The Golden Compass: Chapter Thirteen Summary & Analysis

Lyra feels ill and afraid; a human without a dæmon is unnatural and horrid. The boy introduces himself as Tony Makarios and asks for Ratter. Lyra and Pan rush outside and sit in the snow for a minute to collect themselves. Then, Lyra calls for Tony to come out. He follows Lyra and shows no fear or emotion when he sees Iorek. He continues to ask for Ratter. The villager asks Iorek to pay for Tony's fish, but Lyra refuses. Lyra helps Tony onto Iorek and scrambles up behind him. Pan huddles in Lyra's hood, sad and wishing he could cuddle Tony.

When they catch up with the gyptians, the men fall back in horror at the sight of Tony Makarios. Lyra explains that the Gobblers cut children's dæmons away. Iorek reprimands the men for shying away from Tony. The men build up the fire and warm soup. Lyra starts to fall asleep before she can mention the witches, so she asks Iorek to tell John Faa and thanks him for helping her. When Lyra wakes up, Farder Coram approaches. Lyra begins to tell him how she misinterpreted the alethiometer's reading about Tony, but Farder Coram says that Tony died an hour ago. The ground is too hard for a grave, so they're going to cremate him. He praises Lyra for saving him.

Lyra asks to see Tony Makarios's body. He looks like any other human in death. She hugs Pan and thinks of Tony's fish. She pulls the blanket down and sees that his fish is gone. Lyra turns on the men and asks where his fish went. Some start to laugh, but one man explains that he fed it to his dog, thinking that Tony was just eating it. Lyra fishes for a coin in her pocket and borrows the man's knife. She carves Ratter's name into the coin, just like the Jordan Scholars, and puts the coin in Tony's mouth.

Back at the fire, Lyra sips soup and she and Farder Coram discuss the witches and where they might've been going. They all stand respectfully while Tony Makarios's body is cremated, and then they head north. During one stop, Lyra asks Farder Coram about the clockwork fly-spy and where it is. When he's not looking, she snatches the tin out of his bag and asks Iorek to help her create a decoy tin to leave with Farder Coram, as well as another larger tin to put the fly-spy in. She sits with the bear and asks Iorek if he's lonely without a dæmon. He says he doesn't know what lonely means, just like he doesn't feel cold. He says that bears are solitary creatures.

Lyra asks about the Svalbard bears, which live together. Iorek doesn't respond, and Lyra apologizes for offending him. She explains that Lord Asriel is a captive on Svalbard and Iorek claims to know nothing, as he's no longer a Svalbard bear: he killed another bear and has been sent away and deprived of his wealth and armor as punishment. Lyra is awed, as this is also what happened to Lord Asriel. The two discuss Svalbard's geography, and then Lyra asks where Iorek got this set of armor. He explains that he made it himself from sky metal. Lyra is impressed that bears can make their own souls.

They discuss the king of the bears and Iorek says that the king's name is Iofur Raknison. Lyra remembers that she heard the name in the Retiring Room. She tries to remember what the Palmerian Professor said about Iofur. Iorek says that if the bears have Lord Asriel, he's never getting out. Lyra asks if the bears could be tricked. Iorek shows Lyra his claws and says that bears can't be tricked. He proves this by inviting Lyra to fence with him. Lyra jabs at him with a stick, cautiously and then furiously. Iorek blocks every attempt, and explains that he can do this because he's not human: bears can see through tricks. He says it's similar to how Lyra can interpret the alethiometer as a child, while adults can't. Puzzled, Lyra wonders if she'll stop being able to read it when she grows up.

At the next stopping point, Lee Scoresby plans to take his balloon up and spy from the air. They forbid Lyra from joining him, but she pesters him with questions about Svalbard, what would happen if Iorek wanted to go back, and how to inflate a balloon. Lyra also asks about the Tartars and the holes they drill in their skulls. Scoresby explains that the Tartars do it to each other so they can talk to the gods. Lyra asks if Scoresby knew Grumman, and says that she saw his head. Scoresby says that since Grumman was an honorary Tartar, the Tartars must not have scalped him. Scoresby suggests that the head that Lord Asriel showed wasn't Grumman's head at all.