Pan Character Analysis in The Golden Compass

Lyra's dæmon; his full name is Pantalaimon. Though he can still change his form since Lyra hasn't yet reached puberty, Pan spends much of his time as an ermine or wildcat—or, when he and Lyra are scared or upset, as a mean polecat. Pan balances out Lyra's wild nature by stubbornly encouraging her to follow the rules and stay out of other people's business. He has keen instincts when it comes to evaluating other people and understands long before Lyra does that Mrs. Coulter and her golden monkey are entirely uninterested in taking him and Lyra to the North. He recognizes that Mrs. Coulter wants to simply turn Lyra into a pretty pet. As a dæmon, Pan can see and sense things that Lyra can't as a human. He's extremely put off when Lyra switches around coins representing dead Scholars' dæmons in the crypts at Jordan, as he recognizes the importance of having one's dæmon, even in death. He also becomes hysterical when they find Tony Makarios, who has no dæmon. Pan and Lyra love each other fiercely and vow often that they'll never be separated, a promise that comes into question when doctors at Bolvanger discover Lyra eavesdropping and unsuccessfully attempt to perform intercision on Lyra and Pan. As children, Pan and Lyra often test the limits of how far they can separate from each other and how much pain they can cause. Following Roger's death, Pan seems to come around more to Lyra's adventurous nature and suggests that they step into the other world so that they can find the source of Dust.

Pan Quotes in The Golden Compass

The The Golden Compass quotes below are all either spoken by Pan or refer to Pan. 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

"I didn't have anything in mind, and well you know it," she snapped quietly. "But now I've seen what the Master did, I haven't got any choice. You're supposed to know about conscience, aren't you? How can I just go and sit in the library or somewhere and twiddle my thumbs, knowing what's going to happen? I don't intend to do that, I promise you."

Related Characters: Lyra (speaker), Pan, The Master, Lord Asriel

Page Number and Citation: 9

Explanation and Analysis:

Once Lyra and Pan find themselves stuck in the Retiring Room and witness the Master poison wine intended for Lord Asriel, Lyra insists that they have a responsibility to save Lord Asriel. The way that Lyra chastises Pan sheds light on the role that a dæmon is supposed to play for people in Lyra's world. As her dæmon, he's supposed to function as her conscience and, under most circumstances, she'd expect her conscience to take issue with poisoning someone. However, the fact that Pan positions himself as opposing Lyra in this situation suggests that due to their age, Pan is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium r

Mrs. Coulter came into the bathroom to wash Lyra's hair, and she didn't rub and scrape like Mrs. Lonsdale either. She was gentle. Pantalaimon watched with powerful curiosity until Mrs. Coulter looked at him, and he knew what she meant and turned away, averting his eyes modestly from these feminine mysteries as the golden monkey was doing. He had never had to look away from Lyra before.

Related Characters: Lyra, Pan, Mrs. Coulter, The Golden Monkey, Mrs. Lonsdale

Page Number and Citation: 77

Explanation and Analysis:

When Mrs. Coulter washes Lyra's hair, she makes Pan look away from Lyra's body in the bath. The simple fact that Mrs. Coulter sees fit to force this issue makes it clear that Lyra is quickly approaching puberty and that her body will soon begin to change. Forcing Pan to look away, however, also speaks to the idea that part of growing up and becoming adult means experiencing shame surrounding one's body, something that the novel later suggests is the work of original sin. Forcing this kind of shame and modesty on Lyra at this point, before she's totally ready Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea susc

He had to stay close to the ship, of course, for he could never go far from her; but she sensed his desire to speed as far and as fast as he could, for pure exhilaration. She shared his pleasure, but for her it wasn't simple pleasure, for there was pain and fear in it too. Suppose he loved being a dolphin more than he loved being with her on land? What would she do then?

Related Characters: Lyra, Pan, Jerry

Page Number and Citation: 166

Explanation and Analysis:

On the ship headed to Trollesund, Pan experiments with taking a dolphin form, which both exhilarates and worries Lyra. Some of Lyra's fear is that she might grow up to be someone she's not sure she wants to be—specifically in this case, someone who must spend all her time on the water. The simple fact that Lyra never seems to share her fears with Pan about this indicates that there might be more separation between human and dæmon than the reader had previously been led to believe, and it also suggests that Lyra doesn't have much control over what form Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi n

"Anyway, there's compensations for a settled form."

"What are they?"

"Knowing what kind of person you are. Take old Belisaria. She's a seagull, and that means I'm kind of a seagull too. I'm not grand and splendid nor beautiful, but I'm a tough old thing and I can survive anywhere and always find a bit of food and company. That's worth knowing, that is. And when your dæmon settles, you'll know the sort of person you are."

Related Characters: Lyra (speaker), Jerry (speaker), Pan

Page Number and Citation: 167

Explanation and Analysis:

When Jerry the sailor notices that Lyra seems worried that Pan is experimenting with being a dolphin, he kindly gives her a pep talk and assures her that having a settled dæmon isn't a bad thing. As Jerry tells it, dæmons function as much as a person's conscience for the individual in question as they do as a window into the soul for others. This shows the reader that as they evaluate characters, it's important to look at their dæmons and the kind of qualities or lifestyle suggested by what a person's dæmon is. Importantly, Jerry makes it clear that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus volup

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, Pan, Iorek Byrnison

Page Number and Citation: 179-80

Explanation and Analysis:

When Lyra first meets Iorek, she finds him disturbing mostly because he's not human and doesn't have a dæmon. While Lyra isn't wrong, per se, that Iorek isn't human—he isn't—she’s partly wrong about what makes him so different and scary. Though she doesn't know it yet, Iorek doesn't possess his armor at this point, which contains his soul. With this knowledge, it's easy to see that Iorek simply looks cold and soulless to her. Lyra's fixation on the fact that Iorek doesn't have a dæmon speaks to her youth and innocence, as well as her identity as a human. She Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asp

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, Pan, Iorek Byrnison

Page Number and Citation: 195

Explanation and Analysis:

When Lyra refuses to approach Iorek, Pan decides to force the issue by trying to pull as far away from Lyra as he can, something that causes them both physical pain. His choice to pull her is a physical representation of the struggle that many people in the real world go through as they attempt to override emotions, instincts, or desires in order to do what they want to do or know they need to do. By suggesting that this is a normal part of being a child in Lyra's world, the book implies that doing this work means that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Pr

"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 and Citation: 196-97

Explanation and Analysis:

When Lyra approaches Iorek and asks why he doesn't make himself more armor, he explains the importance of creating armor out of sky iron (metal from a meteorite) and the role that armor plays in the bears' conception of self. By putting this information in terms of dæmons, Iorek frames things in a format that Lyra can understand—while she might not actually know what it’s like to not have a dæmon, she can guess. This allows her to empathize with Iorek and begin to see that he only seems so strange to her because he doesn't have his soul with Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaec

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, Tony Makarios, Ratter, Pan, Iorek Byrnison

Page Number and Citation: 214

Explanation and Analysis:

The narrator describes Lyra's reaction to finding Tony Makarios, a boy who underwent intercision and so doesn't have a dæmon. The physicality of Lyra's reaction suggests that what the Oblation Board is doing is something wholly evil and unnatural—it's something that, within the logic of this world, simply doesn't compute or is the stuff of nightmares. This should tell Lyra that the Magisterium more broadly is attempting to fundamentally change the population and how it functions so that it can better control people. Part of Lyra's disgust also comes from the fact that she knows that cutting people's dæmons away Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi n

"If he's got Dust and you've got Dust, and the Master of Jordan and every other grownup's got Dust, it must be all right. When I get out I'm going to tell all the kids in the world about this. Anyway, if it was so good, why'd you stop them doing it to me? If it was good, you should've let them do it. You should have been glad."

Related Characters: Lyra (speaker), Mrs. Coulter, Pan, The Gobblers, The Master

Related Symbols: Dust

Page Number and Citation: 283

Explanation and Analysis:

After Mrs. Coulter saves Lyra from undergoing intercision, Lyra hysterically calls Mrs. Coulter on her hypocrisy and demands to know what's so bad about Dust. Now that Mrs. Coulter has saved Lyra, it's easier for Lyra to see that Mrs. Coulter knows that intercision isn't safe or good; she's only still experimenting with it because she has access to children that society doesn't think are important, and are therefore essentially disposable lab subjects. Lyra, however, is Mrs. Coulter's daughter as well as a highborn child—and therefore, is considered too valuable to experiment with. Lyra's suggestion that Dust must be good Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque erro

"We've heard them all talk about Dust, and they're so afraid of it, and you know what? We believed them, even though we could see that what they were doing was wicked and evil and wrong...We thought Dust must be bad too, because they were grown up and they said so. But what if it isn't? What if it's—"

She said breathlessly, "Yeah! What if it's really good..."

Related Characters: Pan (speaker), Lyra (speaker), Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter, The Gobblers

Related Symbols: Dust

Page Number and Citation: 398

Explanation and Analysis:

After Roger's death and after Lord Asriel enters the world in the Aurora, Lyra and Pan deduce that Dust might not actually be a bad thing. This is a wildly heretical thought, as it suggests that original sin (as represented by Dust) isn't actually bad—instead, it's what makes humans human. The fact that Lyra realizes this makes it clear that while she's still a child at this point, she now understands that it's necessary to grow up and that doing so won't be a bad thing. She'll get the experience and the knowledge that she doesn't have now and which Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum vol

Pan Character Timeline in The Golden Compass

The timeline below shows where the character Pan appears in The Golden Compass. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Humanity, Identity, and the Soul Theme Icon

Lyra and her dæmon, Pan, sneak through the dark dining hall. Lyra flicks a glass and Pan reprimands her for... (full context)

Religion, Politics, and Control Theme Icon

...raven dæmon squawks and then she and the Master leave. Alone in the room again, Pan hisses that they need to leave, but then they hear the Steward's bell from the... (full context)

Pan tries to convince Lyra to sneak out of the Retiring Room, but Lyra refuses. She... (full context)

...projector and Lyra realizes that she'll be able to see it from her hiding spot. Pan remains unconvinced that sneaking in was a good idea. The servants leave, Lord Asriel shoots... (full context)

...back a walrus tusk with Eskimo carvings. Lyra frowns at him, but finally she and Pan head to bed. (full context)

...is the Master's dæmon. In the next room, they find shelves with skulls on them. Pan and Roger's dæmon are scared, but Lyra pulls a skull down to inspect it. A... (full context)

...was a "severed child." She realizes she hasn't seen Roger since morning, so she and Pan run back to Jordan. Nobody in the Jordan kitchens seems to care about Roger, so... (full context)

...that Mrs. Coulter will be able to help her look for him. In the zeppelin, Pan sits on Lyra's lap as an ermine and stares out the window while Mrs. Coulter... (full context)

...the flat, Lyra takes another bath and Mrs. Coulter comes in to wash Lyra's hair. Pan watches with curiosity until Mrs. Coulter glares at him, and then he modestly turns away... (full context)

Once Mrs. Coulter is gone, Pan pulls at Lyra's hair and they take out the alethiometer. It has needles pointing in... (full context)

...it lights up adults but not children, and fibs about where she learned this. Later, Pan tells Lyra that when Lyra mentioned Dust, Mrs. Coulter grabbed her dæmon, who seemed ready... (full context)

...to throw a cocktail party and involves Lyra in the planning. In bed that night, Pan whispers that they're never going to the North, but Lyra insists that Mrs. Coulter will... (full context)

...Lyra to leave the bag in her room. Lyra resists, but the golden monkey pins Pan down roughly and begins to pull on one of his ears as though to tear... (full context)

Lyra has no trouble pretending to be charming, but Pan remains disgusted with Mrs. Coulter and the golden monkey. As the room fills with guests,... (full context)

Pan whispers in Lyra's ear and says that the golden monkey was just in their bedroom... (full context)

...and they come of their own accord. He smiles at Lyra and both Lyra and Pan feel horrified. She wanders around until she hears a bishop say that Lord Asriel is... (full context)

Lyra and Pan, as a wildcat, walk away from the river. They're both thrilled to be free. They... (full context)

Lyra and Pan head toward the wharf and carefully peek into the window of a hut, where an... (full context)

Lyra comforts Pan and then recognizes one of her saviors as Tony Costa, Billy Costa's older brother. Lyra... (full context)

...that she's learning to read the alethiometer. He sends her away, and Lyra declares to Pan that they will go. (full context)

...to occupy herself until later, when they need to talk about the alethiometer. She and Pan sit on a bank and Lyra thinks that she's afraid of her ability to read... (full context)

...tells her about strange rumors that she escaped from the Gobblers, or that she and Pan are spirits or spies for the Tartars. Lyra longs to be free, and sometimes wishes... (full context)

...go outside for a minute. Farder Coram decides that it won't hurt, so Lyra and Pan leap up. Pan turns into a seagull and plays in the wind and the water.... (full context)

...watch England disappear. She can't see through the heavy mist and soon, both she and Pan are seasick. (full context)

...helps with the seasickness. Lyra quickly decides that she wants to live on the water. Pan experiments with becoming a fish and swims with dolphins one afternoon. Lyra senses that he... (full context)

Lyra says she wants Pan to be able to change forever, but Jerry assures her that settling is part of... (full context)

...Iorek. He invites the gyptians to play cards with him while his dæmon motions to Pan. The hare tells Pan to go to Iorek immediately: as soon as the town figures... (full context)

Pan, however, says that he'll talk to Iorek. He flies as a bird over the chain... (full context)

...is a human's soul. Making new armor out of normal metal would be like replacing Pan with a stuffed animal. Lyra makes Iorek promise to not hurt anyone out of vengeance... (full context)

...was right: the armor is his soul; he cares for it like she cares for Pan. John Faa calls everyone to prepare to leave and in a half an hour, they... (full context)

Lyra is terrified, but she tugs the door open. Pan runs around as a white ermine, beside himself, and won't speak to Lyra or look... (full context)

...and horrid. The boy introduces himself as Tony Makarios and asks for Ratter. Lyra and Pan rush outside and sit in the snow for a minute to collect themselves. Then, Lyra... (full context)

...to see Tony Makarios's body. He looks like any other human in death. She hugs Pan and thinks of Tony's fish. She pulls the blanket down and sees that his fish... (full context)

...balloon, but then a mist descends. Suddenly, men start to fall as arrows strike them. Pan knocks Lyra to the ground and Iorek leaps at their attackers. A man hauls Lyra... (full context)

...who looks like he could be from Jordan comes outside. The man asks Lyra if Pan always takes the same shape. She gapes in surprise, and Pan turns into a falcon... (full context)

...and instead believes that they and Iorek will save her. At breakfast, she finds Roger. Pan provokes a scuffle with Roger's dæmon so they can speak and Roger turns white as... (full context)

...door. Inside, Lyra finds the ghostlike dæmons of the severed children in cages. She covers Pan's eyes. (full context)

...almost done, she hears and sees a zeppelin landing nearby. As it descends, Lyra and Pan see Mrs. Coulter in one of the windows. (full context)

...them in the ceiling of her dormitory. She hides the alethiometer with them. She and Pan decide to say that they were kidnapped, and Lyra realizes that she's afraid of Mrs.... (full context)

...listen in on the conversation in the conference room. Annie insists on going too, but Pan overpowers her dæmon. The girls stuff clothes into Lyra's bed in case someone checks on... (full context)

...of an alloy that insulates the body from a dæmon make the procedure much better. Pan and Lyra tremble in fear. (full context)

...down. She struggles until she suddenly loses strength and sees that a man is holding Pan. Pan shakes in horror. (full context)

The doctors deliberate and then decide to secretly perform intercision on Lyra and Pan to keep Lyra from talking. They carry her and Pan to a brightly lit room.... (full context)

Lyra trembles and moans as Pan presses himself into her bare chest. He notices the golden monkey quickly feel Lyra's body... (full context)

...which he's inflating using the gas from the zeppelin. The children begin to shiver, so Pan bullies their dæmons into warming them. They trudge on, following Iorek's tracks. Lyra begins to... (full context)

Lyra calls for Iorek and Roger, but no one answers. Pan checks the alethiometer and after a minute, they get up to try to find the... (full context)

...stop outside a door. A bear opens it, swats Lyra inside, and closes her in. Pan becomes a firefly so that Lyra can see. She sits and pulls the alethiometer out.... (full context)

Pan flies up and illuminates a man. He introduces himself as Jotham Santelia of the University... (full context)

...It then says that Iofur killed his father, a grave crime that Iofur then concealed. Pan, as a tiny mouse, tells Lyra to flatter Iofur when she tells him. In the... (full context)

Lyra feels weak, alone, and frightened. Pan comforts her as she wonders out loud why people do these horrible things to children.... (full context)

...put it there. Lord Asriel beckons to Roger and Lyra shouts for Roger to run. Pan attacks Stelmaria and the two young dæmons fight her. Lyra fights the thick Dust and... (full context)

...the ice on Roger's clothes. Lyra holds his body and feels betrayed by Lord Asriel. Pan scratches her hand and confirms that Lord Asriel is going to find the source of... (full context)

Pan Character Analysis

Pan Quotes in The Golden Compass

Chapter One Quotes

Chapter Four Quotes

Chapter Ten Quotes

Chapter Eleven Quotes

Chapter Thirteen Quotes

Chapter Seventeen Quotes

Chapter Twenty-Three Quotes

Pan Character Timeline in The Golden Compass