Marisa Coulter

Marisa Coulter
First appearance	Northern Lights/The Golden Compass
Last appearance	The Amber Spyglass
Cause/reason	A sacrifical tumble for her daughter's life, into a never-ending abyss
Created by	Phillip Pullman
Portrayed by	Nicole Kidman
Information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Spouse(s)	Mr Edward Coulter, Lord Asriel (lover), Lord Boreal (lover)
Children	Lyra Belacqua

Marisa Coulter is a fictional character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. In the series, she is usually referred to as Mrs. Coulter. She is initially presented as a clear-cut villain in the series, but has become one of the series's protagonists and an anti-heroine by the end.

Role in story

Though she seems very charming, it is quickly revealed that she has a darker, sinister side. Her dæmon is a golden furred and black-faced monkey with a cruel streak. He is unnamed in Pullman's trilogy but named Ozymandias in the BBC Radio drama. 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 Magisterium, thought by many to be based on the Catholic 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 the daughter of Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel. Later in the series, Coulter discovers the Church's true intentions: to kill Lyra. By then, she has grown to love the girl, so she kidnaps her and takes refuge in a cave. However, by that time, Lyra had begun to hate and mistrust her. Near the conclusion of The Amber Spyglass, Coulter and Lord Asriel give their lives to kill the Regent Metatron and save Lyra so that she may safely fulfill the prophecy and free the multiverse from the oppression of The Authority.

Adaptations

• Emma Fielding played Mrs Coulter in the BBC version of His Dark Materials.
• Alison Dowling plays her in the Chivers Children's Audio Books version. Author Philip Pullman narrates the latter with a full cast.
• Patricia Hodge played Marisa Coulter in the first run of the National Theatre play, and Lesley Manville played her in the second run.^[1]
• Nicole Kidman plays Mrs. Coulter in the film adaptation, The Golden Compass, with Daniel Craig joining her as Lord Asriel. Pullman had previously indicated that he would like to see Kidman play the role, although he had no role in the casting procedure.^[2]

Trivia

• Coulter came third in The Big Bad Read poll after Lord Voldemort and Sauron.

References and notes