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Dr. Grumman
Billy and Tony Costa's mother. She's a large and imposing woman known for both walloping naughty children and giving them sweets. Lyra has a healthy fear of Ma Costa—the summer before the novel begins, she tried to steal Ma Costa's narrow boat. Ma Costa, however, doesn't hold grudges; she's happy to house and conceal Lyra after Lyra escapes from Mrs. Coulter. Lyra later learns that this is because Ma Costa nursed her as an infant.
Ma Costa Quotes in The Golden Compass
The The Golden Compass quotes below are all either spoken by Ma Costa or refer to Ma Costa. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter Three
Quotes
Lyra was frightened. No one worried about a child gone missing for a few hours, certainly not a gyptian: in the tight-knit gyptian boat world, all children were precious and extravagantly loved, and a mother knew that if a child was out of sight, it wouldn't be far from someone else's who would protect it instinctively.
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Chapter Seven
Quotes
Indeed, Tony heard from gossip in pubs along the way that the police were making raids on houses and farms and building yards and factories without any explanation, though there was a rumor that they were searching for a missing girl. And that in itself was odd, considering all the kids that had gone missing without being looked for.
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Get the entire The Golden Compass LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ma Costa Quotes in The Golden Compass
The The Golden Compass quotes below are all either spoken by Ma Costa or refer to Ma Costa. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter Three
Quotes
Lyra was frightened. No one worried about a child gone missing for a few hours, certainly not a gyptian: in the tight-knit gyptian boat world, all children were precious and extravagantly loved, and a mother knew that if a child was out of sight, it wouldn't be far from someone else's who would protect it instinctively.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Seven
Quotes
Indeed, Tony heard from gossip in pubs along the way that the police were making raids on houses and farms and building yards and factories without any explanation, though there was a rumor that they were searching for a missing girl. And that in itself was odd, considering all the kids that had gone missing without being looked for.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
