Things are collapsing in the final volume of Pullman's latest trilogy, the next of the author's masterful trilogies set in a universe that seems, here more than ever, as a charged and slanted version of our own. Establishments are failing, or restructuring themselves along new and troubling lines. An hidden force "is destroying the air and the seasons"; concurrently, "currency is failing, and no one knows why". Control is draining from governments, and accumulating in the chambers of theocrats, the coffers of business empires, the grasp of rioters. "Some force is at work, stealthily, very subtly", says merchant a merchant figure, keeping a vigilant eye on the ancient paths from his seat in an city cafe. "Elements we thought were secure and solid are weakening and collapsing."
Core Enigma and Lyra's Journey
Just what that element might be, and how to counteract it, is the inquiry that propels this final volume, which resumes where The Secret Commonwealth left off. This is, reportedly, Pullman's concluding venture into the carefully crafted, infinitely beguiling universe he first introduced in the distant past, with the publication of the first trilogy. It's a domain whose terrain aligns with that of the real world, but whose past diverges and shifts with ours; where the humans appear and reason and act like us, but are paired by animal souls, beings in beast form; where the skies are populated with enchantresses and legendary creatures, but below, transports are taken and drinks is consumed, and middle-aged academics carry luxury shopping bags. Our heroine, whom we first met as a child in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then revisited as a toddler in La Belle Sauvage, the prequel with which Pullman began the series, is now a young woman: still clearly the spiky and persistent heroine of the previous installments, but older, more sorrowful, more cautious, less sure. This restraint is heightened by her division from her animal guide, Pan – but it was also, paradoxically, the catalyst which made him desert her in the first place.
Converging Storylines
His choice to go off in quest of that youthful part of her which she may have forgotten (an trait which he epitomises as her "imagination"), and her mission to reunite with him, were the incitements of the prior book, which saw Lyra undertake a picaresque trek across Europe and into the mountain region, encountering with wonder and danger on the way. But from the start, underlying forces were in action, and sinister powers at work. The Magisterium – the religious governing authority, and the author's brilliantly sinister embodiment of strict, procedural malice – is under new leadership, and asserting its power. Lyra's uncle – Lyra's uncle, who faults her for his sibling's death – has worked himself into the position of head of the church's ruling assembly, and is intent on using his newfound influence to broaden the religion's rule. A key character, who carried baby the heroine to refuge along a flooded river as an child in La Belle Sauvage, is now an academic with a additional duty in espionage: he is dispatched to Geneva to learn more about his intentions. And behind all of this is the mystery surrounding the uncommon and precious essential oil which manifests in some way to be the cause of a societal and financial crisis spreading out from Central Asia. The substance is viewed by certain groups as a marketable product, by alternate groups as a empirical or esoteric wonder, and by others still – the extremist "mountain dwellers" – as a source of malevolence; an challenge that must be destroyed. The issue of its source, what it stands for, and whether it should be removed or preserved is becoming urgent.
Similar to the original trilogy, our protagonist's deeds, and her destiny, are demonstrated to be deeply entwined with the destiny of the realm
In The Secret Commonwealth, these storylines ran largely in side by side. In the conclusion, they merge. Similar to the first trilogy, Lyra's actions and her path are unveiled to be inseparably entwined with the destiny of the world. Her private mission to rejoin with her daemon and regain her vision becomes the central conflict in a larger conflict with an authoritarian regime which, as such authorities always have, is seeking to quell freedom of thinking, originality and culture: all the internal, defiant ways in which humans can be free.
Atmospheric Fissures and Ideological Conflicts
The story starts with the finding of a set of unusual fissures in the fabric of the world's air: portals that seem to give on to other worlds. An example of a portal seems to be the source of the much debated botanical substance. The Magisterium, with the antagonist at its leadership, labels these windows as a threat to the church's orthodoxy and endeavors to eliminate them. As our protagonist begins to move from inflexible rationalism and return to instinct, however, her conviction that these sites must be preserved – that their significance and what they offer is mysteriously crucial – increases. "The substance, or the substance, or the vision, or the field of roses, or no matter what we label it," she says, "we require it." The setting for a philosophical tussle between naivety and maturity is established.
Story Tempo and Character Development
At a substantial length, The Rose Field|this volume|the
