Tings are collapsing in the last installment of Pullman's latest trilogy, the next of the author's magisterial trilogies set in a universe that appears, now more than ever, as a charged and slanted version of our own. Institutions are crumbling, or reorganizing themselves along new and disturbing lines. An invisible force "is ruining 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 halls of theocrats, the treasuries of conglomerates, the hands of rioters. "An element is at work, stealthily, gradually", says trader a trader character, keeping a observant eye on the trade routes from his post in an city cafe. "Elements we thought were stable and strong are deteriorating and failing."
Key Puzzle and Her Quest
Precisely what that element might be, and ways to oppose it, is the question that propels this final volume, which picks up where its predecessor ended. This is, according to many, Pullman's last foray into the intricately constructed, deeply captivating world he first revealed 30 years ago, with the launch of His Dark Materials. It's a world whose terrain aligns with that of the real world, but whose history veers and changes with ours; where the individuals appear and think and behave like us, but are paired by external spirits, souls in beast form; where the heavens are filled with sorceresses and gryphons, but underneath, transports are caught and tea is consumed, and older scholars carry fancy shopping bags. Our heroine, whom we first introduced to as a young girl in the first trilogy, and then revisited as a infant in the prequel, the introductory book with which the author began The Book of Dust, is now a adult: still recognisably the prickly and persistent protagonist of the earlier books, but more mature, melancholic, more cautious, less sure. This limitation is intensified by her division from her animal guide, Pan – but it was also, paradoxically, the catalyst which led him to leave her in the first place.
Interwoven Plots
Pan's decision to depart in search of that innocent part of Lyra which she appears to have shed (an quality which he represents as her "vision"), and her journey to rejoin with him, were the driving forces of its predecessor, which saw Lyra undertake a picaresque voyage across the continent and into the Caucasus, facing with amazement and danger on the way. But from the outset, deeper currents were in motion, and sinister powers at work. The Magisterium – the church's ruling body, and the author's deliciously chilling representation of strict, procedural malice – is under fresh command, and flexing its muscles. Marcel Delamare – our protagonist's relative, who faults her for his family member's death – has manoeuvred himself into the office of head of the church's governing body, and is set on using his fresh influence to broaden the religion's rule. Another protagonist, who saved baby the heroine to security along a overflowing Thames as an 11-year-old in La Belle Sauvage, is now an academic with a sideline in espionage: he is sent to Geneva to discover more about Delamare's intentions. And underlying all of this is the mystery surrounding the scarce and precious essential oil which appears in some way to be the cause of a social and financial disturbance emanating out from the region. The oil is regarded by certain groups as a marketable commodity, by others as a scientific or esoteric phenomenon, and by yet others – the fanatical "mountain dwellers" – as a origin of darkness; an challenge that must be eradicated. The dilemma of its source, what it stands for, and if it should be removed or protected is becoming urgent.
Like the first series, Lyra's actions, and her destiny, are demonstrated to be inseparably linked with the future of the realm
In The Secret Commonwealth, these narratives ran mostly in side by side. In The Rose Field, they converge. Similar to the original series, Lyra's movements and her path are unveiled to be inseparably linked with the future of the universe. Her individual mission to reunite with her soul and rediscover her creativity becomes the central battleground in a broader war with an oppressive government which, as such authorities always have, is striving to stifle independence of reason, originality and culture: all the inner, rebellious ways in which people can be liberated.
Atmospheric Fissures and Ideological Conflicts
The story opens with the discovery of a set of strange openings in the fabric of the planet's atmosphere: gateways that appear to open into different dimensions. An example of a window manifests to be the source of the fiercely disputed mystical extract. The authority, with the antagonist at its head, classifies these openings as a threat to the church's orthodoxy and sets out to eliminate them. As our protagonist begins to shift from strict rationalism and return to intuition, yet, her certainty that these places must be preserved – that their significance and what they offer is in some way essential – increases. "The substance, or the extract, or the imagination, or the field of roses, or no matter what we name it," she says, "we need it." The scene for a poetic struggle between purity and experience is prepared.
Story Tempo and Character Development
At 640 pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the
