Marisa Coulter facts for kids

Marisa Coulter (née Delamare) is a key character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials book series. She is one of the main antagonists, or villains, in the first book, Northern Lights. She was once in love with Lord Asriel and is often called "Mrs Coulter."

About Mrs. Coulter

Mrs. Coulter is 35 years old in the third book, The Amber Spyglass. She is described as being very beautiful and young. She has sleek black hair, though sometimes it is described as blonde or "golden."

She is shown as an elegant and calm person who is good at social situations. However, she is also very clever, wants power, and can be quite harsh. She has strong connections in the Church, which gives her a lot of freedom to do what she wants.

Mrs. Coulter arranged for Iorek Byrnison, who was meant to be the king of the Armoured bears, to be sent away from his home. She then planned to control the new king, Iofur Raknison, and make the bears work for her.

Mrs. Coulter's Dæmon

Mrs. Coulter's dæmon is a golden monkey with long fur. His name is not given in the books, but he was called "Ozymandias" in a radio show. This golden monkey can go much further away from Mrs. Coulter than other dæmons can from their humans. The books do not explain how he can do this.

At the end of the story, Mrs. Coulter makes peace with Lord Asriel. Together, they pull a powerful angel named Metatron into a never-ending deep hole. This means all three of them stop existing.

Her Relationship with Lyra

At the start of the book The Northern Lights, Mrs. Coulter shows a strong interest in Lyra. Later, it is revealed that Mrs. Coulter is actually Lyra's mother. She had Lyra with Lord Asriel. Her title "Mrs." comes from her marriage to Edward Coulter, who passed away before the books begin. In Northern Lights, a character named John Faa says that Mrs. Coulter fell in love with Asriel the moment they met.

Even though Lyra often dislikes and fears her mother, Mrs. Coulter saves Lyra many times. Early in The Northern Lights, Mrs. Coulter saves Lyra from a group of child-snatchers called the "Gobblers." She takes Lyra out of Oxford to keep her safe.

Later in The Northern Lights, Mrs. Coulter saves Lyra again from a process called "intercision." This process involves separating a child from their dæmon. Mrs. Coulter is very upset and cries out for Lyra. Lyra then wakes up in a soft bed. Mrs. Coulter tells Lyra she is safe and explains why children sometimes have their dæmons cut away.

In The Amber Spyglass, Mrs. Coulter faces a difficult choice between Lyra and the Church. The Church believes Lyra is like a new "Eve" and wants to stop her from bringing something called "original sin" back into the world. To protect Lyra, Mrs. Coulter takes her to a cave and keeps her safe there. She ultimately saves Lyra at the end of The Subtle Knife.

Adaptations

Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter in the film The Golden Compass.

• Emma Fielding played Mrs. Coulter in the BBC Radio 4 version of His Dark Materials.
• Alison Dowling voiced her in the Chivers Children's Audio Books. The author, Philip Pullman, narrated this version.
• Patricia Hodge played Mrs. Coulter in the first stage play of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre in London. Lesley Manville played her in the second run.
• Nicole Kidman played Mrs. Coulter in the movie The Golden Compass. Philip Pullman had said he wanted Kidman to play the role. Even though Kidman is blonde and the book describes Mrs. Coulter with black hair, Pullman approved the change. He even said he wished he had made her blonde in the first place.
• Ruth Wilson plays Mrs. Coulter in the 2019 BBC television show. Her dæmon was changed from a Golden Monkey to a Golden snub-nosed monkey in the show. This change was made to better show the two different sides of Mrs. Coulter's personality.