The Golden Compass

Pantalaimon, known as Pan, is Lyra’s dæmon, the opposite-gendered animal manifestation of her soul. He serves as a balance to her own spirit; Pan loves Lyra and always tries to guide her in the right direction, whether that means helping her cool down when she is doing something too dangerous or nudging her along to take action. Like her conscience, Pan is often a voice of reason when Lyra acts too mischievously, just as he helps her feel courageous when she is afraid. Sometimes Pan mirrors Lyra’s tenaciousness, like when he stretches their bond to the point of pain when he tries to help Iorek. Because Lyra is a preteen, her dæmon has not yet settled on his permanent form, so Pan changes from a mouse to a leopard and everything in between. Despite the physical changes his form undergoes, he remains a constant character in his dialogue and interactions with Lyra. He has a clear-eyed view of others and is especially wary of Mrs. Coulter’s monkey dæmon.

Iorek is an armored bear, who when Lyra first meets him, is enslaved and without his armor and due to being outcast by his own people. Even though his exile and indentured status is unjust, Iorek has a strong sense of morality and duty, ensuring he works every minute he owes. However, when he gets the chance to be reunited with his armor—which is, in essence, his soul—he feels the strong and powerful return to self. He still maintains his sense of responsibility and obligation to others and does everything he can to do right by those who have done right by him. He forges a strong bond with Lyra and helps her on her journey north. By the end of the novel, he shows incredible courage and fortitude as he stands up to his enemies and takes his rightful place as king of the armored bears in Svalbard. Unlike Iofur Raknison, the usurper king he defeats in battle, Iorek rejects the idea of becoming more like humans or adopting a daemon, embracing the strength that being totally himself—king of the bears—imparts within him.

Marisa Coulter, known to Lyra as Mrs. Coulter, is one of the novel’s main antagonists and Lyra’s biological mother. She has a dæmon in the form of a golden monkey. Mrs. Coulter is beautiful and gifted with children. However, she hides her true motivations. She promises Lyra a sense of adventure and has a taste for the finer things. Despite her prim appearance and apparent kindness toward others, Mrs. Coulter is deceitful and ruthless in her pursuit of knowledge about the Dust. She can be cruel and shows no restraint when punishing Lyra and Pan. There is a sense that because she is a woman, she is not taken as seriously by the Scholars and Oblation Board, but she is as fearsome and smart as she is charismatic, which gives her a higher standing than most others in this world. It is unknown why she gave up her daughter Lyra, or her past relationship with Lord Asriel, however in the last chapter her stoic façade seems to crumble as they briefly reunite and separate, betraying her deep emotions for Lyra and her father.

Lee is the swashbuckling adventurer from Texas (in this world a country) who travels by sky balloon and is motivated, at least at first, primarily by money. He has a friendship with Iorek and helps Lyra on her journey. He is an aeronaut with a sense for personal freedom and happiness. He acts as a foil to Serafina in terms of viewpoint because he believes so strongly in free will, while she is more preoccupied by the idea of fate.

Lord John Faa is the thoughtful leader of the gyptians. He shows measured authority, like when he corrects Lyra when she oversteps her boundaries. He does not over-assert himself or lose her trust, and he is a fierce fighter for the people he cares about, listening intently to others before making decisions.

Farder Coram is a gyptian elder who helps Lyra as she learns how to use the alethiometer. He is in love with the witch, Serafina.

Serafina is a 300-year-old witch with a goose daemon, from whom she can separate, like other witches. She helps Lyra and is in love with Farder Coram. She has a strong belief in fate, which puts her at ideological odds with Lee, although they sometimes work together. She is powerful and wise, demonstrated by her ability to help guide Lyra and the crew in their times of need.

Roger is Lyra’s childhood best friend and playmate at Oxford. He has a dæmon named Salcilia and shows more restraint than Lyra, often siding with Pan when she tries to start trouble (like with moving the coins in the crypt). He is a kitchen worker, but his relationship with Lyra is not impacted by their class difference. Roger gets kidnapped by the Gobblers early on, so for most of the novel, Roger is present in Lyra’s thoughts more than in actuality. Roger returns in the story when Lyra reaches the facility with the silver guillotine in Bolvangar, and he dies in the final chapter when Lord Asriel separates the boy from his daemon and opens a portal to another dimension. Roger’s death is a major turning point for Lyra, as it is her first close friend who has died. His character arc comes to represent Lyra’s loss of innocence and emphasize the theme of The Risks of the Quest.

Ma Costa is a gyptian woman and the mother of Billy Costa, who was kidnapped by the Gobblers. She is a motherly figure for the gyptians, and for Lyra, dishing out tough love and discipline as often as she nurtures her people. She helped raise Lyra in many ways and treats Lyra like her own child, escorting Lyra part of the way on the journey north.