The Golden Compass

by

Philip Pullman

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Iorek Byrnison Character Analysis

A panserbjørne (armored bear) from Svalbard who was once a prince. Years before the start of the novel, Iorek wrongfully killed another bear in a suspicious incident, and as punishment was banished and had his armor taken away. When Lyra and Farder Coram find him, he's working in Trollesund as a metalworker in exchange for alcohol and meat, and the townsfolk have the armor he made himself in hiding. In this state without his armor, Iorek is a terrifying and uncanny sight. He's clearly not human, but he's also deeply unhappy and his unhappiness makes him even scarier. Lyra believes that he's so scary because he doesn't have a dæmon, but Iorek explains that bears' souls are contained in their armor rather than in a dæmon. With this information, Lyra helps Iorek get his armor back. This turns Iorek into Lyra's fiercest protector and a loyal, driven, and compassionate member of the gyptian rescue mission. Iorek is instrumental in teaching Lyra about how souls function for different races in their world, and specifically about how the bears' culture functions. He makes it clear that bears can't be tricked, and also offers insight into human evolution when he notes that human beings used to share this quality but have since lost it. Iorek is thrilled when he discovers that Lyra managed to trick Iofur Raknison, the king of the bears who desperately wants to be human, into agreeing to fight him in one-on-one combat. Because Iorek is comfortable in his armor and in his identity while Iofur isn't, Iorek wins the battle and assumes his rightful place as king of the bears. His loyalty to Lyra means that he continues to help her pursue her goals until he physically can't anymore.

Iorek Byrnison Quotes in The Golden Compass

The The Golden Compass quotes below are all either spoken by Iorek Byrnison or refer to Iorek Byrnison. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Childhood, Innocence, and Maturation Theme Icon
).
Chapter Ten Quotes

Lyra's heart was thumping hard, because something in the bear's presence made her feel close to coldness, danger, brutal power, but a power controlled by intelligence; and not a human intelligence, nothing like a human, because of course bears had no dæmons. The strange hulking presence gnawing its meat was like nothing she had ever imagined, and she felt a profound admiration and pity for the lonely creature.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Pan
Page Number: 179-80
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eleven Quotes

She felt angry and miserable. His badger claws dug into the earth and he walked forward. It was such a strange tormenting feeling when your dæmon was pulling at the link between you; part physical pain deep in the chest, part intense sadness and love. And she knew it was the same for him. Everyone tested it when they were growing up: Seeing how far they could pull apart, coming back with intense relief.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Pan
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:

"My armor is made of sky iron, made for me. A bear's armor is his soul, just as your dæmon is your soul. You might as well take him away"—indicating Pantalaimon—"and replace him with a doll full of sawdust. That is the difference."

Related Characters: Iorek Byrnison (speaker), Lyra, Pan
Page Number: 196-97
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twelve Quotes

"Because, Iorek, listen: I got this symbol reader that tells me things, you see, and it's told me that there's something important I got to do over in that village, and Lord Faa won't let me go there. He just wants to get on quick, and I know that's important too. But unless I go and find out what it is, we might not know what the Gobblers are really doing."

Related Characters: Lyra (speaker), Iorek Byrnison, Tony Makarios, The Gobblers
Related Symbols: The Alethiometer
Page Number: 206
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Thirteen Quotes

Her first impulse was to turn and run, or to be sick. A human being with no dæmon was like someone without a face, or with their ribs laid open and their heart torn out: something unnatural and uncanny that belonged to the world of night-ghasts, not the waking world of sense.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Pan, Tony Makarios, Ratter
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:

"How do you do that?"

"By not being human," he said. "That's why you could never trick a bear. We see tricks and deceit as plain as arms and legs. We can see in a way humans have forgotten. But you know about this; you can understand the symbol reader."

"That en't the same, is it?" [...]

"It is the same," he said. "Adults can't read it, as I understand. As I am to human fighters, so you are to adults with the symbol reader."

"Yes, I suppose," she said, puzzled and unwilling. "Does that mean I'll forget how to do it when I grow up?"

Related Characters: Lyra (speaker), Iorek Byrnison (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Alethiometer
Page Number: 226
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighteen Quotes

"When bears act like people, perhaps they can be tricked," said Serafina Pekkala. "When bears act like bears, perhaps they can't. No bear would normally drink spirits. Iorek Byrnison drank to forget the shame of exile, and it was only that which let the Trollesund people trick him."

Related Characters: Serafina Pekkala (speaker), Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Iofur Raknison
Page Number: 317
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty Quotes

But his armor was his soul. He had made it and it fitted him. They were one. Iofur was not content with his armor; he wanted another soul as well. He was restless while Iorek was still.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Iofur Raknison
Page Number: 349
Explanation and Analysis:

Because Iorek was moving backward only to find clean dry footing and a firm rock to leap up from, and the useless left arm was really fresh and strong. You could not trick a bear, but, as Lyra had shown him, Iofur did not want to be a bear. He wanted to be a man; and Iorek was tricking him.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Iofur Raknison
Page Number: 353
Explanation and Analysis:
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Iorek Byrnison Quotes in The Golden Compass

The The Golden Compass quotes below are all either spoken by Iorek Byrnison or refer to Iorek Byrnison. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Childhood, Innocence, and Maturation Theme Icon
).
Chapter Ten Quotes

Lyra's heart was thumping hard, because something in the bear's presence made her feel close to coldness, danger, brutal power, but a power controlled by intelligence; and not a human intelligence, nothing like a human, because of course bears had no dæmons. The strange hulking presence gnawing its meat was like nothing she had ever imagined, and she felt a profound admiration and pity for the lonely creature.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Pan
Page Number: 179-80
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eleven Quotes

She felt angry and miserable. His badger claws dug into the earth and he walked forward. It was such a strange tormenting feeling when your dæmon was pulling at the link between you; part physical pain deep in the chest, part intense sadness and love. And she knew it was the same for him. Everyone tested it when they were growing up: Seeing how far they could pull apart, coming back with intense relief.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Pan
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:

"My armor is made of sky iron, made for me. A bear's armor is his soul, just as your dæmon is your soul. You might as well take him away"—indicating Pantalaimon—"and replace him with a doll full of sawdust. That is the difference."

Related Characters: Iorek Byrnison (speaker), Lyra, Pan
Page Number: 196-97
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twelve Quotes

"Because, Iorek, listen: I got this symbol reader that tells me things, you see, and it's told me that there's something important I got to do over in that village, and Lord Faa won't let me go there. He just wants to get on quick, and I know that's important too. But unless I go and find out what it is, we might not know what the Gobblers are really doing."

Related Characters: Lyra (speaker), Iorek Byrnison, Tony Makarios, The Gobblers
Related Symbols: The Alethiometer
Page Number: 206
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Thirteen Quotes

Her first impulse was to turn and run, or to be sick. A human being with no dæmon was like someone without a face, or with their ribs laid open and their heart torn out: something unnatural and uncanny that belonged to the world of night-ghasts, not the waking world of sense.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Pan, Tony Makarios, Ratter
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:

"How do you do that?"

"By not being human," he said. "That's why you could never trick a bear. We see tricks and deceit as plain as arms and legs. We can see in a way humans have forgotten. But you know about this; you can understand the symbol reader."

"That en't the same, is it?" [...]

"It is the same," he said. "Adults can't read it, as I understand. As I am to human fighters, so you are to adults with the symbol reader."

"Yes, I suppose," she said, puzzled and unwilling. "Does that mean I'll forget how to do it when I grow up?"

Related Characters: Lyra (speaker), Iorek Byrnison (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Alethiometer
Page Number: 226
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighteen Quotes

"When bears act like people, perhaps they can be tricked," said Serafina Pekkala. "When bears act like bears, perhaps they can't. No bear would normally drink spirits. Iorek Byrnison drank to forget the shame of exile, and it was only that which let the Trollesund people trick him."

Related Characters: Serafina Pekkala (speaker), Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Iofur Raknison
Page Number: 317
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty Quotes

But his armor was his soul. He had made it and it fitted him. They were one. Iofur was not content with his armor; he wanted another soul as well. He was restless while Iorek was still.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Iofur Raknison
Page Number: 349
Explanation and Analysis:

Because Iorek was moving backward only to find clean dry footing and a firm rock to leap up from, and the useless left arm was really fresh and strong. You could not trick a bear, but, as Lyra had shown him, Iofur did not want to be a bear. He wanted to be a man; and Iorek was tricking him.

Related Characters: Lyra, Iorek Byrnison, Iofur Raknison
Page Number: 353
Explanation and Analysis: