Keeping Up Appearances

In the book, the Golden Compass, Lyra is a blonde haired girl with a dark haired mother. When the Golden Compass was made into a movie, Lyra was portrayed by a young girl with brown hair and Ms. Coulter was played by an actress with striking blonde hair. These initial differences were unsettling, leaving many to ask “why not just dye their hair?”

After a bit of thought I’ve decided to propose another question. If the embodiment of a character’s soul is their daemon, do we need to have their physical presence described at all? Do the slight differences really matter (for more than just the story’s aesthetic sense)?

In the Subtle Knife, Will is described as a dark haired stocky young boy (for his age), yet on the cover of the second novel he is sometimes drawn with brown or reddish hair. Here, the question comes into play of whether or not Will’s appearance is described with more detail because he does not have a daemon.

In the end, the question remains, do you believe that Pullman places more importance on at character’s appearance or on their daemon’s? Which circumstances cause him to focus on one or the other?