Tings are unraveling in the concluding book of Pullman's latest trilogy, the second of Philip Pullman's grand trilogies set in a realm that manifests, now more than ever, as a energized and skewed version of our own. Establishments are failing, or reorganizing themselves along novel and disquieting lines. An hidden force "is ruining the air and the seasons"; at the same time, "currency is failing, and no one knows why". Control is draining from states, and pooling in the offices of theocrats, the coffers of business empires, the grasp of mobs. "An element is at work, very quietly, very subtly", says trader Mustafa Bey, keeping a watchful eye on the trade routes from his place in an Aleppo cafe. "Aspects we thought were firm and solid are weakening and collapsing."
The Central Mystery and Her Quest
Just what that something might be, and how to counteract it, is the mystery that animates the concluding book, which resumes where the previous book left off. This is, reportedly, the author's concluding venture into the intricately constructed, endlessly enchanting world he first introduced 30 years ago, with the publication of His Dark Materials. It's a realm whose geography aligns with that of this world, but whose chronicles tacks and jibes with ours; where the individuals look and think and act like us, but are paired by external spirits, essences in creature form; where the heavens are filled with sorceresses and gryphons, but underneath, transports are taken and tea is consumed, and mature academics carry Harrods shopping bags. Lyra, whom we first met as a child in the original trilogy, and then saw again as a infant in the prequel, the introductory book with which Pullman began this trilogy, is now a young woman: still recognisably the prickly and persistent protagonist of the prior volumes, but older, sadder, more careful, more doubtful. This restraint is amplified by her separation from her soul companion, Pantalaimon – but it was also, unexpectedly, the catalyst which caused him to abandon her in the first place.
Interwoven Plots
The daemon's resolve to depart in pursuit of that youthful part of the heroine which she may have forgotten (an aspect which he symbolizes as her "creativity"), and her mission to reconnect with him, were the driving forces of the prior book, which chronicled Lyra undertake a adventurous trek across the continent and into the mountain region, encountering with marvel and danger on the way. But from the start, deeper currents were in motion, and malevolent elements at work. The church authority – the faith's controlling power, and Pullman's deliciously chilling embodiment of strict, procedural wickedness – is under new leadership, and asserting its power. Marcel Delamare – the heroine's relative, who holds responsible her for his family member's death – has manoeuvred himself into the office of leader of the authority's ruling assembly, and is intent on using his recently acquired influence to extend the institution's rule. A key character, who rescued young Lyra to security along a flooded Thames as an child in the prequel, is now an academic with a additional duty in spycraft: he is assigned to the city to discover more about the antagonist's aims. And underlying all of this is the puzzle surrounding the scarce and precious rose oil which appears in some way to be the origin of a social and financial crisis rippling out from that area. The oil is seen by some as a commercial product, by others as a research-based or esoteric wonder, and by yet others – the zealous "highland figures" – as a origin of malevolence; an insult that must be eradicated. The issue of where it comes from, what it stands for, and if it should be eliminated or safeguarded is escalating in importance.
As in His Dark Materials, our protagonist's decisions, and her fate, are shown to be deeply linked with the fate of the realm
In The Secret Commonwealth, these narratives ran mostly in tandem. In the conclusion, they come together. Similar to His Dark Materials, the protagonist's choices and her destiny are unveiled to be deeply woven with the fate of the world. Her individual journey to reconnect with her daemon and rediscover her imagination becomes the central conflict in a broader battle with an authoritarian regime which, as such authorities typically do, is seeking to suppress independence of thought, innovation and culture: all the personal, resistant ways in which people can be free.
Atmospheric Fissures and Moral Battles
The novel starts with the finding of a series of curious fissures in the structure of the Earth's sky: portals that look to lead to alternate realities. A particular window manifests to be the origin of the fiercely disputed rose oil. The authority, with Delamare at its leadership, designates these portals as a threat to the institution's doctrine and sets out to destroy them. As the heroine begins to move from strict logic and return to instinct, nevertheless, her conviction that these locations must be defended – that their significance and what they offer is mysteriously vital – increases. "Cosmic particles, or the extract, or the vision, or the botanical realm, or whatever we label it," she says, "we need it." The scene for a philosophical conflict between innocence and knowledge is set.
Narrative Pacing and Protagonist Growth
At a substantial length, The Rose Field|this volume|the
