SUGS “Georgi Dimitrov” - Skopje

Project assignment

Subject: English Language

Title: The symbolism in Coraline

Mentor: Student:
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Jasna Georgijeva Stankovikj Simona Zdravkovski IV

Skopje, March 2024

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………2

2. Symbolism and its meaning in literature………………………………………………3

3. Summary of the story………………………………………………………………….3

4. Color theory……………………………………………………………………………4

5. Semiotics………………………………………………………………………………5

6. Genre theory…………………………………………………………………………...7

7. The Other Mother……………………………………………………………………...8

8. The Buttons…………………………………………………………………………..10

9. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………11

10. Sources…………………………………………………………………………….…12

11. Gallery………………………………………………………………………………..13

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1. Introduction

It’s always difficult to find something interesting, that also inspires you and is complex to
write about. But to me, “Coraline” is just that. “Coraline” is a dark fantasy novel written by
author Neil Gaiman published in 2002 and it had a significant impact on literature and pop
culture at the time and with the years to come. The novel was written as a bed-time story for
his young daughter, who enjoyed the earie aspects of her father’s stories. Inspired by her
interest and imagination, Gaiman decided to write a whole book dedicated to his daughter
and her favorite story. Even the name of the main character, that caries the name of the book-
Coraline, is in recognition to his daughter’s name, Caroline. Later, the mythical novel was
adapted into an incredible stop motion animation by the same name. There are so many
different aspects to this film and one can interpret it a million different ways during different
stages of life, at a different age, or just while being in a different mood. It is so complex that
anyone can depict a different image of the story, or a different understanding. That is exactly
why I want to write about the symbolism in this movie, because even though it’s marketed
for kids, “Coraline” carries many darker subjects under the surface. Personally, I’ve watched
the film and read the book multiple times during different moments of my life and every time
I’ve noticed new details, symbols, and found new meaning in the story as a whole. Hence I
was inspired to look more into the symbolism of this film and analyze it thoroughly. In the
realm of literature and the film industry, “Coraline” stands out with its uniqueness and genre-
blurring narrative. The story is a process of navigating through the complexities of one’s
identity, invites readers to question reality, face and confront their fears all while masterfully
portraying the innocent daydreams of an eleven-year old girl. In pop-culture, the character of
Coraline has become an inspiration for young girls to be brave and to stand out, to not
succumb to the pressure and standards of society. Through subtle and not-so-subtle symbols,
Nail Gaiman invites readers to peel back the layers of the narrative, uncovering deeper
meanings and interpretations. The button eyes, for instence, as well as the colors and
charachters and interactions and so on. Everything is mutually connected and has a meaning.
Coraline is a symbol of courage, creativity, individuality, and growth that young kids need in
their life. It’s rare for kids shows or movies to portray something as dark and mysterious and
someone as rebellious as Coraline, but I believe, that exactly these characteristics of Coraline
made the film and the character so special to me, helped me connect with it in such a way that
I hadn’t with other entertainment meant for kids. This is what motivated me to explore the
rich symbolism in “Coraline”.

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2. Symbolism and its meaning in literature

Symbolism began as a French art movement of the late 19th century, where different aspects
of humans and human nature were portrayed by using metaphors to give them a new
meaning, creating symbols. Things that are supposed to represent something else. Symbols
are basically metaphors, but with certainty about what it is that is being represented. In
symbolism as a literary device, a symbol, whether it be a word, character, object, or concept,
is used to represent something beyond its literal meaning. Symbols are often imbued with
layers of meaning, adding depth and complexity to the narrative.Artists and authors love to
toy with symbolism because it gives their story and character depth, makes them more
accessible to the human reader and their emotions, flaws, daily struggles, characteristics and
so on. The use of symbols enables authors to show-case more emotional depth, abstract ideas,
complexity as well as to foreshadow significance in the story. By giving a situation or a
character a double, hidden meaning it makes the reader more invested in the story. Hence
why so many people are so intrigued by “Coraline”, a complex web of symbols intertwining.
So many of these effects of symbolism are used in “Coraline” making it a beautifully
constructed masterpiece that becomes more complex the more you depict it. Being a book for
children, it has to rely heavily on symbolism to portray the message and meaning it’s trying
to get across. I’m going to analyze a few of the most prominent and interesting symbols
found in the film.

3. Summary of the story

The film begins with Coraline and her parents moving to a new house, in a new area and
Coraline’s struggle with the change and missing of her friends. It depicts the story of an 11
year old girl who is bored with her life, neglected by her parents she finds a passage which
takes her into an alternate reality where everything is the same as her regular dull life, but
better, more beautiful, more interessting. Very quickly though, the circumstances in this other
world become strange and unsettling putting Coraline and her family in danger. Coraline is a
very dark tale and takes a lot of storytelling techniques from very ancient storytelling forms
such as myths, fairy tales and ghost stories. Accompanying this ancient form in the movie is
the use of retro analog technology like stop-motion animation.

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4. Color theory

Color theory explains the way in which humans perceive colour and how this can change
depending on how colours are mixed with one another, bringing together the use of science,
art and psychology. Coraline begins in the real world establishing dreary dark greys, even
warm pastel colours are made to look dull and lifeless. The pink palace has a very royal name
but is represented as nothing more than an old house that hasn't received much attention and
is now desolate. The color pink which we so often associate with happiness, youth and
femininity is is made to look dull and worn out, flaky and forgotten. Coraline is the only truly
colorful thing we see in the real world with her blue hair, yellow raincoat and rain boots and
accenting red. This triad of colors is very aesthetically pleasing and welcoming
psychologically because her bright, dynamic color palette is so different from everything else
in the world. She looks as though she doesn't belong there which makes the shift to the other
world more psychologically pleasing. Lulling both Coralline and the audience into a false
sense of security. To aid this the tunnel to the other world is the first dynamic colorful thing
we see, aside from Coraline herself. When we're introduced to the other world we can
immediately see a major color shift in temperature tone and saturation. The kitchen is a
glowing inviting orange as opposed to a cold blue with the only light source being an even
bluer laptop screen the night isn't grey but it's a warm summer's night blue.The garden is full
of brightly colored and lit flowers and coraline's bedroom is a rich and glossy pink purple and
blue as opposed to a grayish white we are introduced to at the beginning. The other mother
being represented in deep blacks light grays and an accented red a powerful ensemble but
with a hint of danger still in keeping with a welcoming healthy image.This accenting red
quickly becomes more and more dominant in the other mother as she and the other world
become more threatening to Coraline. The other father corroborates Coraline's childlike
wonder with a youthful orange costume matching Coraline's bright orange pajamas which
ideally represent her youth. When we come back to the real world the sea of grey within the
clothes shop makes Coraline's wish for brightness even more apparent and the fact that she
isn't allowed to buy the bright orange gloves she ever so wants is only representing how
much this is suppressed in the real world. The colors of the other world drastically changes
when the other mother begins to lose her strength. Landscapes objects and people in the other
world begin to die, quite literally and as they do so the world takes a complete grayscale
form. Represent that the other world is simply a world without life. If The Other Mother or
the Beldam, a medallion that keeps the other mother alive, has no nutrients the longer the

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Beldam goes without eating she gets weaker and weaker. As she gets weaker, so does the
world she created. Everything in the other world gradually becomes an idea of what she's
created, rather than a life itself. Life cannot be sustained in this world if she isn’t there to
control it, symbolized by the adequate loss of color in the other world. But as the other world
lost life and color, the real world becomes less dull and grey, as Coraline realizes what she
has and almost lost.

5. Semiotics
Next i will be analyzing coraline against semiotics. Semiotics explores how signs and
symbols can be interpreted to express meaning through intellectual bridges and connections.
There are many signs and symbols which represent the themes and messages of Coraline and
which help drive the story forward in many different ways, deriving inherent psychological
fear from its audience. Some of the first imagery the audience is introduced to are many
witch-like symbols. There is a black cat animal accomplice, which is often associated with
witches and superstition, also reaffirming the fairytale rhetoric. Coraline is shown to be using
a dowsing rod for water witching, a circle of mushrooms around the old well, and the looking
stone Coraline uses to find the ghost souls are all many ancient symbols of witching. This
witching theme only helps represent the fantasy genre more and makes the story feel more
magical and detached from reality.
The well itself has many connotations; the world presents a threat of being trapped forever
with no escape and eventually being forgotten about so far down in the earth. This is
paralleled against the same threat that Coraline is exposed to in the other world with the
Beldam. If she loses her life in the other world, she will be trapped and forgotten about with
no chance of escape. There are many contrasts as Coraline moves into the other world. The
sad boy in the painting dropping an ice cream in the real world is contrasted against a happy
boy holding an ice cream in the other world. The jumping mice are a wonder, a good and
playful thing, which is heavily contrasted against the rats that they truly are in the real world.
Rats have very different attributes such as disease and are often recognized as bad things.
Both sets of parents are contrasted against their health and beauty, as well as their
relationships with one another. Dogs represent innocence and playfulness, loyalty and
companionship, which is later contrasted against bats which are largely associated with
Halloween, fear, and dark places.
Besides the Beldam becoming more spider like, many aspects also become more bug-like.
The furniture all become insects which can move on their own accord. The machine the other

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father uses is a bug and attacks Coraline. Bobinski, the man who lives in the same apartment
building as Coraline and is also apart of the Beldam’s Other World, moves in a completely
inhuman manner, so he is only the idea of a human, with no bones or body parts. His body is
simply made up of rats. The other father quite literally becomes a pumpkin, another
Halloween symbol, and quite closely associated with fantasy and fairy tales.
The Beldam is shown to use many conduits to gain control over Coraline's life. The doll
represents the other mother's eyes. By using it as a spying technique, making the innocent
child's doll feel threatening, combating the original stereotypical attributes of a doll it makes
a safe innocence feel unsafe.
In the wonders the other mother creates for Coraline, there is something which feels an
inadequacy in her real life which relates to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The garden
represents an act of cherishing something so it can grow. This is something Coraline is
missing at home with a lack of attention from her parents. Both the circus and theatre evoke a
childlike wonder and entertainment for entertainment's sake, allowing Coraline to just be a
child rather than ignoring her for the sake of work. As the other world starts peeling away,
this begins to happen quite literally as the wallpaper starts peeling off the walls as the Beldum
no longer has a mask to hide behind. We see her for what she is, a monster.
Another element to explain is the Adder stone1 and how it helped Coraline in the other world.
In European folklore, Adder stones, sometimes called hag stones, witch stones, or serpent
eggs, were once believed to have magical properties. By looking through the hole in the
stone's center, one would be able to see through witch disguises and traps. They could also be
used to cure illnesses, combat nightmares, and were worn as charms to protect against evil
magic. The reason for their name, adder stone, comes from how people thought they were
made. An adder is a kind of snake, and many believed the stones were the hardened saliva of
several serpents massing together, while the perforations were caused by their tongues. So
not exactly the same as it was shown in the film, where Spink and Forcible carved it out of
old dried taffy but that made for a cooler and less disgusting stop-motion scene. So the use of
the stone in the film is directly driven from European folklore. Miss Spink and Forcible, the
odd ladies living in the same apartment complex as Coraline give her the Adder stone, telling
her to look through it when needed. Coraline uses it as a kind of guide through the Other
World.

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Adder stone - a type of stone, usually glassy, with a naturally occurring hole through it

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6. Genre theory
Next, I’ll analyze Coraline against genre theory. We can see that Coraline belongs to the
genres of drama, fantasy, and horror. Ultimately, though Coraline would belong to the genre
of tragedy. Aristotle devised two ultimate genres, tragedy and comedy. Tragedies explored
mankind at the mercy of their own flaws and fate, primarily focused on man falling from
grace and social status because of greed, passion, misguided cunning, or any other human
defects or weaknesses. Both tragedies and comedies were meant to teach and inform and set
an example of behavior so that an audience was enhanced intellectually or spiritually by an
experience. In tragedies, the end of the story is when the lesson and moral resided, as
demonstrated in Coraline. Coraline, through her own greed, almost loses her family home and
life, and in learning gratitude, Coraline finds a newfound love for her life. Her life itself
hasn't changed, but she has. Coraline is now able to defeat the monster and win back her life.
From this structure, we can see how Coraline follows a fairy tale format too and contains
numerous other elements associated with fairy tales. Examples of these elements are the
difficult mother-child relationship present, the protagonist striking a deal with her enemy, like
how there are lessons and rules to be learned, in this case, gratitude, and lastly, there is an
animal accomplice helping the protagonist on her journey. Above all, Coraline is a horror
movie and a ghost story. Coraline utilizes production, costume, and character design to make
it known that it belongs within the horror genre. Coraline utilizes German expressionism,
which is characterized by the use of simplified shapes, bright colors, and chiaroscuro2, a
lighting technique famous for its use of bright highlights and deep shadows, famously utilized
a lot by Tim Burton in his style and design, introducing a darker, more sinister feel to his
films. As well as German expressionism, Coraline utilizes grotesque imagery by exaggerating
and distorting character features. Its aim is to simultaneously elicit our empathy and disgust.
The result is powerful and helps exaggerate the horror within Coraline. The language in the
film is also essential in exaggerating the horror. The ghost children themselves talk in very
different manners as if they are all from different historical periods. This only solidifies how
old the Beldam is, making her existence more chilling and threatening. It almost makes her
feel immortal, as if she will never die. Coraline is a film that spares no effort and really uses
visual storytelling to the max.

7. The Other Mother

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Chiaroscuro is an Italian term which translates as light-dark, and refers to the balance and pattern of
light and shade in a painting or drawing.

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One of the main and to me most interesting parts of Coraline is the Other Mother, or the
Beldam. Coraline first meets her when she goes through the tiny door for the very first time,
and she is the driving point of the story in the Other World. Because of her magical abilities,
as well as the historical elements hinting at how old the Beldam really is, many people
believe that the Beldam is a witch. However, in Coraline there are a lot of folklore elements,
integrated into the story. Many of the Beldam's tactics and abilities have more in common
with fairies in folklore than witches. The big difference between the two is that witches are
typically mortal women who have to learn and practice their magical abilities, while fairies
are naturally magical spirits. Now, I do think she could fit into either category, and I believe
that the films intention was to leave her origins up to the reader's twisted imagination.
However, because the film takes so much inspiration from fairy-lore specifically, I thought
it'd be cool if we took a closer look at the various stories that contributed to the Beldam's
creation and the Coraline story as a whole. One particular tale that is a great example of fairy-
lore and has a lot in common with Coraline is a poem written by English author John Keats in
1819. It's called "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" or, in English “The Beautiful Woman Without
Mercy”. In it, a knight is traveling through a meadow when he meets a beautiful woman
whom he refers to as a fairy's child and they hit it off right away. The fairy tells the knight
she loves him just like the book's Beldam tells Coraline whenever she gets the chance, then
leads him to a hidden cave, where they dance and make love. The mysterious woman then
sings the knight a soothing song that puts him to sleep, and he dreams that he's visited by the
spirits of kings', princes' and warriors' past who tell him he's been enslaved by a beautiful, yet
cruel mistress. Very similar to when Coraline speaks with the spirits of the Beldam's previous
victims in her dream, and while she's trapped in the mirror. Then when the knight wakes up,
he finds himself completely alone on a cold wet grassy hill, and the mystery woman is
nowhere to be found. From there, he stumbles back to town where he tells an unidentified
listener about his journey before ultimately succumbing to whatever curse the woman put on
him, and presumably dies. There's quite a bit of overlap in the stories. There's the wandering
protagonist who meets the fairy seemingly by chance, and it just so happens that fairy can
give them everything they ever wanted. In Coraline's case, she wanted a world full of fun and
games. She wanted parents who paid attention to her. She wanted to feel loved, and that's
exactly what the Beldam gave her. Similarly, the fair in the poem led her victim into her
magical world and loved him just as the Beldam did for Coraline. To borrow a line from the
book, "She loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold. In the other
mother's button eyes, Coraline knew that she was a possession, nothing more." This love that

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both fairies felt was more about what their victims provided them with, not the victims
themselves. This kind of fairy could be considered a Leanan Sidhe3. The Leanan Sidhe comes
from Celtic folklore and is known for bestowing artists with love and inspiration to create
great works that get them rich and famous while simultaneously making them fall in love
with her. Then when their lives seemingly can't get any better, she abandons them, causing
them to get depressed, sick, and ultimately die, nearing the fate of the knight and the three
children, after which she feeds on their corpse and drinks their blood, which allows her to
retain her youthful appearance, just like how the Beldam has to feed on children to survive
and keep her magic at its strongest. What’s really cool is how the film portrays what happens
when her powers are pushed to the limit. As time goes on, and as Coraline recovers the
children's souls that give the Beldam her strength, the world that she conjured up begins to
crumble and the cracks in her illusion, literally start to show.
Some more evidence supporting the theory that the Beldam belongs to an evil race of fairies
is the deal she makes with Coraline. Making deals is common practice for fairies and magical
nature spirits in general. The leanan sidhe offers wannabe artists fame and glory if they agree
to love her. In the beautiful woman without mercy, it's the knight's choice to put the fairy on
his horse so she can show him to her cave. The Beldam is also forced to give children a
choice about having buttons sewn into their eyes, though, she can sway them using whatever
bribe or intimidation tactic she deems necessary. It wasn't until Coraline came along that her
offer was turned down for the first time. But even in that case, another deal was made where
Coraline could win her freedom by finding the three children's souls and her parents.
Another aspect of the Other World that is interesting is the food. There is a huge emphasis on
food in the Other World. The first thing the Beldam does when meeting Coraline is offer her
dinner, and she continues to offer her food, drink, and snacks up until Coraline starts the
finding things game. There are a few possibilities as to what this symbolizes. Firstly, the
Beldam could be trying to fill a mother role and the stereotypical mother is always shoving
food into her children's faces. Two, she could be trying to fatten Coraline up so there's more
of her to eat like the witch in "Hansel and Gretel." Or three, the food in the other world has
power over the mortals who eat it just like food in fairy folklore. Humans have been warning
each other about the consequences of eating food that's offered by magical beings since the
earliest days of oral storytelling. Sometimes the food has damaging magical effects like the
pomegranate seeds that curse Persephone to stay in the underworld, and sometimes it's just
plain disgusting, like when the troll tricked little Red Riding Hood into eating her grandma's
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The Leanhaun Shee – Irish Origin – Gaelic muse - (fairy mistress) seeks the love of mortals

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flesh and drinking her blood. There are some theories purporting that the food makes
Coraline more confused, vulnerable, and susceptible to the Beldam's magic, but that's never
explicitly stated in the film. Though, it could be argued that it's implied, because, after all, the
Beldam herself never actually partakes during mealtime in the film.

8. The Buttons
Lastly, I’ll analyze the buttons, as one of the most characteristic and specific aspects of the
film. The Buttons are a huge part of the story, both in the film and in the book. The author of
the book, Nail Gaiman talked about this during an interview. He said he was inspired by a
story written by Lucy Clifford in 1882 titled "The New Mother." In this story, a mother
abandons her two little girls after they seriously misbehave, and is replaced by a new mother,
who wears long black robes, a pair of shiny glass eyes, and a long wooden tail that she drags
behind her. Beyond that, I think the most obvious reason for the button's inclusion is that
they're creepy. It's unsettling to interact with someone when you can't see their eyes, because
the emotions and intentions are harder to read. Coraline can't ever tell what her other mother
is looking at or thinking because her eyes are essentially covered with a mask and that makes
her all the more dangerous and earie. As the old saying goes, "The eyes are the windows to
the soul." So without eyes, how can one even be sure that one has a soul? When you consider
that the children who accepted the Beldam's offer to replace their eyes with buttons all had
their souls scattered throughout the world, it's hard denying the connection. One of the
children locked away directly warns Coraline that the other mother will take her soul when
she takes her eyes - "She will take your life and all you are and all you care'st for and she
will leave you with nothing but mist and fog. She will take your joy. And one day you'll
awake, and your heart and your soul will have gone. A husk you'll be, a wisp you'll be, and a
thing no more than a dream on waking or a memory of something forgotten." Another
interpretation I like is that the buttons symbolize that the Beldam sees her victims as dolls or
play things to be controlled. This is more prominent in the film. The characters that she crafts
in her world are all forced to obey her orders, and when they refuse, they suffer the
horrendous consequences. And speaking of dolls, the Beldam's lookalikes seem to be inspired
by a creature from European folklore called a Changeling. Changelings are the deformed
offspring of fairies or elves that are substituted for a human infant. Just like how the Beldam's
dolls replace her victims, whether it be Coraline, her parents, or even Wybie's grandma's
sister. According to legend, abducted children are either given to the devil himself or used to
strengthen fairy magic.

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9. Conclusion
To sum everything up, “Coraline” manages to seamlessly combine horror, dark-fantasy and
fairy-tale elements into the most visually beautiful masterpiece of a stop-motion animation. It
crafts a narrative that resonates with children and adults. The rich symbolism embedded in
the story serves as a profound exploration of identity, courage, and the complexities of human
nature. Through the lens of color theory and semiotics, the creators managed to get the key-
aspects of the story across. Through visually stunning images and shots, “Coraline” brings a
sort of horror into the mundane and regular animation. The Other Mother, a character at the
heart of the narrative, transcends traditional classifications, drawing inspiration from fairy-
lore, witches, and changelings, creating a figure that is both alluring and menacing.
"Coraline" is a testament to the power of storytelling, inviting audiences to peel back the
layers and discover a world where innocence and darkness coexist. This film leaves
audiences with a window to imagination and an open-mind to discover new, elemental
aspects of life, inspiring so many children to be brave, aspiring to be like the main protagonist
of the story. At lass, the masterfulness of “Coraline” is left up to the viewers interpretation.

SOURCES

“Coraline” the 2009 stop-motion animation

“Coraline” the novella by Nail Gaiman
https://www.laika.com/our-films/coraline

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https://www.litcharts.com/lit/coraline/themes
https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/items/46d5ddb7-1c8c-47c7-9e5c-40da890bdf40
https://www.filmmattersmagazine.com/2021/05/04/coraline-2009-a-motif-analysis-by-tia-m-
adkins/
https://bookanalysis.com/neil-gaiman/coraline/summary/
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Coraline/character-analysis/

GALLERY

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