A girl with blond hair and pale blue eyes, Lira Belakva, is the main character in the works of the fairy tale and fantasy genre of the writer Philip Pulman under the general title Dark Beginnings. The main character of the film "Golden Compass" was played by actress Dakota Blue Richards. Her character is the daughter of Lord Azriel and Marisa Colter, a friend of Will Parry. The mistress of Daimon (the animal, which is another essence of its owner) Panteleimon - pine marten.
The story of the birth of the heroine Lira Belakva
The girl was born in 1985. Her father is Lord Azriel, her mother is Marisa Colter, the wife of Edward Colter. The mother of the girl, whose golden monkey is the deamon , in her young years unlearned at St. Sophia College. He is the author of the scientific work “Benin's Copper Clock”. Marisa Colter, a woman with an ambitious character, became the wife of the influential politician Edward Colter, however, she gave birth to her daughter, Lira Belakva from Lord Azriel, being then married to another person.
Frightened that her husband, in a fit of jealousy, could harm the newborn, Marisa instructs her daughter to be raised by a gypsy-born nurse, Ma Coste. However, her husband still finds out where the tiny Lira Belakva is. The wounded and angry husband of Marisa Colter goes to the house where the nurse and the girl are hiding, but he is stopped by Lord Azriel, who, trying to save his daughter, challenges his opponent to a duel. Clarification of the relationship between the two heroes ends with the death of Edward Colter.
Lord Azriel, as a punishment for this, was later deprived of his property, and his child, Lira Belacqua, was decided to be settled in a monastery. However, the Lord nevertheless achieves that Lyra becomes a student of Jordan College, which the writer calls one of the richest and most majestic institutions. According to the author, the college buildings were "sloppy grandeur."
Continuation of the story of Lyre
When the girl turns 12, Lady Colter attends Jordan College, then expressing her intention to take Lira with her, so that, as she spoke, to help her with the fees, and then become her companion on a trip to the North.
However, the main character of this story suspects that Marisa Colter, who, as it turns out later, is connected with the so-called Sacrificial Council, an organization conducting experiments on abducted children, is completely dishonest with her. Lira Belakva, along with her daemon, escapes.
College life
Lyra, while studying, did not know who her real parents were, she thought she was an orphan, and her dad and mother died in a plane crash. About who she really is, the girl learns only after meeting with the gypsy king, John Faa. Lira Belakva, a curious, independent girl with leadership qualities, was not a disciplined student. She showed her outstanding abilities only when she was interested. Lira often spent time with her friend Roger Parslow, who was always her faithful companion in search of adventure.
Once a girl and her pine marten hide in a restroom, which is strictly forbidden to women, and watch the magister, whose daimon is a raven, pour poison into the decanter to poison Lord Azriel. Lira Belakva a little later interferes with the master’s insidious plans, and on the Day of the Horse Fair, she learns that her friend and another child become prisoners of the Sacrificial Council.
Magic compass
It is the master who gives the girl a mysterious object that looks like a compass, which in this story is called the “golden aletiometer”. Lira Belacqua soon afterwards finds out that this is a piece of gold. The master forbade the girl to show his lady Colter, as it is intended to indicate the truth.
How to use Lira Belakva's gold compass and what is it? One of the arrows, of which there are only three in the aletiometer, must be installed on any of the symbols located around the dial and ask a question of interest. Not everyone knows how to use this device, but Lyra has a gift that allows her to use the golden compass to see both the past and the future, more precisely, all kinds of options.
Some symbols of the golden compass:
- Hourglass means death, change, time.
- Symbols of Alpha and Omega indicate completeness, process, inevitability.
- The snake symbolizes wisdom, evil.
- A helmet indicates war or defense against attack.
- The moon is a symbol of the golden compass, denoting a secret, mystery.
- The bird is spring, marriage.
- The ant symbolizes boredom and diligence.
Way to the North
Lira Belakva, after escaping from her mother, meets gypsies, with whom she later goes to the Northern Lands. During a trip, she met in the city of Trollsund with a polar drunken bear, Yorek Bernison, the heir to the bear’s throne, expelled from her country for the murder. The girl helps to return the battle armor to her new friend, who, in gratitude for this, expresses her willingness to help her release the children abducted by the Sacrificial Council.
About the film
The American-British film "Golden Compass" of the fantasy genre was released in late November 2007. The actress from Britain Dakota Blue Richards played Lira Belakwa. A movie with a budget of $ 180 million was also starred by Nicole Kidman, Ben Walker, Daniel Craig, Eva Green and others. The picture won an Oscar in 2008 as a winner in the Best Visual Effects category. In the same year, the work was awarded the prize of the British Academy in a similar category. The film about the magical adventures of a girl with a golden compass and her friends raised $ 372 million in world box office distribution.
Actress Dakota Blue Richards
Actress Dakota Blue Richards admits that she loves to read Pullman’s works, loves the blue color and considers Hayao Miyazaki to be her favorite movie “The Walking Castle”. The actress was born on April 11, 1994 in South Kensington (England). To date, she starred in 14 cinematographic projects, including feature films "Young Morse", "Skins." First acted as a movie actress in 2007. In 2016, she appeared in the title role in the film Lady Fiction. The sign of the zodiac is Aries. The growth of the actress is 168 cm. At the time of writing, the actress was 23 years old.