LYRA BELACQUA

'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 parallel universe to our own. Brought up in the cloistered world of Jordan College, Oxford, she finds herself embroiled in a cosmic war between angels and a false deity called The Authority.

Contents

Background and Life

Character

Pantalaimon

Lyra's Destiny

Lyra in Other Mediums

Film

Theater

Background and Life

Lyra is the 12 year old result of an illegitimate union between Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter. She was brought up at Jordan College, with the Scholars, the Professors, and the Servants all acting as a sort of collective family. She was raised believing that her father was a Count and that both her parents had died in an airship crash, and that Lord Asriel was her uncle. However, when she meets up with the gyptians, Lord Faa tells her of true heritage. Lyra lives in Oxford, running amuck with her friend Roger Parslow, climbing on roofs, and leading clay fights with the college children and the "townies" of Oxford and the gyptians. When the Gobblers come to town and Roger Parslow goes missing, things start to change.

Character

Lyra is portrayed as dirty blond-haired, blue-eyed, and rambunctious. She is thin and short for her age, which ranges from 11 to 13 throughout the books. She is an unruly child and often exasperates those who try to care for her, such as the Jordan housekeeper and her tutors. Though she receives little formal education she is quick-witted and canny.
Lyra earns the name ''Lyra Silvertongue'' when she fools Iofur Raknison, the King of the Bears, by telling him that she is the dæmon of Iorek Byrnison and that she is willing to change sides for the "strongest bear". Iofur, who is obsessed with the idea of being human, especially having his own dæmon, follows Lyra's orders. Lyra meets Iorek and confesses to what she has done, thinking Iorek would reprimand her or punish her. To her surprise, Iorek, impressed and grateful, calls her "Lyra Silvertongue" because of her father's name.
She adopts Silvertongue as her new surname, both out of pride that Iorek has gifted her with such a name and because she is estranged from her father after his murder of Roger Parslow.

Pantalaimon

Lyra's dæmon, 'Pantalaimon', is her dearest companion, and the embodiment of her soul. In common with all dæmons of children, he can take any animal form he pleases; he first appears in the story in the shape of a moth. His name is that of a saint in the orthodox churches, St. Panteleimon, and in Greek means "all-forgiving". He changes into many forms throughout the series, ranging from a leopard to a dragon, but his favorite forms are a snow-white ermine, a moth, and a mouse. Lyra and Pantalaimon must be separated when they enter the World of the Dead, causing extreme pain to both of them. Pantalaimon avoids Lyra for a while after, but the two have gained the ability to be as far apart as possible, a trait only witches and shamans possess. Pantalaimon enters his final form, a pine marten when Will Parry touches him. He is regularly called 'Pan.'

Lyra's Destiny

In the first novel of His Dark Materials, ''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, and it turns out to be Lyra. It transpires that Lyra's destiny is to be literally the second Eve, and fall into the temptation of the serpent, or Mary Malone. When Lyra does this, by falling in true love with the other main protagonist of the series, Will Parry, the catastrophic destruction of Dust in the abyss is corrected and the universes start to work in harmony again. 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, it later transpires, is to abandon Pantalaimon on the beach in the world of the dead as stated in "The Amber Spyglass". An alternate argument is that the foretold betrayal occurs when Lyra leads Roger to Lord Asriel on Svalbard at the end of the first book.

Lyra in Other Mediums

Film

In the film adaptation of the first book, which will use the book's American name The Golden Compass, Lyra is portrayed by twelve-year-old London schoolgirl Dakota Blue Richards, who won the role after beating out 10,000 other hopefuls.

Theater

The National Theatre in London put on a two part, three hour long, adaptation of the novels. The play ran two times, in 2003 and 2004. Lyra was played by Anna Maxwell Martin in the first run, and by Elaine Symons in the second.
Scottish Youth Theatre have recently (July-August 2007) put on the Scottish premier of the production with Kirstie Steele and Sarah Ord playing Lyra in part one and two respectively.