I dislike Lyra and Will's relationship.

[MojaveByrd]

Well, one of the things not covered in this theory of parallel worlds is the possibility of people having their equivalents there. It is touched upon but not on an individual level. Lyra didn't meet herself in Will's world but the idea of religion has its parallels in both worlds. Perhaps Will is Lyra in that sense. Just a wild thought and I didn't express it as well as I thought it.

[AUST]

well said aust. so lyra does a lot for will as well as him helping her out when she screws up.

so how did she ever live with out him? (see NL - how to hijack a boat) i'd say they're almost like two parts of one person, much like a person and their dæmon.

Thatsa very intresting idea; but I don't agree. I see them more as ying and yang, they are different but cover each others weaknesses. They are very different but come together perfectly, though I think Lyra dominates their realtionship.

[Valrad]

Everyone who posted above has made some very good and viable points, so there isn't much for me to add, but I'd like to say a couple of words about Lyra. In NL, she is indeed how the ones above me described her, and she has some flaws of her own, but what I didn't really like in NL was that she was always right. What I really liked about TSK is that she lost the alethiometer, she made a mistake which could not be fixed by her. She needed help for it, and it came from Will. Needing help to solve a problem makes a character more real for me, because you can't do anything on your own every time.

[Peter]

Everyone who posted above has made some very good and viable points, so there isn't much for me to add, but I'd like to say a couple of words about Lyra. In NL, she is indeed how the ones above me described her, and she has some flaws of her own, but what I didn't really like in NL was that she was always right. What I really liked about TSK is that she lost the alethiometer, she made a mistake which could not be fixed by her. She needed help for it, and it came from Will. Needing help to solve a problem makes a character more real for me, because you can't do anything on your own every time.

And I think that that kind of character development is one that you would only get from a left-leaning English intellectual writer like PP. You can't imagine anyone of the rugged individualist persuasion taking that line, can you, however much some people might prefer it if Lyra took the self-help, twelve-step path to personal fulfillment.