Marisa Coulter

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Marisa Coulter
Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter
First appearance	Northern Lights
Information
Gender	Female
Portrayed by	Nicole Kidman
Created by	Philip Pullman

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.

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, 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).

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 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 redeems herself when she 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.

Contents 1 Audiobook Adaptations 2 Film adaptation 3 Real-world Connections 4 References and notes

[edit] Audiobook 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 both versions with a full cast.

[edit] Film adaptation

On July 14, 2006, it was announced that actress Nicole Kidman is set to play Coulter in the forthcoming film adaptation, His Dark Materials: Northern Lights, 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.^[1]

[edit] Real-world Connections

It has been alleged that Phillip Pullman based Mrs. Coulter after the [American] radical political spokeswoman Ann Coulter. This has not yet been confirmed with the author.

[edit] References and notes

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: The Golden Compass
Games
The Golden Compass
Characters
Lyra Belacqua and Pantalaimon - 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 - Metatron
Other
Alethiometer - Dust - Æsahættr - Locations - Dæmons - Panserbjørne This box: view • talk • edit