Asriel, Lord
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Lord Asriel is a member of the Brytish (British) aristocracy in Lyra's world who created a large window into another world and went on to restart the rebellion against the Authority waged thousands of years ago. He is Lyra Belacqua's father and the lover of Marisa Coulter. He was described as having fierce power and intelligence and is greatly respected. In his notes, John Parry said that if there was one man who could defeat the Authority then it was Asriel.
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Appearance
Lord Asriel was a bold, middle-aged man who possessed great intelligence, determination, and strength. He had power in political, academic, and military areas and had a way of getting things he wanted whenever he wished. Asriel was described as being a mix between wild and tame personalities and has ambiguous morals, though he cares for the greater good. He made his way up the Brytish aristocracy and spent much of his time as an explorer and working in experimental theology. He found himself becoming an enemy of the Church and held religious subjects in contempt. He was particularly interested and had much knowledge in Dust and parallel worlds, the latter of which earned him the esteem of the witches. He knew the Scholars in Jordan College.
With his knowledge of other worlds and Dust Lord Asriel made his way to another universe where he set up his Republic of Heaven in the latter two books. There he would wait until the Authority attacked so that he could try to kill God, which was why the Church and other powerful people feared him. He allied himself with the rebel angels and enlisted several armies from many different worlds and different species to fight for him, building a huge basalt fortress in an uninhabited world.
Relations
He never married but has loved many, including Marisa Coulter and the witch Ruta Skadi. Mrs Coulter was married at the time and had Lord Asriel's illegitimate daughter, Lyra. Mr Coulter tried to take Lyra but Lord Asriel killed him and subsequently lost most of his possesions. Lyra was then taken into Jordan College to be raised and many were falsely told that Lord Asriel was instead Lyra's uncle and Lyra's parents died in a zeppelin accident. The gyptians where some who knew the truth. He had done much to help the gyptians, and they felt they were in his debt. His servant was Thorold. A good friend of his was King Ogunwe, an Afric king from his world, whom he had lead the non-angelic forces of the Republic's army.
History
Lord Asriel became a highly respected member of the Brytish aristocracy and did much work in experimental theology, acquiring much power in land and money. However, he lost this in court after murdering Mr Coulter, with whose wife he had an affair and a child, Lyra. Many were lied to and believed Lyra was his niece instead and her real parents died in a zeppelin crash.
After traveling to the North, Lord Asriel visited Jordan College and was almost poisoned by the Master, who read his alethiometer and found that Lord Asriel's actions would be dangerous. He was saved by Lyra, who saw this. He managed to gain money for an expedition using photograms of Dust and a city in the sky as well as the shock value of a decapitated head he said was Stanislaus Grumman's. He traveled to Svalbard but was imprisoned and guarded by the panserbjørne under Iofur Raknison due to the General Oblation Board, one of his enemies, run by his ex-lover, Mrs Coulter. He managed to get hospitable treatment and waited for a child to perform intercision on in order to harness the energy to open a window in the aurora. He got Roger, who was brought there by Lyra.
He entered Cittàgazze and gained the support of the rebel angels under Xaphania. He traveled to an empty world and built an enormous basalt fortress, gathering armies from many different worlds in order to start his rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven. Ruta Skadi found him and he told her his plan, also getting her clan's support in the war.
Later, he had his friends King Ogunwe and Lord Roke attempt to find Lyra, the second Eve, from Mrs Coulter. They captured Mrs Coulter, but Lyra and Will escaped with two of Lord Roke's agents. Lord Asriel then attended to Mrs Coulter and tried to influence Lyra and Will, as they held the key to renewing the Dust flow. Lord Asriel let Mrs Coulter escape in an Intention Craft and had Lord Roke follow her to gain information from the Consistorial Court of Discipline. They found that the Church made a bomb to kill Lyra and Lord Asriel rescued Mrs Coulter just in time, as well as destroying Saint-Jean-les-Eaux a moment too late with his intention craft.
Lyra survived, and Lord Asriel had his army search for her and Will's dæmons so that the Authority's armies couldn't control them. Lord Asriel found that the bomb blew a hole under all the worlds into the Abyss and came up with a plan to take down the Authority's powerful Regent, Metatron. As his army fought the armies of the Authority and the Church, Mrs Coulter tricked Metatron into trying to kill Lord Asriel and take Lyra's dæmon as he was on the edge of the Abyss. Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter almost sacrificed themselves when Will appear and kill Metatron with the subtke knife.
Symbolism
The name Lord Asriel could be derived from the Hebrew Asra'el, who, in the Jewish and Muslim tradition is the Angel of Death, who collects the souls of the dead. Also, the name Asriel is an anagram of Israel the son of John. The name Israel means 'struggled with god' in English.
Lord Asriel takes the place of Lucifer in Christianity, rebelling against God, a position also taken by Xaphania. Common attributes are charisma, ambiguous morals, and association with rebel angels, witches, and Gallivespians, Lilliputian creatures. Also, the world he sets up, his Republic of Heaven, is similar to Hell, with black stone and lava pits. While primarily being on the side of "good", he is responsible for much destruction including the murder of Roger and the atmospheric anomolies caused by his window, which is a metaphor for Global Warming. He is a believer in the Machiavellian philosophy of "the ends justify the means."
Dæmon
Lord Asriel's dæmon is Stelmaria, a beautiful, powerful snow leopard. She is a relatively quiet dæmon, and is calm and wise. Stelmaria has white fur and black spots. Her name is a variant of Stella Maris, Latin (Roman) for "star of the sea." It could also be seen as Italian, in which case it would apparently mean "Star Mary", which raises associations with the Star of Bethlehem and the Nativity. She symbolizes some parts of Lord Asriel's shadow side, as symbolized in pagan myth, and also the devil, as symbolized in Christianity.
Quotes
- "Humans can't see something without wanting to destroy it. That is original sin. I am going to find the source of Dust and destroy it. Death is going to die."
- "Marisa! Marisa!" -Last words.
Trivia
- The name Asriel could be derived from the Hebrew Asra'el, who, in the Jewish and Muslim tradition is the Angel of Death.
- In many ways Lord Asriel parallels John Parry. Both are being searched for by their offspring, who do not originally know who their fathers are, and are found at the end, at which time someone dies. They share many characteristics, both being strong and wise men.
- Lord Asriel is compared with many other strong male characters by Lyra, including John Faa and Iorek Byrnison.
Theories
One subject of theories has been what is meant when it is said that Lord Asriel had a way of getting things he wants whenever he wanted. Many take this to mean that he had special powers akin to that of a shaman. Some take it to mean that he has an intense connection to Dust, much like the Alethiometer, similar to the previous explanation. Some take this further and think that he communicated with angels. Others take it as a way of simply emphasizing how influential he was.
In the Adaptations
In the Movie Adaptations
While it was at first rumoured that Paul Bettany would play Lord Asriel, it was later confirmed that, while Paul Bettany was considered, Daniel Craig would play him. Daniel Craig is the sixth James Bond, making this the second time Lord Asriel has been played by a James Bond actor.
In the Stage Adaptations
Timothy Dalton, known for being the fourth James Bond, played Lord Asriel in the stage play.
In the Radio Adaptations
In the Fan Community
- Lord Asriel is also the alias of the founder and senior administrator of HisDarkMaterials.org
Sources
Some material in Dæmon, Symbolism, and Trivia taken from Wikipedia.
