Coraline

Coraline wakes in her other room. She takes a moment to remember where she is. In the closet, she finds many dress-up clothes she would have loved to have in her real room. She changes into clothes she finds in the dresser, wondering for a moment if there is another Coraline but deciding that she’s the only one. She grabs her remaining apple and pockets the stone. When she touches the stone, she feels more clear-headed.

She heads into the kitchen, but it’s empty. She finds the other father in his study, sitting at the computer, doing nothing. She asks him where the other mother is. He says she’s out fixing the doors because they have vermin problems. Coraline thinks he means the rats, but he clarifies that it’s the cat they’re concerned about. The other father says he shouldn’t speak with Coraline while the other mother is away. Coraline says she’s going exploring, but he tells her there’s no point because only the house, grounds, and neighbors were created for her. He says the other mother created these things and waited, then catches himself as though he’s said too much.

Coraline goes to the drawing room. Everything is identical to home except the mantel, where a snowglobe sits. Coraline sees there are two people in the snowglobe. She shakes it, then sets it down to go outside. She walks into the trees and continues walking. The trees gradually change from realistic to crude imitations of trees, then eventually they disappear completely, leaving Coraline in a strange mist of nothingness.

The cat finds Coraline and asks what she’s doing. She tells the cat she’s exploring. The cat says there’s nothing to explore because the other mother hasn’t bothered to create anything beyond the house. Coraline asks what the other mother is, but the cat doesn’t answer. Eventually, a shape appears in the mist. Coraline believes she’s found something new, then realizes that she’s coming up on the house again. She asks how she could be walking away from something and still come back to it. The cat tells her to think about it like walking all the way around the world. Coraline comments that it’s a small world. The cat replies, “Spiders’ webs only have to be large enough to catch flies” (73).

The cat catches a rat and tells Coraline the rats around the place are the other mother’s spies. It plays with the rat a bit, causing Coraline to ask him to let it go. The cat tells her that it’s merciful for cats to play with their prey because there’s a chance to escape. Then, it runs off with the rat.

Back inside, Coraline goes to the mirror. The other mother comes up behind Coraline and startles her because her reflection did not appear in the mirror. The other mother suggests they play some games or do some crafts, but Coraline is stubborn and says she’ll never love the other mother and doesn’t want to play with her. The other mother leads Coraline to the lounge and sits on the couch. She begins eating beetles from a bag, offering Coraline some. The other mother once again attempts to entice Coraline with offers of love, but Coraline refuses.

Angered, the other mother drags Coraline back to the hallway, opens the mirror like a door, and locks Coraline behind it, saying she must learn manners and must learn to be a loving daughter before she can come out.

Behind the mirror is a small, dark room the size of a broom closet. Coraline can sit and stand but not lie down fully. She feels the walls for an escape, but there is nothing in the pitch black. Then she grazes what feels like someone’s small, cold face. A voice whispers to her to keep quiet because the beldam might hear her. A cold hand touches Coraline’s face, and a second voice asks if she’s alive. Coraline says yes and asks who the voices are. A third voice explains that their names are gone. They have fragments of memories, but they have forgotten everyone’s names, including their own. The voices sound very sad.

As her eyes adjust to the darkness, Coraline can see three distinct shapes of children the same size as her. Coraline feels a hand and gives it a squeeze. The hand squeezes back and one of the children thanks her. Coraline asks what happened to them. One of the voices explains that the other mother left them there. She stole their hearts and souls and forgot about them in the dark. They have similar stories to Coraline’s. They try to warn her to leave while she still can, but Coraline tells them that the other mother has her parents.

One of the children suggests that if Coraline can win her parents’ freedom, then she might also be able to win back their souls. They tell her the beldam has fed on them and left them as husks, but Coraline could free them if she finds their souls. Coraline concludes that the other mother won’t keep her locked up forever right away. She eats her final apple but remains hungry. She rolls up her sweater into a pillow and curls up on the floor to sleep. As she drifts to sleep, one of the voices tells her to look through the stone.