Pantalaimon seriously, which makes also badly with Lyra; she makes him swear to be held quiet, without what she will kill Pan.

The feelings of Lyra towards its tutor change whole with the whole then: humiliated and in full distress, it cannot any more but think. The same evening, Mrs. Coulter gives a reception where all the high society of London is invited; it is there, listening to the conversations, which the young girl will include/understand that Mrs. Coulter is the chief of the Chargers (thus the children call the Conseil of Oblation), and that it is on its order that so many children were kidnapped recently. Worse still: Lord Boreal announces to him that Mrs. Coulter will make use of it to attract some much more.

During the evening, the Dæmon - monkey of Mrs. Coulter excavated in the room of the young girl and discovered the Aléthiomètre that the Master had entrusted to him. It decides to seize some as fast as possible, but its plans are opposed: furious and frightened of what she discovered, Lyra escaped.

At this point in time Mrs. Coulter will leave no stone unturned to find it. All the police force of the country is mobilized, of the searchings are carried out everywhere, a strong reward is promised with those which know its hiding-place: it puts really the England direction-top-below, ready with very to find her daughter. But all its research is vain: Lyra was collected by his/her friends the Gipsies and left with them in the Northern to release the children of the “Chargers”. Meanwhile, she will have learned the truth on her parents and the mutilations terrible that Mrs. Coulter subjects small: shocked, disgusted, it tests for it only hatred and nausea, and refuses to think of it as with her mother.

But its research does not prevent Mrs. Coulter from thinking of his organization; it ends up paying a routine visit in its center of experiments, Bolvangar, in North. What she is unaware of, it is that Lyra, kidnapped by hunters, is retained there captive with all the other children. Mrs. Coulter arrives shortly after that it succeeded in releasing the Dæmon S prisoners of the laboratory, with the assistance of the Dæmon of Serafina, Kaisa.

Later, Lyra, hidden in the air ducts, surprises a conversation between his/her mother and the scientists of Bolvangar: they speak about disappearances of the Dæmon S, but also of a new method to separate child and Dæmon. When Mrs. Coulter from goes away, the doctors speak between them about the cruelty of which it makes proof and its pleasure to look at the children suffering; shocked, Lyra pushes in spite of it a cry. It is discovered at once. The scientists decide to slice the bond between it and Side the evening even. But Mrs. Coulter returns at the same time; deeply upset, it takes along Lyra in its room.

There, she tells him lie on lie, ensuring to him that the method of Intercision is completely inoffensive and that, quite naturally, the children do not die without their dæmons: those become right marvellous pets! But Lyra knows now the true nature of his/her mother and a mot. Mrs. Coulter does not believe about it, in any event, has only one idea at the head: to recover the Aléthiomètre. Without awaiting its agreement, she seeks in the businesses and a girl and finds a box of the size of the object: believer that it is the Aléthiomètre, it opens it at once. But actually is a “fly-spy there” caught by Lyra; the furious animal throws itself on Mrs. Coulter to wound it. Benefitting from her temporary weakness, the young girl precipitates out of the room to put her plan of escape at execution. She created a fire and makes leave all the children the Station.

Whereas all the children, deaths of cold, join the gipsies, Mrs. Coulter, insane of rage, arrives until them, followed by an escort of Tartars. She seizure Lyra in spite of her cries and strikes it violently to prevent it from struggling, while its dæmon-monkey attacks Pantalaimon. But, thanks to the intervention of Iorek Byrnison, Lyra can flee on board balloon of the aeronaut Lee Scoresby, out of reach his/her mother.

Now, the anger of Mrs. Coulter does not know any more limits. Determined to find the Aléthiomètre, like her daughter, it decides to go to “Svalbard”, where it is in this moment; it for killing Lord Asriel and to get rid of the king, Iofur Raknison, to take its place. In armor completely under its cut and changed any Svalbard in order to it is like the bear. The young woman is accompanied by a clan by witch and Tartars who are his allies.

But when it arrives, it discovers that, thanks to the schemes of Lyra, it is Iorek Byrnison which is king now. Moreover, Lord Asriel left his field with Roger, the friend of Lyra, to put his plan at execution: to open a passage between its world and that seen in the lights of the Dawn. His/her daughter, accompanied by Iorek, is with her continuation: because it knows that to arrive to its ends, Lord Asriel will kill Roger.

While the two camps - bear and witch - fight, Mrs. Coulter launches out to the continuation of her former lover. By the average unknown ones, it succeeds in crossing the chasm which separated them and arrives at the moment when Lord Asriel engages his device, creating a bridge between the Dawn and the mountain… and killing Roger on the blow. Lyra, which was with them, is pulled by the avalanche which follows.

When the young girl awakes, it holds her friend died in his arms and attends an incredible scene: his/her own parents, in the arms one of the other.

Lord Asriel tries to convince its former mistress to come with him on the way which it created, and to penetrate in this other world: but Marisa refuses there, it has its organization within the Église, it fears to be excommunicated. For it, the company of his/her lover is pure madness. During their conversation, she says to him to take along her daughter with him, because she is more with him than with her; he answers him that they is false, that she tried well “to work it”. It would seem that Mrs. Coulter really wanted her child near it, but that it flexible, is subjected, ready to carry out her orders.

In front of the refusal of Mrs. Coulter, Asriel does not insist; it crosses the bridge of the Dawn without looking at behind. Moved and upset, Mrs. Coulter starts to cry in silence, then disappears with the sight of Lyra. The young girl and her Dæmon, decided to solve by themselves the mystery of the Dust , cross the bridge in their turn.

Volume II: The Tower of the Angels

In volume II, Mrs. Coulter appears in the chapter 2 Among the witches : she is given to discover the truth about Lyra, who is according to l´Eglise, a very important child. With this intention, it decides to torture a witch, one of her old allied, so d´obtenir the answer; fortunately, Serafina Pekkala manages to kill his/her sister before qu´elle can reveal the true name of Lyra and to s´enfuir.

She reappears well later in the chapter 9 the Flight , in so much qu´invitée of Lord Boreal, one of her lovers: they are agreed qu´il unit would deliver his/her daughter and l alethiometer to him as soon as this one would have brought the subtle Poignard to him. Being unaware of completely that Lyra is precisely on the spot, like Will, it obtains Lord Boreal information on the children and the world of Cittàgaze. But, then qu´il s´apprête with speaking about the subtle dagger, Will, with l´aide of Lyra, manages to take again l alethiometer and to s´enfuir by a window.

In the chapter the 15 Mission, Mrs. Coulter will arrive finally to his ends. After having extorted Lord Boreal the truth on the subtle dagger, it l´empoisonne, then retains captive the witch Lena Feldt come for l´espionner. By torturing it by l´intermédiaire d´un Spectrum, Mrs. Coulter obtains finally the true name of Lyra: Eve the Mother. With its quota of Spectra, it gives to l´assaut to the camping children and pushes back the witches who protected them. Without nobody being able l´en to prevent, it finds Lyra and l emmene with it.

Film adaptation