Dr Carne

Dr Carne
Biographical information
Age	Over 70
Title(s)	Master
Physical information
Gender	Male
Dæmon
Name	Alicia
settled as	a raven
Affiliation
World	Lyra's world
Occupation	Master of Jordan College
Loyalty	Jordan College

"I see the Master as a man having terrible choices to make; whatever he chooses will do harm, but maybe if he does the right thing, a little less harm will come about than if he chooses wrong."

—John Faa

Dr Francis Carne was the Master of Jordan College. His dæmon had the form of a raven, and he had a manservant named Cousins. He was a bachelor.

Biography

"The powers of this world are very strong. Men and women are moved by tides much fiercer than you can imagine, and they sweep us all up into the current. Go well, Lyra; bless you, child; bless you. Keep your own counsel."

—Dr Carne's last words to Lyra Silvertongue at Jordan

Dr Carne attempted to dispose of Lord Asriel by poisoning a decanter of Tokay which Asriel was to drink. He sat next to Charles, the librarian, when Asriel made his presentation and unsuccessfully attempted to argue against funding the Lord's next expedition.

He later gave the alethiometer to Lyra Silvertongue, warning her to keep it a secret from Marisa Coulter. When Lyra came back, Carne discuessed her future with her and handed her into the care of Hannah Relf.

During his older age, he got easily confused. Carne ended up putting a sum of money aside and was persuaded to put it into a fund that later crashed (as it was badly managed or even deliberately ruined). The solicitor at the college fought hard with Carne to stop him making this mistake, however Carne went ahead with it; the solicitor did not have power of attorney soon enough to stop him. The Master later died when Lyra was around nineteen having been greatly esteemed and loved. He was succeeded by Werner Hammond.

Abilities and skills

• Alethiometrist: Dr Carne was capable of reading an alethiometer.

Relationships

Charles

Charles, the Librarian at Jordan College was an old friend. The Master confided in him about his plan to murder Lord Asriel.

Dæmon

Dr Carne's dæmon took the form of an old female raven, who often settled on his shoulder.

Behind the scenes

• In The Golden Compass, Dr Carne is portrayed by Jack Shepherd. In original cuts of the film, Dr Carne is arrested early on by the Magisterium.
• In the new TV series adaptation, he is portrayed by Clarke Peters. Peters is Philip Pullman's favourite actor. Phoebe Scholfield plays Dr Carne's dæmon who is named 'Alicia'.
• Dr Carne's dæmon was named Leonor for the BBC Radio dramatization. This name has etymological similarity to the name of the deceased wife, Lenore, who has central significance in Edgar Allen Poe's dark narrative poem The Raven.
• Although Dr Carne's name is revealed in The Secret Commonwealth, Philip Pullman originally revealed it on Twitter in 2018.

Appearances

• Northern Lights
• Northern Lights - The Graphic Novel
• The Golden Compass (film)
• The Golden Compass (video game)
• The Subtle Knife (Mentioned only)
• The Amber Spyglass (Mentioned only)
• His Dark Materials (TV series), Series 1
• La Belle Sauvage
• The Secret Commonwealth (Mentioned only)

References

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