On page 165, Lyra says that she thinks her mother never wanted to hurt her and was good to her. Think about what Mrs. Coulter explained to Will in a previous chapter, that she kept Lyra drugged for her own good because she wanted to protect the girl and Lyra would never stay on her own. Is this the case? What does Mrs. Coulter want for her daughter? If you have read all three books, do you think Mrs. Coulter's motives have changed from the first book to the third?

The snake is a force for good in the story Atal tells Mary (p. 224). Can you find other stories about snakes as bringers of knowledge or destruction in history, mythology, religion, etc?

Discuss lying in this story. Many of the characters do it and do it for various reasons. Why does Lyra lie? Why does...