Marisa Coulter is a fictional character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and one of the main antagonists of Northern Lights. She is the former lover of Lord Asriel and is usually called "Mrs Coulter".
Description
Mrs Coulter is described as being 35 years old in the third novel, The Amber Spyglass. She is described as appearing "beautiful and young" with "sleek black hair" that "framed her cheeks" and slim, though later accounts of her describe her as having blonde or "golden" hair. Such details of a character's physical appearances are uncommon in His Dark Materials. There is a reference in Lyra's Oxford to Mrs Coulter having written an academic work called 'The Bronze Clocks of Benin'. In the books she is portrayed as an elegant and cool-minded sophisticate with social savoir faire, but she is also calculating, power-hungry and ruthless. She has political connections, and is highly placed and trusted in the Church's hierarchy, who give her a large degree of autonomy. She arranges for Iorek Byrnison, the heir to the throne of the Armoured bears to be exiled, and plots to dominate the new king, turning the bears into her subordinates. When Lyra is in danger in Bolvangar, her maternal instincts override her other loyalties and she rescues Lyra, although in the second book of the trilogy she still expresses no qualms about killing her to prevent the Fall. However, by the third book she finds herself torn, ultimately feigning loyalty to betray the Church and finally giving up her life for Lyra's sake. Metatron, the Regent of the Authority describes her character in "the most searching examination Marisa Coulter had ever undergone", stripping away "all shelter and deceit" and describing that he sees: Despite this, Metatron describes her as lovelier than any wife he had, and he wishes to take her as his consort. This is her final deception as by this point she intends to betray Metatron himself in order to safeguard her daughter. She describes her self-perception to Asriel just prior to their joint sacrifice: Mrs Coulter's dæmon takes the form of a golden monkey with long fur, who is not named in the books, but was given the name "Ozymandias" in the radio adaptation. The golden monkey is shown to be capable of going much further from Mrs Coulter than other dæmons are able to separate from their humans. How the golden monkey can go so far from Mrs Coulter is not explained, Mrs Coulter has not undergone any of the processes which enable other humans to achieve such separation. Her final act in the trilogy occurs when she is reconciled with Asriel, and they together drag Metatron into an endless abyss, the three thus ceasing to exist.
In the beginning of the book The Northern Lights Marisa Coulter seems to have a keen interest in Lyra. It is then revealed that Coulter is in fact Lyra's mother by her love affair with Lord Asriel In Northern Lights it is stated by John Faa that she fell in love with Asriel as soon as they met. Although throughout most of the series Lyra hates and fears her mother, Mrs Coulter repeatedly saves Lyra. At the beginning of The Northern Lights Mrs Coulter saves Lyra from the Gobblers by taking her out of Oxford, and nearing the end of The Northern Lights, Mrs Coulter yet again saves Lyra from having her daemon cut away. A distraught Mrs Coulter cries out for Lyra, and Lyra passes out. When Lyra suddenly opens her eyes again, she is lying in a soft, comfortable bed. Mrs Coulter immediately reassures Lyra she's safe and, on her daughter's instruction, explains to her gently why children have to be intercised at such a young age, commenting on their "unhappy thoughts and feelings". Mrs Coulter is ultimately forced to make choice between Lyra and the church when it is revealed that Lyra is the new "Eve" whose death will be sought by the Church to prevent original sin re-entering the world. Coulter takes Lyra to a cave and keeps her drugged there at the beginning of The Amber Spyglass and ultimately saves Lyra at the end of The Subtle Knife.
Nicole Kidman played Mrs Coulter in the film adaptation, The Golden Compass. Pullman had previously indicated that he would like to see Kidman play the role. Kidman is blonde, though Pullman approved of the hair colour change made from the book's description, saying he regretted not making her blonde in the first place.
