Things are collapsing in the concluding book of The Dust Trilogy, the second of the author's magisterial trilogies set in a realm that seems, in this volume especially, as a intense and tilted version of our own. Institutions are failing, or restructuring themselves along novel and disquieting lines. An hidden force "is wrecking the air and the seasons"; at the same time, "wealth is decaying, and no one knows why". Authority is shifting from authorities, and pooling in the offices of religious leaders, the coffers of conglomerates, the control of crowds. "An element is at work, silently, imperceptibly", says trader a merchant figure, keeping a vigilant eye on the trade routes from his post in an city cafe. "Things we thought were secure and durable are faltering and giving way."
The Central Mystery and The Protagonist's Path
Precisely what that something might be, and how to counteract it, is the mystery that drives this final volume, which picks up where its predecessor ended. This is, according to many, Pullman's concluding foray into the elaborately built, deeply captivating universe he first unveiled in the distant past, with the release of the first trilogy. It's a domain whose geography corresponds to that of the real world, but whose past diverges and shifts with ours; where the humans look and think and behave like us, but are paired by animal souls, beings in creature form; where the air are filled with sorceresses and legendary creatures, but below, vehicles are caught and tea is consumed, and older academics carry Harrods shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first encountered as a 12-year-old in the original trilogy, and then revisited as a toddler in the prequel, the prequel with which Pullman began The Book of Dust, is now a young woman: still clearly the prickly and tenacious main character of the previous installments, but older, more sorrowful, warier, less certain. This restraint is heightened by her separation from her daemon, Pan – but it was also, ironically, the trigger which led him to leave her in the first place.
Converging Storylines
The daemon's resolve to leave in search of that youthful part of Lyra which she seems to have lost (an trait which he symbolizes as her "imagination"), and her journey to reunite with him, were the catalysts of The Secret Commonwealth, which followed the protagonist undertake a picaresque voyage across the continent and into the Caucasus, meeting with amazement and danger on the way. But from the start, profound shifts were in motion, and malevolent elements at work. The church authority – the faith's controlling power, and Pullman's brilliantly sinister incarnation of rigid, administrative wickedness – is under fresh command, and asserting its power. Marcel Delamare – our protagonist's family member, who blames her for his family member's death – has manoeuvred himself into the position of leader of the Magisterium's High Council, and is set on using his newfound authority to expand the institution's control. A key character, who saved infant Lyra to security along a flooded Thames as an young boy in La Belle Sauvage, is now an academic with a sideline in spycraft: he is sent to a key location to learn more about Delamare's plans. And underlying all of this is the mystery surrounding the scarce and precious rose oil which appears mysteriously to be the source of a societal and financial disturbance rippling out from the region. The oil is regarded by some as a marketable commodity, by different parties as a research-based or spiritual phenomenon, and by further factions – the fanatical "mountain dwellers" – as a origin of darkness; an affront that must be destroyed. The dilemma of where it comes from, its significance, and if it should be removed or protected is becoming urgent.
Like the first series, the heroine's actions, and her fate, are shown to be inextricably connected with the future of the world
In The Secret Commonwealth, these narratives ran largely in side by side. In this final book, they come together. Like the original series, Lyra's movements and her fate are shown to be deeply entwined with the destiny of the world. Her private journey to reunite with her soul and regain her creativity becomes the primary battleground in a larger battle with an authoritarian system which, as these systems always have, is attempting to stifle autonomy of thought, innovation and expression: all the personal, resistant ways in which people can be free.
Atmospheric Fissures and Ideological Conflicts
The story begins with the finding of a series of strange cracks in the fabric of the Earth's sky: gateways that appear to lead to different dimensions. An example of a window appears to be the origin of the highly contested botanical substance. The church, with the antagonist at its helm, designates these portals as a threat to the religion's beliefs and endeavors to eliminate them. As the heroine begins to shift from strict rationalism and back to intuition, however, her belief that these locations must be preserved – that their meaning and their value is somehow essential – strengthens. "Cosmic particles, or rose oil, or the imagination, or the field of roses, or whatever we name it," she says, "it is necessary." The scene for a philosophical conflict between purity and maturity is established.
Plot Rhythm and Character Development
At a substantial length, The Rose Field|this volume|the
