His Dark Materials has such a beautiful depiction of love, because in the end love is what saves every world, but the rest of the series is almost a lesson in all the things love canβt save. Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter loved Lyra, but it doesnβt stop them from abandoning her and using her as a pawn in their respective schemes. They loved each other but it doesnβt stop them from manipulating and hurting each other, and it doesnβt save them in the end. Lyra loved Roger but it doesnβt stop her from getting him killed, and it doesnβt bring him back. Will and Lyra loved each other, but it doesnβt stop their separation. John Parry loved Will and his mother, but he still left them. Lyra loved Pan, but she still left him behind in the world of the dead. Thereβs no absence of love, but itβs not the cure all other books often make it out to be. The love is there, but it doesnβt change anything. And yet in the end itβs Will and Lyraβs love for each other that saves every world. Itβs Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulterβs love for Lyra (and each other) that lets them defeat Metatron. In a series where love has consistently failed to save the character, two of the most important and seemingly impossible feats are accomplished solely through love. And yes that means that the story inherently contradicts itself, but thatβs what I love so much about it. Love is by nature contradictory. The point of the story isnβt to show that love is all powerful or that love achieves nothing. The point is that love doesnβt usually doesnβt solve anything, but that we should continue to love, and that every now and then, love truly will save it all.
