Coraline Jones, a young 11-year-old girl, moves into a new apartment in England with her parents during school break. The exposition of the novella introduces us to Coraline, who is a curious and inquisitive girl who loves exploring new surroundings. She has some eccentric neighbors living in the same building as her, including elderly actress, Miss. Forcible and Miss Spink. These women live below Coraline’s flat with their many dogs and spend most of their time reminiscing their days from the stage. A “crazy old man,” Mr. Bobo, lives upstairs with a bunch of rats whom he claims to be training for the rat circus.
Coraline usually spends her time exploring and going on adventures by herself. However, an especially rainy day puts a halt to her activities. Ignored by her parents who are busy with work, Coraline sets off to explore a rarely-used drawing room – at the end of which lay a huge and mysterious door. This is where the rising action occurs in the narrative, with the discovery of the hidden door.
Upon asking her mother to open the door for her, Coraline discovers that the door opens onto a solid brick wall. This proves to be the beginning of a strange sequence of events that occur. That night, Coraline experiences some strange dreams of rats singing a song. The very next day, Mr. Bobo tells Coraline that his pet rats have warned her not to go through the brick wall. Miss. Forcible and Miss. Spink reads Coraline’s tea leaves and predicts her to be in grave danger. They provide her with a protective stone that she pockets and leaves, excited for some new adventures.
Coraline thinks no more of this prediction and wakes up the next day to find that her mother has gone grocery shopping. Bored once again, Coraline decides to open the door to the drawing room once again. To her surprise, she finds that the door no longer opens onto a brick wall. It leads to a mysterious corridor instead.
Here, I can’t help but chuckle at Coraline’s insatiable curiosity. She’s like a little detective, always searching for something new and exciting. I find it amusing how she brushes off the warnings from her neighbors and the strange dreams as mere coincidences. It’s as if fate itself is pulling her into a web of mystery and danger.
Coraline goes down the corridor and ends up in a parallel universe that looks just like the one she left behind. The only difference is that things seemed somewhat better in this universe than her own. Her bedroom is painted in captivatingly bright colors and she has shiny and shimmering clothes to wear. Coraline even has an alternate family in the parallel universe consisting of the Other Mother and the Other Father. The Other Mother and the Other Father look just like her parents, with the only difference being that they are taller, thinner, and have buttons for eyes.
Coraline explores this universe and finds out that cats can talk here. She also visits an eternal play that is enacted by her two neighbors, Miss. Forcible and Miss. Spink. She also comes across the rat circus and crazy old man upstairs – who seem much more dangerous and sinister in this universe than in real life. Coraline is soon creeped out by the weirdness of the entire universe and decides to return to her own.
Upon returning, Coraline is unable to find her parents anywhere for 3 days. This is the turning point in the story. She finds out that the Other Mother has kidnapped her parents and decides to revisit the parallel universe once again. She is scared, but she decides to brave her fears to get her parents back.
I find Coraline’s journey into the parallel universe a fascinating exploration of duality and the allure of the unknown. It’s captivating to watch her navigate this seemingly improved yet subtly sinister world, where even talking cats and eccentric neighbors take on new dimensions. Not the mention the Other Mother… So creepy!
Coraline returns to the parallel universe and begins to explore more. She quickly understands that the Other Mother (also known as the “beldam”) is the creator of the universe and that she has trapped several souls inside this world. She comes across some ghost children who advise her to run away from this universe. Coraline however, is determined to rescue her parents from the clutches of the sinister Other Mother. She also decides to free the souls of the ghost children in the process.
This is where the main conflict occurs. Coraline discovers that the Other Mother loves challenges and cleverly strikes up a bargain with her. She tells the Other Mother that she will stay behind in the alternate universe if she is unable to locate the souls of the ghost children or her parents. The Other Mother greedily agrees. After several adventures and mishaps, Coraline successfully locates the souls of the ghost children by making use of the protective stone in her pocket. Coraline finally discovers that her parents have been trapped in the snow globe on the mantelpiece. She is eager to rescue them and return home.
However, we reach the climax of the story as Coraline soon realizes that the Other Mother never meant to live up to her side of the bargain. As soon as Coraline makes this discovery, she hatches a plan to escape from the Other Mother. Here, we see the ultimate confrontation between Coraline and the evil witch. Coraline realizes that the key to defeating the Other Mother lies in her cleverness and resourcefulness. She ultimately tricks the Other Mother into revealing her weakness, allowing Coraline to use the power of a magical object, the seeing stone, to trap her and safely return to her real home.
Thus, Coraline manages to flee the alternate universe along with her parents and the ghost children. Coraline’s parents seem to have no recollection of anything that has happened in the alternate universe, and Coraline is content with the way things turned out. This is where the resolution of the climax is reached. However, she discovers to her dismay that the dangers have not passed.
Coraline’s tenacity and ingenuity stand out to me as she delves deeper into the clutches of the Other Mother’s twisted realm. Her determination to save her parents and free the trapped souls is both admirable and heart-pounding to witness. Yet, it’s in her realization of the Other Mother’s deception and her subsequent plan to outsmart her that Coraline truly shines.
The falling action in the story then begins. That night, Coraline dreams of having a picnic with the ghost children whom she had earlier set free. The children inform Coraline that the Other Mother is extremely angry and that she will not rest until she has located the key that unlocks the door to the alternate universe.
True enough, the Other Mother detaches her hand and sends it through the corridor to look for the key. Coraline hatches a plan to outsmart the Other Mother. She pretends to have a picnic with her dolls right above an old well in front of her house. She places the key precariously in the middle of the picnic cloth. The Other Mother’s hand lunges for the key and falls into the well. Coraline then boards up the well with some planks and the Other Mother is finally defeated, marking Coraline’s triumph.
Coraline visits Mr. Bobo once again who passes on another message to Coraline from his rats, saying the danger has passed. Coraline is satisfied and goes to sleep. The next day is the first day of her school year and she wakes up excited for a new adventure once again.
I can’t help but marvel at Coraline’s ingenuity once again. Her fake picnic serves as a clever ruse to outmaneuver the Other Mother, demonstrating Coraline’s ability to think several steps ahead in the face of danger. The showdown with the Other Mother’s detached hand is both thrilling and satisfying, showcasing Coraline’s resourcefulness in defeating her foe.
