Marisa Coulter
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Marisa Coulter is a fictional character, the mother of Lyra Belacqua in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. In the series, she is usually referred to as Mrs. Coulter, which has confused readers about her name. Though she seems very charming and wonderful, we quickly learn that she has a darker, sinister side, and her image as a deceptive, evil woman prevails for most of the trilogy. Her dæmon is a golden furred and black-faced monkey with a cruel streak, who is never named and rarely speaks. Because the monkey is equipped with claw-like nails, it is likely that it is a member of the family Cebidae, most likely a golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia).
In the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, Mrs Coulter is the head of a particular faction of the Church known as the General Oblation Board (also known as "The Gobblers" among gyptians and street urchins). Under Mrs Coulter's guidance, The Oblation Board has been secretly kidnapping children from Lyra's world, and then proceeding to use them as "lab rats" for their experiments at their laboratory in Bolvangar. The Oblation Board thinks that by cutting away the child's dæmon, they can prevent the child from knowing sin.
Coulter is a widow who works for the Oxford colleges and the Church, but she had an affair with Lord Asriel while she was with her husband. The protagonist of the series, Lyra Belacqua, is in fact Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel's daughter.
Near the conclusion of The Amber Spyglass, Mrs Coulter redeems herself when she and Lord Asriel give their lives to kill the Regent Metatron and save their daughter Lyra so that she may safely fulfill the prophecy said of her and free the multiverse from the oppression of The Authority.
[edit] Film adaptation
On 14 July 2006 it was announced that actress Nicole Kidman is set to play the role of Mrs. Coulter in the forthcoming film adaptation, His Dark Materials: Northern Lights, with Daniel Craig joining her as Lord Asriel. Author Philip Pullman had previously indicated that he would like to see Kidman play the role, although he had no role in the casting procedure.<ref>His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (2007) IMDb (Accessed 18 July 2006)</ref>
[edit] References and notes
<references/>
| Part of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series |
|---|
| Books |
| Northern Lights/The Golden Compass - The Subtle Knife - The Amber Spyglass Lyra's Oxford - The Book of Dust |
| Films |
| His Dark Materials: Northern Lights |
| Characters |
| Lyra Belacqua - Will Parry - Lord Asriel - Marisa Coulter - Iorek Byrnison - John Faa - Farder Coram - Serafina Pekkala - Lee Scoresby - Iofur Raknison - The Authority - Balthamos - Baruch - Mary Malone - Xaphania - Roger Parslow |
