#hdm meta: politics

[lordeasriel]

The Sun never sets on the Magisterium

The reach of the Holy Church in Lyra’s world is the first and most prominent worldbuilding aspect we learn from Northern Lights. It is the most important introduction one has to this world, so vastly different than ours yet so similar still, and it is the one trait that remains constant throughout both trilogies and novellas included.

This is an analysis of the Church in Lyra’s world, so spoilers for all the books and novellas, most likely. I’ll try and make a single post about this but I’m gonna reserve the right of maybe doing two separate parts because it’s a big subject. Under the cut because you know the drill, it’s long lol

The Magisterium was founded after John Calvin’s death, who had been Pope, and had the seat of the Church moved to Geneva. Although it is never clear, the Magisterium’s religious aspects come mostly from the Roman Catholic Church, and Pullman himself said in an interview, that some of its dogma is based on the original puritans. In this world, Calvin didn’t seem to have moved forward with his reform, not needing to break ties with the Catholic Church since he had become the Catholic Church.

Despite becoming a vast collective of “courts, colleges, and councils,” the Magisterium remains rather similar to most Christian branches from our world, at least in the medieval times. They had ties with kingdoms, they had influence over colonization, as well as economic and political influence, not to mention military too.

In Lyra’s world, the Magisterium seems intimately tied to Geneva’s politics, at the very least; it gives the impression that the city is somehow independent from the rest of Switzerland, not unlike the Vatican is independent from Italy. It is however, mentioned that the Swiss War was an armed conflict between England and the Magisterium, which means that they must have a full fledged control over the entire country and not just Geneva, although like most things in these books, this is not a sure claim.

With the Swiss War happening some time around 1933 and 1935, it gives this wild and quite odd picture, of a Church actively trying to invade a country. Although not that foreign a concept, since the Catholic Church was highly involved with the colonization process of our world, they never quite invaded the countries themselves (at least during the 1500s colonizations, as the Crusades were sort of Catholics invading countries lmao), instead joining later as the Monarchs of Europe established outposts and colonies and had already subdued natives in the area.

We do not have an exact date for the Magisterium’s creation, the implication being that it was set somewhere 600 years prior to Marcel Delamare’s acceptance of Leader of the High Council in TSC, it is fair to assume that colonization was already happening in Lyra’s world’s 15th century-ish and that the Magisterium was involved with that much in the same way it was in our world: by converting people, be it by force or by persuasion.

However, in Lyra’s world, the Magisterium stopped being a fully religious entity at some point, and became a full fledge state-like organization, spread all across the globe in different shapes and names, all answering to the bigger and more powerful groups, usually stationed in Geneva: the College of Bishops during its initial centuries, then eventually the Consistorial Court of Discipline, who by NL had become an immensely powerful group, in a power conflict with the less threatening Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit. The CCD being the harshest and most powerful group in the Magisterium, at least during the events of HDM, seemed to have had a lot of power in Geneva and in nearby areas, such as France (as we learn in LBS, the alethiometrists of Paris were sympathetic to the Church, not a surprise given France’s very Catholic Background) and Germany.

With information known from LBS and HDM, the Magisterium seems to hold under its power both the Swiss Army (implied, at least, given the Swiss War being a conflict created by the Magisterium itself) and the Imperial Guard of Muscovy, which seemed to have been under the control of the CCD in particular. It is not explained exactly why the Muscovite Army serves the Church and personally, my knowledge of anything Eastern Europe is very slim, so I’m not gonna attempt to assume much, but given that in TSK it is said they were “sworn to uphold the power of the Magisterium”, it’s possible — and very likely — that the Muscovite government had some sort of deep rooted connection with the Church. Again, not a surprise for Europe, as most countries had monarchies connected to the Church very intimately.

I’m not diving deep into every single one of the Magisterium groups, especially because we know very little about most of them. During the Magisterium congress in TSC, it is mentioned that 53 delegates attended, each representing a group at least (we know both Pierre Binaud AND the President of the CCD attended and they both are part of the same group), so that alone should prove why I couldn’t possibly talk about every single one of them lmao Some of those aren’t even mentioned by name. So, before I tackle on the most important groups and what they represent, I wanted to discuss how the Magisterium’s influence in the world seems to work in a geographical way.

We know for a fact that Geneva — and Switzerland, at least implied so — is absolutely under the control of the Church. Whether they share power with a political group or they are the political branch themselves, I could not say, but at any rate, we know the Magisterium waged war on England under the Swiss banner at one point in time and it’s fairly unlikely that it changed much in less than a century; that alone proves that State and Church don’t seem separate here.

So, how I perceive the Church in Lyra’s world — not just based on preference, but also on what we see of the world, however little it is — is that the further the country and cities are from Geneva, the looser the Magisterium’s grasp is and the more different its approach to power becomes. I use the word ‘looser’ here very lightly, as I don’t think the Americas weren’t oppressed, but I think the Magisterium had a much different type of hold and influence there, and I do think the huge oceans separating Europe from Oceania and the Americas helped change the pull of the Church.

That is different from how it happened in our world, but there is also the difference in how the Magisterium operates; each of its groups work under different philosophies and dogmas and politics. They embody the same religion - Christianism - but they do not act the same way, a good example being how the faithful in Constantinople act towards the Patriarch, while England has very little respect for the CCD, instead just fearing it. In our world, the Church operated sort as an unified front, but in Lyra’s world these many groups are always and constantly fighting each other for power and influence, creating alliances and making enemies between themselves. In England alone, we see that many groups have “outposts” there, the CCD and the Oblation Board, as well as all the Priories and chapels and all that.

There is also the fact that Lyra’s world still seems to have a very independent Africa, as we see the presence of King Ogunwe, meaning that some of the areas in Africa still had independent Kingdoms. This doesn’t mean that the African colonies that did exist weren’t converted or oppressed, but it does mean that these independent Kingdoms resisted the Church’s influence and depending on what group was harassing them, they could succeed in breaking the Church’s ever growing presence. This seems a similar situation for the Americas, given how odd the borders are in Lyra’s world  — South America having way less countries than it does in our worlds and the US never being formed, instead separated into at least two regions, three depending if New France means Canada or yet another part of a possible US.

This is a very ugly map I coloured to show my point lmao The Red Areas cover most of Western Europe and some of Eastern Europe, as well as a part of Russia. All these areas are connected by roads or trains, meaning that the Magisterium’s pull could have started long before airplanes were even created; these means the influence and presence would have existed for a long period of time in most of Europe, meaning More Magisterium Strength. It also covers areas I assumed would be heavily populated areas in the colonies, most of the coastal areas in Brasil, most of the United States because they have two different countries in them  — Texas and New Denmark  — and most of Coastal Australia, although by HDM it’s fair to assume all these regions are no longer colonies, but independent states.

I didn’t go into full detail, there are countries I didn colour with red but that should be red. The Green Areas are contested Areas, places where the Magisterium would have a presence but that would create conflicts for different reasons, being other religions, an uncooperative governement or simply because the group in charge of the area is not competent or too violent to properly establish a presence. This would be the areas in the continents, especially in Africa, where in our world they were heavily colonised but in Lyra’s world they are still independent kingdoms, with military forces and political freedom. Some parts of Russia are green because in Lyra’s world there is the implication Russia is divided into at least three different territories  — Muscovy, Tartary and Siberia  —  and the tartars are considered heretics by the Church; is the territory I painted in green correspondent to actual Tartar regions? I have no idea, but I’m hoping you can forgive my geographic inaccuracy in favour of all this mega meta thing I just spurred. LMAO

And finally the Purple Areas are mostly in places where the weather would be too harsh or where population would be too small to attract the eye of the Magisterium. Ultimately, the Church in Lyra’s world does not only seek to convert everyone and rid the world of heretics, but they also want political influence, economical and military as well, and a small village in Greenland offers absolutely none of that. Some of these areas would also be found in Asia, I believe, especially the very distant and small villages where Islam would have been able to survive. I’ve written a bit about other religions in Lyra’s world if you want to read before going on.

With all that in mind  — and out of the way!  — let’s take a closer look at the Magisterium most notable groups. Starting of course, with the CCD, it’s important to keep in mind that the CCD was the first group created in the Magisterium. It wasn’t always, however, the most powerful one; in Northern Lights, it’s said they only gained notoriety in “recent years”, and we see in La Belle Sauvage that they were already active, including in England, so my assumption is that not only Pullman did a slight retcon here, but also that recent years can mean somewhere in the range of 70 to 100 years. This doesn’t change the fact the CCD became powerful and feared in the Magisterium, nor that their power in England grew considerably between LBS and TAS and then TSC. They are mostly an enforcer type of group  (this is how I refer to them, not canon: enforcer or militia for groups that can arrest, or do any type of Police/militia/army related type of work; dogmatic is how I refer to the groups that usually deal with conversion, reeducation, philosophical works - this isn’t relevant, I’m just. Trying to Make Sense lmao) and as an enforcer, the CCD is violent and ruthless and often lawless in its work outside Geneva.

Despite the fact they are known as a Church Authority, they cannot murder freely and without consequence. In England they act in the shadows during LBS, disguising Robert Luckhurt’s murder as a drowning, and not much is known about their work during HDM, but in TSC they start to openly arrest people for heresy, no doubt a change from the government after Marcel’s rise to power. The CCD seems to act all across Europe and even Central Asia, as we see some of its forces in Constantinople, although it isn’t clear if they were there simply because the Patriarch died or if they are also stationed in the city; the Sublime Porte had its own guards as well, given its status as a government base.

Not much is known of the Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit, except that they seemed less harsh than the CCD and during their quest to find Lyra, they were far more interested in not killing her. Lord Asriel mentions in TAS about his surprise in learning that Lord Roke managed to infiltrate the group, as they were considered impregnable; given Lady Salmakia’s method, and the whole attitude of the group towards the prophecy — it was assumed they weren’t going to do anything about it  — I’d safely assume they were more inclined towards being dogmatic.

Perhaps even older than the CCD, the College of Bishops was perhaps inherited from the Catholic Church before the Magisterium was born. It was known to be the most remarkable and powerful of the groups for centuries after the creation of the Magisterium. Not much is said about them, but given their counterpart in our world, I’d assume they were more inclined towards dogma than enforcer. They are, in our world, a collection of bishops who work closely with the Pope; in Lyra’s world, by the time the Magisterium existed, the Pope no longer existed, so the assumption is that the College replaced the Pope figure altogether, being led by all the bishops in the collection, probably working like a council.

Everything we know about La Maison Juste is confusing and unclear, as most things worldbuilding-wise are in these books. Their official name is League for the Instauration of the Holy Purpose, which coincides with Olivier Bonneville’s description of their work, about “accomodating the life of the world to the life of the spirit”. In other words, it means making sure that daily life can be fitted into the dogma of the Church; it’s vital for the Magisterium to adapt as progress comes. Unlike the CCD, that suppress anything that borders heresy, La Maison Juste seems more inclined towards adapting the dogma so the world can still be within the Magisterium’s expectations.

However, there is mention of La Maison Juste being a place meant to study and examine heresy; there is also a mention in TSC, by Olivier, about how the group changed under Marcel’s leadership, “being a force for good” in the ranks of the Magisterium. What that means exactly, I can’t say; it could be Marcel changed the heresy examination to something more productive and less harsh, or it could just mean he became more strict towards heresy, but that would conflict with Olivier’s description about the accomodation thing. At any rate, I do classify them as dogmatic, and we see Marcel using the CCD to go after Olivier when he flees Geneva; it’s curious because there seems to be implied the CCD outranks his group, but he still uses their forces to do anything remotely violent. There is however, a passage where Lyra lies to a guard from the Office of Right Duty about being part of La Maison Juste, and the guard gets spooked. This is curious because La Maison Juste barely seems remarkable up until the congress happens, but the mention scares the man off.

Two groups  — that we know of  — were responsibility of Mrs. Coulter. The League of St. Alexander seemed to have been created around the same time LBS happens (roughly 1986 if the timeline makes any sense, which probably doesn’t). Hannah Relf learns at some point that Marisa was behind it, but it’s never clear what was her role in it exactly. It doesn’t look like the League was a private initiative, but actually tied to the Church and it was as good a Scam as any. Marisa being behind it didn’t necessarily mean she was the active leader of the group, as they mention a man under the codename Bishop seemed to be in charge, but then again, I cannot say with certainty. They were definitely a dogmatic group, with brainwashing added to the mix, but they seemed to have mutated over time and it isn’t clear whether they only existed in England or not.

The General Oblation Board was Mrs. Coulter’s actual, proper group. It was a private initiative, under the CCD’s rule, but the nature of their work seemed to threaten the CCD’s leadership in the Magisterium. MacPhail made an extra effort to try and dismantle them, especially because he believed that Dust should be destroyed and not examined. I don’t think the fate of the group was ever disclosed, despite their losses, but by TAS MacPhail mentions them as if they are still functioning. Whether they survived up to TSC is not clear, but it’s also hard to imagine what could they have become without Marisa. It’s also interesting to think what would have happened to the Magisterium, had Marisa succeeded in taking the place of the CCD; a private initiative group as the most powerful group in the Magisterium would have caused drastic changes, and probably opened the doors to the big corporations much sooner than Marcel’s work in TSC. The GOB could be classified as dogmatic, given their interest in Dust, but they were far more into scientific research than La Maison Juste seems to be, for example. They also had their own private guards, so no need for the CCD’s enforcers.

I think these groups showcase well how the Magisterium operates. The further we see Lyra go into the East, we realise how the grip of the Church seems lighter and far more military inclined. Is the Magisterium everywhere? Frankly, I don’t think so. I think they have a substantial presence in every country with any amount of political influence or power; any country that might offer opposition. We know they tried to conquer England through an actual war, which is quite odd for a religion, but this is where the Theocracy takes it place in Lyra’s world: they become a single unified front with their country  — Switzerland, in this case  — and the countries where they have more power, they can also control. The places they can’t take by force, they take with dogma and faith, and slowly overthrow these governments by turning their people against themselves.

They are so vastly fragmented that even places with small groups are affected by their presence, no matter small and odd that can be. It’s both curious and terrifying to see a world so deeply overwhelmed by a single opponent, but then again, it’s not that far off our reality. The Magisterium doesn’t represent just faith and religion, but also the big oligarchies, and how governments bend to the will of big companies, and how these aligned forces can become oppressive over time. The Church’s hold across Europe, Africa and Asia was not fast and unpredictable; it was obvious and slow. It started with small conversions and with time, the Church become a force of sustainability for different regions; they become an important part of the enviroment, of the economy, of the security of the country. They become something to be relied on and thus removing them become difficult over time as well, as the micro societies  — the neighborhoods, the small villages  — they become reliant on the Church’s helpful groups to survive, meaning that their fear of the enforcers are overwhelmed by the help of the Chapels, and the priories.

It’s the creation of a co-dependent ecosystem that is very difficult to dissolve without harming innocent people.

[lordeasriel]

lyra’s world: the kings of brytain

I’ve mentioned I wanted to write this before, so here I am because I’m sad over Maeve Dermody’s character in SS-GB. This is an essay talking a little bit about the kings in Lyra’s world. I’m only discussing the period between Oakley Street’s creation and The Secret Commonwealth, anything prior to this I’ll not address here because that needs a lot more research than I can actually afford to do now. This covers all the books, so fair warning for spoilers, but honestly if you follow me still after all the stuff I write, you either don’t care about spoilers or you read everything. lmao

Also before we start, I want to remind you that I did some research on Britain’s politics - no much in depth though - and that I am not British. So, it’s possible I mistook one thing for another or didn’t fully understand the entire scope of how politics work in that country. Anyway, the important bit here is the Kings so it’s fine, I’m fine. Under the cut for the usual reasons!

For this to be coherent, I’m gonna try and do this analysis chronologically. I say ‘try’ because I derail faster than Asriel when he sees Marisa. If you want to, you can use my timeline to follow it, but I’m just using dates the books themselves used, so no dates outside of canon here. I’m really proud of my timeline work, so a lil advertising lmao

As far as we are aware, Lyra’s Brytain is headed by a King, alongside his Parliament. I know this is substantially similar to how our world’s England work, but in her world the King seems to have a little bit more influence or at least little more active work anyway. In NL, it’s mentioned he holds weekly councils of state at White Hall Palace, and in LBS, there is mention of Lord Nugent having been the Lord Chancellor of England, a title that in our world is appointed by a Prime Minister, who is vaguely mentioned in NL as well. All this points out to a very similar structure, the King perhaps being the only one who is slightly different from his counterpart.

I can understand why Pullman wouldn’t actively choose to have an equivalent Queen in his world, since all the rulers mentioned are Kings - and it’s implied they are the ruling Kings and not consorts, although it’s not exactly confirmed either - but it’s odd that not a single queen is mentioned in the books. English queens, that is, especially when Lyra’s world is such an ode to Victorian/Edwardian England, alas, here we are. Just wanted to state this lol

The King & Oakley Street

In La Belle Sauvage, Hannah Relf meets the current Director of Oakley Street, Tom Nugent. Nugent and his deputy, Adnan Al-Kaisy, explain to Hannah the history of the agency, “created in 1933, just before the Swiss War.” It is unclear whether the King at the time had an active involvement in the creation of the agency - it’s very likely he didn’t, since they seem to answer to the Cabinet Office instead - but Nugent also states that English monarchy was relatively neutral or supportive of their work.

“We were lucky in our monarchy, I have to say. King Richard was a strong supporter of our activities; the director of Oakley Street is always a Privy Counselor, and the old king had a passionate interest in what we were doing and why. King Michael, perhaps rather less so... But the present king seems to share his grandfather’s interest and has been very helpful in ways that haven’t been made public.” (LBS, chapter 13).

While there is no actual amount of years telling us whether LBS is set any amount years after the creation of Oakley Street or anything like that, it’s implied by the text that at least 3 kings existed in between. Richard was the King during the Swiss War, his son Michael ruled in between (again, hard to say exactly when) and his son, the present king, ruled at least during LBS.

Coram also tells Lyra about the relationship between the Kings of Brytain and Oakley Street, during their conversations in TSC. He however, only mention two Kings, Richard and Edward.

“It was set up—the department, I mean—in King Richard’s time, the king being staunch agin the Magisterium, which was threatening on all sides. It was always an independent body, Oakley Street, under the Cabinet Office, not the War Ministry. It had the full backing of the king and the Private Council (...).

But when King Edward come in, the tone of politics, you might say, begun to change a bit, to swing around with the wind. There was ambassadors and, what do they call ’em, high commissioners, legates, exchanged between London and Geneva. That’s when the CCD got their foothold in this country. It all changed then to what we got now” (TSC, chapter 15)

I remember when I read this for the first time, I got excited because I thought King Edward was meant to be the current king of TSC. Truth is, he might well be but the way Coram voices it, makes it seem like he is Michael’s son, the present King during La Belle Sauvage, which doesn’t necessarily mean he is the current King during TSC.

It is confusing, however, because if Edward is the LBS King, the way Coram portrays his attitude towards Geneva - exchanging ambassadors, and so on - doesn't match the one Nugent describes - that of a man interested in helping Oakley Street. Of course, inconsistency is not a new thing for Pullman, and this is easily fixed with the old "politics aren't simple" excuse. During LBS, the King's assistance is said to be secretive and away from the public eye; I can see him publicly supporting the Magisterium only to work in secret to diminish its forces. It would be the safest course of action, politically speaking.

There are no other mentions to King Edward, but it's almost certain he is the LBS King. If he was very young then, he could still easily be the King during TSC. I say this because no other mentions are made to the King (that I can find through keyword search or that comes to mind, but given I am rereading it, I can find something small in between I don't know) and twenty years for a monarch tend to be fairly small, especially in modern times in Lyra's world (see Queen Elizabeth who's been ruling since before my own grandmother was born jfc). So, with that in mind:

King Richard ruled Brytain during the Swiss War, very likely during a period before and after as well, his age is never disclosed nor is his ruling time. He saw the creation of Oakley Street, in 1933, and he supported their work especially during the War.

King Michael, Richard's son, ruled after the end of his father's turn (his death, probably). Not much is said about Michael, other than he didn't seem to have a lot of interest in the work of Oakley Street, although this doesn't mean he was pro-Magisterium necessarily.

King Edward, Richard's grandson, ruled at least during the events of La Belle Sauvage. Edward - or the present King - had an interest in the affairs of Oakley Street, but all his support was kept from the public eye. By the information Coram gave us - which tracks with the story mind you - during Edward's rule, the CCD gained a foothold in the country, because the politics made it sure England appeased to Geneva, a behavior that survives up to TSC, although it isn't very clear the state of things during HDM because we can't see the world properly through Lyra's eyes.

The only information that we have on the king in TSC is this line.

"counter-modern—that being the latest way of describing anything His Majesty’s Government did not like." (TSC, chapter 29).

This could mean many things, from Edward's son ruling the country now and being pro-Magisterium, or Edward still following his pattern of publicly supporting the Church vs secretly helping Oakley Street (although they are dismantled in this chapter, so I'm not sure). He could have changed his mind suddenly or simply implying that His Majesty's government didn't like something, doesn't necessarily mean the King himself disfavours that something personally. It's complicated but the scenarios are many.

I don't expect us to find out more about the King, unless TBOD3 really gets soaked in the politics - which I have some doubts because this book is supposed to end Lyra's journey - but in case we do, I'll probably add to this post eventually.

[lordeasriel]

It seems to me that in Lyra’s world the king still has much more influence over British politics than he does in ours. Does this seem right to you?

Hey Anon, I went to do a bit of research as I don't understand British politics all that well, so I'm sorry it took me a while to reply.

I think the King in Lyra's world is a bit more active than the current monarchy, and I understand there's no mention of a Parliament as we know (as far as I remember) but politicians do exist (Lord Nugent, Edward Coulter, the guy in TSC who dismantles Oakley Street who I forgot the name because he sucks), so we have to assume there is a some sort of council or group that helps the King govern England. Lord Nugent was a former Lord Chancellor of England, and that is a role appointed by the Prime Minister in our world, so what I assume is that Lyra's world has no prime minister (I can't recall a mention to one, but I could be wrong) instead the King holds their obligations, and heads the other ministers and all that.

We know the King may or may not take an interest in Oakley Street, depending on where he stands with the Magisterium, and from what I gathered, Oakley Street tends to have more funds and success if they are supported by the king. The agency is part of the Cabinet Office (according to the wiki) and receives funding from the defense fund as well as the private council (which I understand very little truth be told), even though it was a state organization, it was very much independent. So, the king's interest was probably not always super public, even though it was ultimately a legitimate group.

Another thing to consider is how rooted the Magisterium - and the CCD - are in England and how they seem to sometimes overpower the King politically speaking (and militarily too). Church and Monarchy have always been bedfellows, so it's not that surprising, but I think there has to be a middle ground between how much power each one of them has and why the King during LBS and HDM is very much lethargic about their presence. (Fear of assassination, maybe???)

I also think that, with the years, starting back in 1933 - Oakley's Street Foundation and the Swiss War with the Magisterium (where the King fully supported acts against the Magisterium) - the monarchy probably lost its power over the years. LBS stills has the CCD at a more group style rather than what it looks like on HDM and in TSC we have Marcel - under an unified Magisterium - dismantling Oakley Street, an English organization, as if they have any tangible power (which they kinda do). A Swiss organization overpowering a country's monarchy!!! So the King either has very little power and control over this point or he ended under Magisterium pressure, be it out of desire or blackmail or intimidation, it matters only that the king seems obsolete and closer to what our world's British monarchy is.

I mean, in Lyra's world, nobility in general feels not super important; it's like being called the Duke of something but not actually ruling over anything. Asriel certainly didn't rule, he had estates but no peasants to watch over and he was easily taken down by the Magisterium, even with all his fortune and influence. The fact Marisa got out better off that situation than he did shows how a politician's widow had more sway with the law than a Lord richer than a king. Lord Boreal seemed to have a better time as a knight in out world than he did as a lord of something in his world. They all had money and influence, perks that come with the title, but not like medieval nobility used have or be. These are very much like our current nobles, rich people with no real activity in politics (or very little).

[lordeasriel]

Effie’s Meta for His Dark Materials: a Masterpost

Per an anon request (sorry for the delay, I actually write A LOT lmao) here’s a masterpost to all the meta and analyses and other stuff I’ve written for HDM and TBOD in the past two years. Usually I add spoilers when I write analyses (and I point out which books are being spoiled), but be warned that there may still be some hints about The Book of Dust in these posts.

This will be updated in case I write new things, so you can bookmark it if you want to.

Analysis and other meta posts about His Dark Materials & novellas.

Why Asriel requires no redemption arc?

Thoughts on ‘Uncle’ Asriel.

Oakley Street during His Dark Materials.

The Three Satans: Mary, Asriel & Xaphania.

Why Marisa lied to Lyra about their relation?

Thoughts on Lyra and Asriel’s similarities.

Lyra’s relationship with Asriel.

Thoughts on Ruta Skadi.

Thoughts on the Witches.

More on Witches in Serpentine.

Mary’s role as Serpent.

On Jordan College being conservative.

Analysis and other meta posts about The Book of Dust.

Marcel’s plans during The Secret Commonwealth

Thoughts on Pantalaimon’s feelings during The Secret Commonwealth

Islam (and other religions) in Lyra’s world.

Some thoughts on TSC.

The work of La Maison Juste.

Thoughts on the New Master of Jordan.

Is Simon Talbot very gay for Marcel? (the answer is yes. ok maybe. possibly. very likely.) (2)

The timeline for Lyra’s world. (2)

Did Lyra and Will have sex? (the answer is no)

The Magisterium’s power in Lyra’s world.

Lyra’s future career.

Is the Patriarch a creep? (very likely)

Lyra’s loss of her reading skill.

Does Lyra’s world have Christmas?

The Kings in Lyra’s world. 

The New Alethiometer reading method.

Is Lyra’s portrayal sexist? (2)

Asks with specifics questions/prompts for meta and analysis.

How much influence the King has in Lyra’s world?

Thoughts on Marcel and Marisa’s similarities

Thoughts on Marisa and Asriel raising Lyra.

Does Asriel love Marisa?

Magisterium in the Americas.

Marcel’s Hobbies.

Faithful people in Oakley Street.

How I imagine the La Maison Juste building.

Asriel as a politician.

Marcel meets Asriel.

How Asriel perceives Marisa. (2) (3)

Asriel & the Golden Monkey.

Asriel’s age.

Asriel’s last name.

Asriel’s title. (2) (3) (4)

How poor was Asriel?

If Northern Lights never happened.

Marcel vs Godwin.

Does Jesus exist in Lyra’s world?

Asriel as a narrative tool. (2)

Is Mrs. Coulter a true believer?

Asriel’s (dead) brother.

Lord Asriel vs John Parry.

Nugent vs Godwin. (2)

What happened to Delamare, the father? 

Is Jordan College Asriel’s alma mater?

Mrs. Coulter and the Delamares.

Agatha van Helsing/Dracula vs Masriel.

What are the best and worst thing Asriel has ever done?

Shift of political power in Lyra’s world.

Asriel’s degree.

Lyra’s zodiac sign. Mrs. Coulter’s zodiac sign. Lord Asriel’s zodiac sign.

Bud Schlesinger’s Doctorate.

Worldbuilding in HDM.

Why does Marcel idolises Marisa?

Malcolm as an Historian.

Does Marcel believe in God?

Why Hannah doesn’t live on St. Sophia’s grounds?

Marcel’s accent. (2) (3) (4) (5)

Marisa in The Collectors.

Is Marcel religious?

Thoughts on Dr. Carne & Lord Asriel. (2)

Thoughts on Thorold.

Thoughts on Marcel Delamare. (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)

Thoughts on Madame Delamare.

Thoughts on Lyra & Pan.

Thoughts on Lord Asriel. (2) (3)

Thoughts on Malcolm Polstead.

Thoughts on Glenys Godwin.

Thoughts on Hannah Relf. (2)

Thoughts on Hannah Relf/George Papadimitriou. (2)

Thoughts on George Papadimitriou. (2) (3)

Thoughts on Charles Capes.

Thoughts on Father MacPhail.

Thoughts on Dr. Carne. (2)

Thoughts on Lord Nugent.

Thoughts on Malcolm and Lyra.

Hannah Relf’s messy timeline.

Theories concering all the published works.

Thuringia Potash belongs to the Delamares

Dust is Actually Harmful

The unspoken rule of visible daemons in Lyra’s world.

Mrs. Coulter is separated from the Monkey (aka Water is Wet lol)

Mrs. Coulter is separated from the Monkey, part 2 (feat. @cozcat and @the-blog-of-dust )

Lyra’s world for independent daemons.

Parallels between The Book of Dust & Roda-Viva.

Daemon Forms Analysed (from a book perspective, not daemonism).

Snow Leopards.

Birds of Prey.

Cats.

Coyotes.

Emperor Tamarin.

Wolverines.

Marcel Delamare’s owl.

Glenys Godwin’s civet cat. (2) (3)

Lord Asriel’s Stelmaria.

Madame Delamare’s lizard.

Father MacPhail’s lizard. (2)

Pierre Binaud’s daemon. (2) (3)

Mrs. Coulter’s golden monkey.

Marisa & the Golden Monkey. (Follow up with Book of Dust spoilers.)

Malcolm Polstead’s Asta.

Ruta Skadi’s Sergi.

Dr. Carne’s raven.

Marisa & Hannah’s similar daemons. (2)

Schlesinger and Marcel’s similar daemons.

What daemons portray.

The change in relationship with the daemon as one grows up.

Daemon touching.

Physical Appearance of Daemons. (2)

Cat daemons on the series.

Same gender names.

Some daemon headcanons.

Stelmaria, the monkey and the owl’s settling.

What daemons represent.

Asta, Sophonax & Kirjava.

Daemon’s different personalities. (2)

Are people attracted to specific types of daemons?

Different reactions to separation.

Does the enviroment affect daemon settling?

Do daemons’ personalities also affect their form?

What Songbird daemons mean?

Crows & Ravens

Questions and critiques for the show, film and other adaptations.

Lyra’s colour palette for the film and show.

Masriel in the BBC Show.

If the Film had not been cancelled.

Thoughts on the Film. (2)

More thoughts on the Film.

Lots of thoughts about the Film.

I Have Too Many Thoughts About The Golden Compass 2007 dir. Chris Weitz

The Film’s colour palette.

Mrs. Coulter’s lie.

“Who is Lyra Belacqua?” (aka weird dialogue in the show).

Things I prefer from the film.

Things I hated about Lord Asriel in season 1.

Too much Will in season 1. (2)

The show’s poor worldbuilding.

Asriel’s original casting for the show. (2)

Apparently I have a soft spot for the film and it’s true.

MacPhail not being the head of the CCD in season 1.

Costumes in the Film.

Marisa’s costumes: film vs show.

John Faa & Ma Costa.

How well did the show do on season 1? (this was prior to the s3 announcement btw)

Season two costumes. (2)

Should you watch His Dark Materials? (for non-book fans).

Bird daemon gear on the show.

The cloud pine twist on season two.

The Cardinal in the show.

Main problems with the show.

All my issues with the BBC adaptation.

Asriel’s pinky ring.

MacPhail on the show.

Unifying the Magisterium in the show.

How the show portrays Lyra.

[lordeasriel]

One of my favorite relationships in HDM that we see just briefly is between Asriel and the Master (Dr. Carne). Asriel seems to greatly respect the Master, even when he tries to kill him (in fact he shrugs it off as an understandable act). I am curious if you have any meta thoughts on their relationship? As a side note, one of my favorite headcannons is that Carne was Asriel's thesis advisor.

Yes, the advisor headcanon is one of my favourite too!!! I think the Master had a considerably close relationship with Asriel simply because I think he understands Asriel quite well for someone who barely knows him. So the advisor works well because I can see the Master trying to be like "you need to be more tame about your approach" and Asriel simply will not lmao

They are vastly different people, Asriel being almost an opposite to the Master, who is calm, resolute and has a clear head. He makes no unnecessary moves, he ponders but he also acts swiftly and he has a very clear vision of his priorities. The College comes first, then Lyra. I also think they were close but they had a rivalry which often ended their meetings with Asriel leaving and slamming the door on his way out.

With that in mind, I think the Master cared a lot about Asriel, especially about what Asriel's studies meant for the world; unlike Dr Carne, Asriel was unbending and he believe that a truce shouldn't exist with the Church, while the Master - in his political position as head of such an influential college - had to manage all sides and try not to upset them all at once. When the Master poisons him, there is a sense of dread about it, but he feels no regrets because he sees it as necessary. And Asriel doesn't care much about it because he knows that he is trying to do something dangerous and incredibly careless. He has no room within himself to feel mad about the Master.

I do like the Master a lot and I find the way he handles Asriel very interesting. He never had to take care of Lyra, mind you, he could've denied her sanctuary because as far as I understand, her status was never official; it was respected because of the law and because people fought for her safety. Yet the Master accepts the baby without much fuss, which I think it's very telling. Asriel gave her to him specifically, which meant he trusted the Master unconditionally. Lyra was his last and most valuable thing - even if he didn't see her like that himself - and he entrusted her to a man he trusted despite their differences. I also find it curious that the Master never told Lyra the truth about the money she is receiving, and while this is me stretching, I think he never told her about it because he didn't want her to think poorly to Asriel. I think he wanted to preserve Asriel's dignity in Lyra's eyes, because they both cared for her and she was the only common ground they ever had.