This week we are discussing Part III: Svalbard of His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post contains spoilers for His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass.
Trigger Warning!!! Violence, Blood, Death
Discussion:
Jacilyn: Hello readers and welcome to the third and final discussion of The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Today we’re discussing Part Three: Svalbard. After the escape from Bolvangar and the pursuit of Mrs. Coulter, Lee Scorseby and his balloon arrives to rescue Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, and Roger from Mrs. Coulter’s grasp. Serafina Pekkala and some of her witches help tow the balloon to Svalbard, where Asriel is imprisoned by the bears. We learn a little more about both Lee and Serafina Pekkala during the first chapter of this part. I think Lee is worried less about being paid properly for his role, than he is about the ominous war for their lives that Serafina Pekkala warns him of. It’s clear he cares for Iorek and Lyra, but I don’t think it’s really set in how important Lyra is in the scheme of things yet.
Michaela: I agree. I think Lee started off worrying about his payment but I think Serafina Pekkala telling him about the war really took his thoughts off course. I think Lee is also less prone to take care of Lyra because he knows Iorek loves her and will do anything to protect her. I love that Lee has his little retirement plan and honestly he deserves it. I realize that everyone is involved in this war whether they know it or not. But I kind of agree with Lee that people should have a choice but at the same time I disagree for the same reason. It's happening and everyone needs to accept it.
Jacilyn: One interesting thing is that when it comes down to it, this war is really about choice in the long run. I definitely agree with Lee’s sentiment, but that’s kind of the whole point of it. He could walk away, you know. Or, fly away, as it may be. But his life won’t be the idyllic ranch life he envisions for himself, and his heart won’t let him walk away from this. He may be slightly begrudging, but he has love and respect for Lyra, Iorek, and the Gyptians. His courage certainly isn’t lacking.
Learning about Serafina Pekkala and Farder Coram’s son that they lost was heartbreaking. Farder Coram lost his son and the woman he loved in such a short time frame, and yet he’s still so brave and noble and incredibly intelligent. I love how insightful Lyra is about Serafina Pekkala and Farder Coram, too. One of my favorite things about her character is how clever and insightful she can be, and it’s usually when she’s not trying. But at the same time she’s still very naive and immature in some ways, so she feels like a convincing character to me.
Michaela: You definitely have a point. Lee could just walk away but his life will not be what he envisioned. I knew Serafina Pekkala and Farder Coram were gonna have a past but I was not even kind of ready for that. I can’t imagine being a witch going through life loving one person after the other and watching them leave you or pass away. Not even just lovers but your own children. I like that we got some confirmation about the consul not being a witch, since all witches are women. But he still could be the son of a witch which is still really interesting. Witches are fascinating in this series. For example how they can’t necessarily feel cold in a negative way but they can feel the moonlight on their skin and things like that. So cool and just a beautiful idea.
Lyra’s insightfulness is astounding to be honest and I think this supports the idea that children see and interpret more than adults think they can. We obviously have to talk about the prophecy that Serafina Pekkala and Lee Scorsby talked about. “She is destined to bring about the end of destiny”. What even? Also, Iorek is a prince and the rightful king of Svalbard. I need to know more about the society the bears have. I need all the information.
Jacilyn: I thought it was interesting that the witches live by mutual aid. They don’t have any material possessions, but if they need anything, they simply give among each other. I’ve seen a lot of mutual aid organizations get set up in the last six months or so in response to the protests across the country. The Des Moines Mutual Aid organization doesn’t work exactly like the witches’ society does, of course, but it’s been really amazing to watch an organization like that function and do such amazing things in a capitalist culture. They paid bail for the protesters who were arrested, they’ve started a rent fund for those in danger of being evicted in the middle of a pandemic, they’ve helped organize food and clothing drives… it’s just been incredible to watch, and I think a whole society that functions like that is such an interesting concept.
You know, as someone who has read the whole series, “the end of destiny” is still such an ambiguous concept. It’s not easy to understand, and it really underscores how broad this war is… which is honestly terrifying. And speaking of terrifying… forget the cliff ghasts, their attack was scary, but Iofur Raknison and the bears…. Can you even imagine being an eleven year old girl surrounded by full grown polar bears in ARMOR!?
Michaela: The witches society and the mutual aid organizations work in such an interesting way and it actually does work a lot of the time and I think that’s amazing.
I really have no idea what “the end of destiny” could even mean and if you’re still not fully sure then I’m doomed. The cliff ghasts were really creepy that’s for sure but my god I can’t imagine being next to so many huge ass bears. Also tricking a BEAR KING into going into battle and then standing right in front of the super violent, bloody combat. I can’t even imagine how horrifying that would be. Iorek literally RIPS OFF Iofur’s lower jaw and his tongue just flops there. THEN Iorek EATS Iofur’s HEART, I realize it's a whole ceremony but as a human I’m amazed and terrified. And then all Lyra can think about is not looking away so that she can show Iorek her love, devotion, and faith in him. My whole heart.
While we’re talking about the bears…..Iofur Raknison has problems. Understatement of the year. Not only is he obsessed with human society and his obsession has changed him so much that his brain no longer works the same as other bears (trickery for example as Iorek showed us) but he had a stuffed doll dressed like Mrs. Coulter that he carried with him like he had a daemon. So many problems with that. I felt so bad for the other bears who were trying to be in favor of this king that they probably didn’t want and clearly do not understand.
Jacilyn: Oh my gosh, the battle scene is so intense. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a tendency to read really quickly during intense parts of books, so I had to re-read this entire scene a few times to truly absorb everything that happened. It takes so much courage for Lyra not to look away from the battle, but her giant heart wouldn’t let her. Her love for all of these people that help her and gain her trust is so fierce and I love it. In the original film adaptation of this book, I was surprised to see that this battle was nearly as violent as portrayed in the book. I loved reading about how Iorek tricked Iofur by acting like his paw was hurt. And at the end of the battle, when he roars “Bears! Who is your king!?”.... Full goosebumps.
It really creeps me out that Iofur has a daemon that looks like Mrs. Coulter. It’s clear that he admires her, and it’s obviously a very un-bearlike thing to feel for a human like her. It’s kind of easy to laugh at the image of that, but then you remember that Iofur is basically a giant and considers murder to be a really “meh” thing to worry about, and then it’s less funny and more terrifying. Those other bears were ready to tear that ridiculous palace down, too. Iofur definitely thought he had complete power, but Mrs. Coulter and Asriel clearly had an advantage over him.
Michaela: I have the same problem. I always end up skipping ahead to see what happens. I’m horrible. I had to read it over again once I knew Iorek wasn’t dead at the end. Ugh, the ending of that scene was absolutely beautiful and just full of awe. When he roared “who is your king?” I couldn’t handle it. Like I felt such pride and love in my chest for Iorek and the future of the bears. It kind of reminded me of how I felt a few weeks ago with the results of the election coming out. So much hope for the bears in this world and the people of our world. Iofur and Iorek were two different futures, two different destinies for their society.
Iofur is so unsettling and just unstable. He is so un-bearlike and yet still not behaving like a sane human either. He even covered his claws in gold leaf, that is such a human thing to do. I think greed and lust for power is a very human quality that Iofur clearly has. Also, the fact that Iofur basically killed a bear just because and it ended up being his father but then later in life “wins” his power by DRUGGING a bear to try to kill Iorek and go against customs. It's depressing to read such a horrible life story. Like many powerful people/creatures, they don’t have as much power as they want to believe and are often influenced or controlled by others. Like Iofur being controlled and manipulated by Mrs. Coulter and Asriel. I appreciated that the book mentioned that Lyra found herself to be intoxicated by manipulating Iofur, she truly his related to Mrs. Coulter and Asriel but she CHOOSES to be better and that is incredibly amazing.
Also can we talk about how Iorek renamed Lyra from Lyra Balacua to Lyra Silvertongue and she fully embraces it. Like, yes, please, take your own name. Accept who you want to be, not who your parents are forcing on you. Get it girl! Accepting the love and identity she knows she deserves from Iorek and herself. *snaps*
Jacilyn: That’s a great comparison! I’m sure the other bears felt the same way. And that’s a really great point about how Lyra felt intoxicated by manipulating Iofur. I hadn’t even made that connection to Mrs. Coulter and Asriel before, but you’re totally right. She really uses what she’s learned from her parents to do good. Similarly to how she embraced Silvertongue. Lyra is a great liar and manipulator, and then clever too, and those are all qualities that lead her down this path to end destiny.
Speaking of Lyra’s parents….. Asriel is awful. He clearly cares for nothing but power. Asriel didn’t want to sacrifice Lyra for his experiment, but that seems to be as far as any sort of sentimentality goes when it comes to his own daughter. Mrs. Coulter, though…. I think she does care for Lyra, in a way, but it’s an obsession. She doesn’t want to hurt her, but she wants Lyra’s love, and she wants control over her life. The scene between Mrs. Coulter and Asriel after the bridge is created always creeps me out. They have such a dangerous chemistry. I almost wonder if Asriel was trying to distract Mrs. Coulter long enough for Lyra to get away, though. He says to Mrs. Coulter “If I were her I’d run, and keep on running….” and then he kissed her in a way that makes Lyra think it “...seemed more like cruelty than love…” I think Asriel and Mrs. Coulter do love each other, but in their own fucked up ways. The love is more like a magnetic attraction to each other, but that’s always trumped by their desire to have power and control over the other. Unfortunately, Lyra is often the pawn in this battle.
Michaela: Asriel is the worst person in this series with only Mrs. Coulter to fight for that position. Together they are so toxic and creepy. Just watching their daemons interact is creepy and unsettling. There is such a power imbalance in their relationship and I don’t think it's a consensual one. At first it kind of sounded they had been playing the long game and voluntarily separated from each other to achieve a common goal. But since Mrs. Coulter refused to go with him and that kind of threw my theory out the window. I’m unsure why Mrs. Coulter is so afraid to go through the rift when this whole time she's done terrible yet brave things. I thought Asriel, perhaps, could have been signaling Lyra but who knows really. He could have just been talking to hear his own voice and manipulate Mrs. Coulter even further honestly. I agree with Lyra wholeheartedly that their love seemed cruel. I can see some of the reasons why their relationship happened and then imploded.
Asriel holds himself so high up in his little world and I am so ready to watch him fall. He is deplorable. He preaches to Lyra about why he’s going to do what he plans to do and then steals Roger in the middle of the night to essentially kill him as a scientific sacrifice. Mrs. Coulter may be creepy and evil but Asriel is on a whole other level. He doesn’t even do it in any kind of sacrificial way though. He just does it and suddenly Roger is dead. It was such a horrible scene.
Jacilyn: I cry everytime I read the scene where Roger dies. I can just feel Lyra’s pain. This was the betrayal that the Master of Jordan mentioned to the Librarian. Lyra led Roger to his death, without meaning to. And that’s an interesting point about Mrs. Coulter not being brave enough to go with Asriel…. I think part of her reasoning is that she still wants to find Lyra, but I also think she’s scared of the Magisterium. She has power within the organization, but she is also at their mercy. She has the position she does, which is rare for women in this world, because of the Magisterium. She’s playing the long game in this regard, I think.
Lyra had the courage to cross the bridge into the other world, though. Her and Pan are scared, but they’re determined, and they correctly guessed that if all of these horrible adults want to get rid of Dust, then perhaps it’s a good thing. After all, it is what makes the alethiometer work.
Michaela: I barely even caught his death because it happened so suddenly, I had to reread it a little bit. I think Lyra’s love for Roger was so pure and so full as was his love for her. It broke my heart. I knew he was going to die once Asriel saw him behind Lyra and then talked about the death of a daemon producing energy that he could harness. I hate Asriel so much for murdering Roger. I hope Lyra doesn’t continue to blame herself. I do not blame her at all and I don’t think Roger would either. She had no way to know that taking Roger with her was dangerous for him in that way.
I think Mrs. Coulter is terrified of the Magisterium but I’m entirely sure why. We haven’t gotten a lot of information about them really. People have talked about them but I still don’t know much I feel like. As much as I hate Mrs. Coulter she does get respect for being a powerful woman in a male dominated society run by a male dominated religious order.
Lyra is so brave to literally cross over worlds, over universes. Baffled by her bravery. I have been thinking that Dust wasn’t a bad thing this whole time since the religious group hates it so much. If they’re anything like the religious powers in our world….dust is not a bad thing and actually should be embraced. Then the Bible influence on the perception of Dust that Asriel talks about is complete bullshit. It literally says “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” which, I guess I think, clearly says “you are made of dust and you shall return to dust”. Like it reminds me of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” which I’ve said in church many times during communion and such when I went to church with my family as a child.
Not only does the alethiometer work off of Dust but I think the daemons and other things such as Iorek’s armor and the spy bugs all consist of Dust. It’s everywhere and I think if the adults succeed in getting rid of it the world will cease to exist and become just as bland and unfeeling as the zombi slaves in Africa that Asriel tells Lyra about. The alethiometer is alive, it has full on conversations with Lyra basically and it even scolds her for asking the same question twice, doubting it’s answers, and doubting her faith in Iorek. I actually don’t think I would be surprised that Dust is a religious thing in this universe (like it’s God or gods energy maybe or something like that) but more likely I think its more like a magical science that keeps the worlds going. In the world their crossing too (which I imagine to be our world) I think Dust manifests in how people can feel when their loved ones are in danger or how you can feel an energy in the room with you. And just like in Lyra’s world, the church in our world often says these energies or abilities are sinful or demonic.
There is so much to this world and this series. I’m excited to keep reading the series on my own and see what happens. I hope everyone else was just as enthralled by the magic in this book as we were!
How did you feel about Serafina Pekkala and Fardar Coram’s past? What about the battle of the bears? Were you as heartbroken about the end as we were? Let us know in the comments below!
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