The Golden Compass: Chapter Eleven Summary & Analysis

Back at the ship, Lyra consults the alethiometer and figures out where Iorek's armor is and why it will be difficult to retrieve. She decides to let John Faa ask if he needs her help and falls asleep thinking of how different Iorek is from humans. Lyra wakes in the middle of the night, puts on her new furs, and climbs onto the deck. There, she clutches the railing in awe of the beautiful Aurora (the northern lights). It looks like both Heaven and Hell, and Lyra thinks that it seems almost holy. She thinks that it might be Dust, but then promptly forgets the thought. A city then appears in the sky—but as Lyra watches, something flies toward her. When the gray goose lands on the ship, the city disappears.

The goose is clearly a dæmon. He asks for Farder Coram and Lyra stumbles over herself to comply. She's fascinated and terrified. Farder Coram and John Faa join her on the deck and Farder Coram calls the goose Kaisa. Kaisa looks at Lyra, says he knows who she is, and asks if the gyptians are here to fight. Farder Coram says they're here to rescue children and need the witches' help, but Kaisa says that some clans are working with the "Dust hunters." He doesn't know if the Dust hunters and the Oblation Board are the same, but they arrived ten years ago to study Dust. Kaisa explains that Dust comes from the sky and inspires fear in humans who know about it. He came to show Farder Coram how to get to Bolvanger, where the Dust hunters are set up.

Kaisa explains that they don't know what the Dust hunters do at Bolvanger, but it emanates hatred and fear. The Dust hunters have a group of armed Tartars and a wire fence. Lyra asks why the witches know about her. Kaisa says that it's because of Lord Asriel and what he knows about the other worlds. Lyra asks if he means the city in the Aurora, and Kaisa confirms this. He says that the witches have known about the other worlds for millennia. They're easier to see in the Aurora because of the way the particles make this world thin. He's not sure if it has to do with Dust, but the Dust hunters are afraid of Lord Asriel's goal of building a bridge between the worlds. This is why the Magisterium orchestrated the crowning of the current bear king to keep Lord Asriel captive.

Lyra asks which side the witches are on. Kaisa says that it's complicated, as the witches are divided and there would be a huge advantage to whoever possessed the bridge to the other worlds. Lyra asks where the bears' allegiances lie, and Kaisa says that they normally don't care about human problems, but their new king is changing things. Regardless, the bears will hold Lord Asriel until they all die. At this, Lyra cries out that Iorek isn't like that and is going to help them. Farder Coram uncomfortably tells Lyra that this isn't true; Iorek is an indentured laborer and dangerous. Lyra says that the alethiometer told her something different. Farder Coram says that the townspeople only haven't killed Iorek as punishment for killing people because they need him to work metal. Lyra promises to keep Iorek from hurting anyone.

Everyone turns to Kaisa, who says that the witches are interested in Lyra in part because of the alethiometer. Farder Coram suggests that they trust Lyra and Iorek, and they ask Kaisa for his opinion. Kaisa says that they'll need to make their own choices, but an outcast bear may be less reliable. Then, he tells them how to reach Bolvanger. Lyra sits back and thinks of a bridge between two worlds, her brilliant father, and she vows to take him the alethiometer and free him from the bears.

Lyra wakes up after noon and finds the rest of the gyptians mostly ready to go. She joins Tony Costa and his friends in a cafe and tells him all about Iorek. A tall lean man with a hare dæmon sits down, introduces himself as Lee Scoresby, the balloonist, and says that he knows Iorek. He invites the gyptians to play cards with him while his dæmon motions to Pan. The hare tells Pan to go to Iorek immediately: as soon as the town figures out what's going on, they'll move his armor. Lyra and Pan leave immediately for Iorek's workplace. They stand far away and Lyra watches the bear dismantle a crushed tractor. Iorek notices Lyra and as he looks at her, Lyra feels terrified and decides to not speak to him.

Pan, however, says that he'll talk to Iorek. He flies as a bird over the chain link fence, but Lyra doesn't follow. He turns into a badger. Dæmons can't get more than a few yards from their person, so Lyra knows he's going to pull her. As they draw apart, Lyra's chest aches with sadness, love, and physical pain. Lyra sobs and races through the gate to Pan. Iorek watches as Lyra and Pan comfort each other and then turn to him. Lyra thinks he looks so alone. She tells him that she knows where his armor is.

Lyra asks why Iorek doesn't make more armor. He shows her how weak normal metal is. He explains that his armor is made of “sky iron,” and says this it's his soul, just like a dæmon is a human's soul. Making new armor out of normal metal would be like replacing Pan with a stuffed animal. Lyra makes Iorek promise to not hurt anyone out of vengeance and tells him his armor is in the priest's house. The priest has been trying to exorcise a spirit out of it. Iorek tells Lyra he owes her a debt and pads away. Lyra follows and watches the sentries in town realize what's happening. Lyra reaches the house to see the front door torn off. A sentry enters and the house seems to shake as Iorek bursts through a ground-level window. In his armor, he's terrifying.

The policemen and the sentry shoot at Iorek, but he brushes off the bullets and grabs the sentry's head in his jaws. Lyra darts forward and touches the only fur she can see through his armor. She fiercely reminds the bear that he owes her and that he promised to not hurt these men. Iorek slowly drops the man and follows Lyra to the harbor. There, Iorek pulls off his armor and slips into the water as the gyptians watch. Lyra tells Tony Costa what happened as a crowd begins to gather. She turns back to Iorek's armor to find Lee Scoresby sitting on top of it with a long pistol. He reprimands the townsfolk for how they treated Iorek, as Iorek returns with a seal he’s caught. The bear then carefully packs seal blubber into the joints of his armor.

John Faa and Farder Coram, along with the town's “sysselman” (the head of the local government), arrive. The sysselman warns Iorek that if he returns they'll be merciless, but Iorek ignores him. The townsfolk wander away and Lyra realizes that Iorek was right: the armor is his soul; he cares for it like she cares for Pan. John Faa calls everyone to prepare to leave and in a half an hour, they leave the town. Lyra falls asleep. Pan decides to tell her later that a monkey-like figure is following them.