Summary
The Golden Compass takes place in England, but it is not the England we know. It is a parallel universe, similar to our own but with key differences. In this world, each human is accompanied by companion spirits called dæmons. While humans are children these take changing animal forms. But when a child goes through puberty and becomes an adult, his or her dæmon settles into a permanent animal form. As the story opens, political tensions are brewing with the Tartars, a group that resides far to the East, for mysterious reasons that have to do with new scientific discoveries in the Arctic.
Lyra is an adventurous young girl who lives in Jordan College at Oxford University. Her dæmon, Pantalaimon, provides her with a cautious voice of reason, as well as friendship. One day they are sneaking about a forbidden area where the Scholars gather to talk every evening after dinner. They witness the Master pour poison into a decanter of wine that has been set aside for Lyra’s mysterious and powerful uncle, Lord Asriel, who is soon to arrive for a visit. Against Pantalaimon’s advice, she decides to remain in hiding after the Master leaves to warn her uncle not to drink the wine.
While hiding, Lyra and Pantalaimon wonder if her uncle’s visit has to do with the rumored political tensions in the North and if a war is coming. Lord Asriel arrives unexpectedly while the Butler prepares the room for the Scholars. He sends the Butler for some things he left at the College’s gate. When Lord Asriel pours himself a glass of the poisoned wine, Lyra conquers her fear of her uncle’s punishments and leaps from the closet to save his life. Lord Asriel then shoos her back into the closet, instructing her to keep an eye on the Master while he gives his presentation. The Scholars begin to arrive.
Lord Asriel tells the Scholars that while on an expedition to the North, he found evidence for a controversial theory that other worlds exist alongside their own. He requests funding for a second expedition and the Scholars vote in favor of this, despite the Master’s resistance. Meanwhile, Lyra falls asleep in the closet. Once the Scholars leave, her uncle wakes her up and tells her to sneak back to her bed. He refuses her request for more information about Dust, a mysterious substance that has something to do with other worlds. He also refuses to take Lyra with him on his next expedition north. She has no choice but to follow Lord Asriel’s orders and retire to her bedroom.
The Master sends Lord Asriel on the exhibition. He then settles into his room with the Librarian to discuss the meeting with the Scholars. The Master and the Librarian are old friends who worked together in an attempt to assassinate Lord Asriel.
During the men’s conversation, the reader learns that the Church is the most powerful organization in Europe and is comprised of many different councils and organizations. The reader also learns that the Master possesses a powerful truth-telling device called an alethiometer. This device has indicated to the Master that Lyra will be drawn into the complicated situation in the North. He reveals that the reason he tried to kill Lord Asriel was to help delay Lyra’s dangerous involvement, but he fears there is little more he can do.
Meanwhile, children all over England are disappearing. People tell stories of a group called “Gobblers” to explain the disappearances. In reality, a woman with a golden monkey dæmon and mysterious motives is kidnapping them. At first, Oxford remains unaffected by the disappearances. As a game, Lyra begins hunting for the Gobblers with her best friend Roger, but they have no success.
They soon tire of the game. But shortly afterward, Billy Costa, the child of a gyptian woman named Ma Costa, goes missing. Lyra has a deep respect for Ma Costa, and she renews her search for the Gobblers, hoping to find Billy. The gyptians are an ethnic group that mostly live on boats and engage in trade up and down the canals of England. While the gyptian children have a playful rivalry with the children who live permanently in Oxford, the two groups work together to find Billy.
After a few hours of searching, Lyra realizes that her friend Roger is also nowhere to be seen. Tired and scared, Lyra abandons the children she has gathered to look for Billy. She begins an effort to enlist the adults of Jordan College to help her find Roger. However, everyone is busy preparing a special dinner for a few guests that have arrived to visit the master. Frustrated that none of the adults at the College want to help her look for Roger, she climbs onto the roof to take a moment to herself.
Lyra’s housekeeper Mrs. Lonsdale finds Lyra. She instructs her to tidy up and join the Master and his guests in the Master’s quarters. At dinner, Lyra meets a woman named Mrs. Coulter who has a golden monkey dæmon. Completely unaware that the woman is responsible for Roger’s disappearance, Lyra becomes distracted by her intelligence and beauty, and soon forgets about her friend altogether.
Analysis
The Golden Compass is a fantasy novel set in a parallel universe. This means it exists alongside the reader’s world and often shares many important characteristics with it. At the same time, the world of the novel features fantastical or magical aspects.
Jordan College is one example of this. While the college itself is fictional, it is located inside the real Oxford University. Moreover, the rigid and hierarchical culture of Jordan College reflects the real culture of Oxford University, where Pullman studied. Pullman provides examples of a culture that reinforces social inequalities, like the College’s prohibition on women entering the Retiring Room. In this way he sets the social context for the Golden Compass.
Throughout the book, and especially in the first few chapters, Pullman constantly introduces new characters. During these introductions, characters’ dæmons serve as an important characterization device. All Servants’ dæmons in the College are dogs, for example, and the kind of dog reflects the rank of the servant in the College’s strict hierarchy. Lord Asriel’s dæmon is a snow leopard, reflecting his strength and cunning.
While adults share important traits with their dæmons, children’s dæmons can change form at will. Often, a child’s dæmon serves to balance out his or her strongest character traits. In this way, Pantalaimon’s nervous caution serves as a foil for Lyra’s adventurous mischief. Pantalaimon takes the form of a dark brown moth in order to blend in to his surroundings. In contrast, Lyra has a hard time hiding at all, leading her to crouch behind a chair in the very center of the Retiring Room. Still, Lyra insists on remaining hidden despite the risk of punishment. Pullman thus characterizes Lyra as brave, further juxtaposing her to Pantalaimon’s nervousness.
As is true in many fantasy novels, Pullman relies heavily on imagery to paint a picture of the fantastical world that is the story’s setting. He uses detailed description to create a dark and grand picture of the college. Similarly, Lord Asriel’s description of the photographs in his presentation creates an image of the faraway North. For example, in a picture of the aurora borealis, “streams and veils of light hung like curtains.” As light is not subject to gravity in the same way as a curtain would be, this use of visual imagery creates a mysterious and supernatural mood in relation to the North.
In the first chapters of the novel Pullman often uses foreshadowing to hint at what is to come. For example, Lyra takes her uncle’s advice “to explore underground, for what was above ground was only a small fraction of the whole.” This foreshadows how Lord Asriel will prompt Lyra to discover deeper realities as she continues to grow up.
Similarly, as Lyra searches for Billy Costa, she is able to bring a group of children “all under her sway, collegers and gyptians alike.” This is an accomplishment, since the college children and gyptians are previously described as permanent enemies. This early example of Lyra’s unique leadership skills foreshadows her ability to bring feuding groups together against a bigger, common enemy.
