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Natalie Marrs

History of Television & Film

27 April 2023

Coraline’s Discovery of Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics

In the movie, Coraline, the main character undergoes an internal transformation, as her

life physically shifts between two extreme versions of her reality. Once Coraline learns the truth

of the perils of the alternate universe, she realizes her reality is the perfect balance between two

extremes.

Coraline’s opposite experiences of extremity in the alternate universe, represent

Aristotle's idea of “two extremes.” The Greek philosopher “regarded virtue as occupying a state

between extremes, a state between two vices, one of excess and the other of deficiency.”

(Stedman, 2011). Aristotle refers to the state between two extremes as “the golden mean.”

According to Aristotle, the essential guide to the golden mean is the practice of The Cardinal

Virtues. (Stedman, 2011). Identifying the golden mean in any conflict is the guide to morality

and fulfillment in life. Coraline’s actions and attitude shift to save her real parents, and friends

trapped in the alternate universe. The only way for Coraline to get back to her reality and save

others is to exercise the four cardinal virtues, prudence, justice, temperance, and courage. It is

through Coraline’s exercise of virtue, she can guide herself to the golden mean. Coraline’s

journey through extremes leads her to find fulfillment and happiness in the reality she once took

for granted.

In Coraline, director Henry Selick uses visual symbolism to convey the value of

Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics and the concept of balance as the way to fulfillment. Once Coraline
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practices virtuous actions, her perspective evolves and she finds happiness in moderation,

balance, and putting others before herself.

Coraline is an only child who just moved because of her parent’s new job.

Coraline is unhappy with the move and voices her disapproval of her new house and neighbors to

her parents. Her parents work day and night in anticipation to pitch their garden catalog to their

new employers. Her parents appear disinterested and detached from their daughter when in

reality, they have little time to do anything else but work, as they frantically work due to the

stress of the family’s current financial state. Although the parents are focused on their work for

the benefit of the family, from Coraline’s perspective, she does not view her parents as

satisfactory. At family dinner, she calls her father’s food “disgusting,” despite the fact he is in

good spirits, and even sings Coraline a song as he serves her dinner. (Selick, n.d.).

As a solution to cure her boredom, Coraline’s mother proposes that she introduce herself

to the other residents of the pink palace and new neighbors. Coraline responds to her mother,

“But you said they’re ding backs.” Coraline makes judgments about her neighbors before she

even meets them. She meets Mr. Bobinsky, a blue Russian circus performer, who tells Coraline

he trains his pet mice to perform in circus shows. Coraline writes off Mr. B as a strange lunatic.

As she leaves, Mr. B remembers the mice told him to tell her “Don't go through little door.” This

scene foreshadows Coraline’s future experience in the alternate universe and hints that Mr. B is

not as crazy as Coraline has assumed. She writes him off and introduces herself to the neighbors

below her, Ms. Spink and Miss. Forcible. Similar to Mr. Bobinsky, Ms. Spink and Forcible are

eccentric, retired theater performers. While they are very hospitable, Coraline appears

uncomfortable as she observes, and judges the women’s unique style and decor. Ms. Spink offers

to read Coraline’s fortune from the remaining tea leaves. Coraline hesitantly agrees and Ms.
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Spink tells her “You are in terrible danger.” (Selick, n.d.). Once again, Coraline dismisses her

neighbor’s warning due to her habit of immediately judging others based on first impressions and

appearance.

According to Aristotle, “offences against justice can be always attributed to lack of a

particular virtue” (Höffe, 2010, p. 119). Coraline’s unfair judgments of others is considered the

vice of injustice. It is unjust to judge others based on a bias or discredit the abilities of others

based on a judgment. As soon as she arrives at the Pink Palace Coraline exercises injustice and

selfishness. Coraline’s actions are representative of an internal deficiency of justice. If Coraline

practiced the virtue of justice in her interactions, she would refrain from making false

assumptions about their mental capacity. If Coraline refrained from unfair judgment, she would

have realized earlier that her neighbors are trustworthy and listened to their warnings of danger.

Coraline dismisses the other residents’ warnings and enters the dream world

through the little door. Coraline's failure to acknowledge the warnings demonstrate her failure to

exercise prudence. Prudence is “an intellectual habit” that enables a person to properly deliberate

and choose the virtuous or good decision (Stedman, 2011).

The dream world in the alternate universe symbolizes excess in all aspects of life.

Excess is one of the extremes that result in immoral action. "In the dream world, Coraline's other

mother exhibits an excess of temperance. “Temperance is the habit of moderation in the use of

pleasurable things.” (Stedman, 2011). Temperance as a virtue would guide one to moderate

decisions.

Because the other mother wants Coraline to stay there forever, she is desperate for

Coraline’s approval and admiration. The other mother secretly knows Coraline views her reality

as deficient. During Coraline’s first visit to the alternate universe, the other mother cooks her a
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delicious feast, knowing Coraline hates the food her real father cooks. In the dream world,

Coraline’s room is decorated with her favorite things, and her parents give her every moment of

their attention. The other mother impresses Coraline by giving her everything she wants, but

materialistic indulgences cannot fully satisfy any individual. Outside of the film, if parents

always present their child with everything they ask for, over time, it may result in the child

feeling entitled to anything they want. This excess of temperance leads to greed and conflict with

others.

For instance, once Coraline falls asleep she awakes back in her reality. After her

experience of overindulgence in the dream world, Coraline's negative perspective of her real

parents and life intensifies. Coraline views her parents as even more deficient than she did

before. For instance, Coraline’s real mom refuses to buy a pair of gloves that she begs for at the

store. Coraline sassily snaps at her mother and says, “My other mother would get them for me.”

(Selick, n.d.). Coraline knows her parents are barely employed and still throws a fit when she

does not get what she wants. This scene exhibits Coraline’s failure to exercise temperance and

justice because she acts out of selfishness and fails to respect her mom.

During Coraline’s second and third visits to the dream world, she meets her “other

neighbors.” In the dream world, Mr. Bobinsky and Miss Spink and Forcible are glamorous,

attractive performers that dazzle Coraline with a jumping mouse performance and an acrobatic

performance. Despite barely exchanging any conversation with the dream versions of her

neighbors, she views them highly based on their impressive performances.

It is not until Coraline’s third visit to the alternate universe that she experiences extreme

deficiency and begins to embody The Cardinal Virtues. Coraline realizes the alternate universe is

not what the other mother initially led her to believe when the other mother tells Coraline, “You
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could stay here forever… if you want to” She then asks Coraline to sew buttons into her eyes.

Even though the dream world still had everything Coraline initially wished for when she moved

to the pink palace, Coraline immediately wants to return to her reality as soon as the other

mother asks her this question. Coraline abruptly tells the other mother she needs to go to bed in

an attempt to go back to her reality. This scene is the beginning of Coraline’s realization that the

golden mean is her real parents and life.

Once Coraline is in her room, she tells the toys that she’s “going home tonight, robots,

and I won’t be back.” Coraline forces herself to fall asleep, she wakes up and excitedly yells,

“Mom, Dad, I’m home!” only to realize the other mother did not let her return to reality, and it is

still nighttime. (Selick, n.d.). Angry that she is not at home, Coraline confronts the other mother

and demands to go home. Coraline’s mother transforms into an arachnid-like creature and throws

her in a dungeon with three ghost children. The ghost children tell Coraline that the other mother

spied on their lives and noticed they were unhappy, so she lured them to the alternate universe

and “gave all that [they] asked, yet [they] still wanted more, so [they] let her so the buttons.”

Once the other mother took their eyes, she locked them in a dark dungeon. The ghosts tell her the

only way they can leave is if Coraline finds their missing eyes.

Once she hears the story of the ghost children, Coraline feels empathy for the children

and wants to help them. This is the first time Coraline demonstrates virtuous action in the movie.

Coraline’s empathy for the ghost children leads her to agree to help find their eyes and escape. In

this scene, Coraline’s internal thought process begins to shift as she demonstrates both prudence

and justice. Coraline exhibits prudence, which helps her morally deliberate her next course of

action, as well as temperance, which allows her to realize the ghost children deserve to find their

eyes and leave the now nightmare world.

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Coraline manages to escape back to reality from the nightmare world. Once again, she

excitedly shouts, “Mom, Dad, I’m home!” (Selick, n.d.). She even laughs when she sees her

mom’s disgusting groceries, despite the fact Coraline would complain about the terrible food her

parents cooked. Coraline’s enthusiasm and relief to be back in her reality is cut short once she

notices her parents are missing and realizes the other mother took them to lure Coraline back to

the nightmare world. Once again, Coraline exercises prudence and decides she wants to go back

to save her real parents.

The doctrine of Aristotle’s golden mean “takes account of both the inner nature of man

and the external conditions of his existence.” (Höffe, 2010, p. 83). After Coraline discovers the

golden mean, she must use the habit of virtue to attain the golden mean that she once took for

granted. Coraline’s decision to return to the nightmare world exhibits not only prudence but

fortitude. Coraline’s decision to put herself in danger for the sake of others indicates that she has

learned the value of putting others before herself, and she knows she will feel fulfilled once she

can set everyone free. At this point, Coraline has rejected material indulgences and simply just

wants her real parents.

Coraline exemplifies the virtue of fortitude in numerous ways during her final visit to the

alternate universe. Fortitude is the “habit of restraining fear or moderation of rash behavior in the

face of danger or difficulty (Stedman, 2011). Coraline exercises prudence to strategically

formulate a plan to locate the ghost eyes and her real parents to free them. Coraline knows the

other mother can’t resist a game. Before she proposes her game idea to the other mother, she tells

herself, “Be strong Coraline,” which indicates Coraline’s perseverance and fortitude. Coraline

challenges the other mother to a “finding things” game. (Selick, n.d.).

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Coraline makes a deal with the other mother, if she finds the ghost eyes and her parents,

the other mother will set everyone free, and if she fails Coraline will stay with her forever and let

her sew buttons in her eyes.

Coraline encounters the nightmare versions of her other father and neighbors to obtain

each ghost's eye. Coraline finds fortitude from within herself to face her now terrifying creature-

like neighbors. The distinct contrast between the Pink Palace residence in the dream world

compared to the nightmare world are symbolic of the perils of both extremes. The neighbors

quickly transform from graceful performers to evil creatures trying to get in the way of

Coraline’s escape from the alternate universe. The nightmare world characters symbolize vices

that obstruct virtue and the golden mean. The nightmare residence makes it extremely difficult

for Coraline to obtain the ghost eyes.

With each ghost eye Coraline finds, the ghost child who the eyes belong to can help

Coraline along the way, at one point one of the ghost eyes says, “Be clever miss; if you win

she’ll never let you go!” (Selick, n.d.). Notably, the only way for the children to leave the

nightmare world is if they have their eyes. A common phrase is that “the eyes are the window to

the soul.” In this scene, the eyes help Coraline exercise prudence in her fight against the other

mother, and they help her see the situation more clearly.

In many ways, the ghost children and their eyes symbolize the habit of virtue. “The

cardinal virtues are those habits of character which are primary in guiding the individual toward

that ‘golden mean' in particular situations.” (Stedman, 2011) They help guide Coraline back to

the golden mean by giving her insight on how to defeat the other mother. Coraline ultimately

defeats the other mother by taking prudent, and courageous actions to free her parents and the

ghost children. By the time, Coraline saves her parents, and the ghost children and returns home
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her entire perspective on her reality has completely changed for the better. Although Coraline’s

parents do not remember their experience in the alternate universe, Coraline is elated to be

reunited with her parents after her experience. Her real parents informed her their employers

loved the garden catalog and Coraline’s mom sneaks a present under her pillow. Coraline opens

the gift and is delighted to find the gloves she had thrown a tantrum over earlier in the movie.

She is perfectly content with this small display of love from her mother, as they signify that her

mother does listen and care for her, even when Coraline thinks otherwise.

With her newfound perspective on reality, Coraline immediately organizes a garden party

and gladly invites her neighbors she once judged as strange and unsettling. Even Coraline’s

mother is surprised at the fact that Coraline wants to invite Mr. Bobinsky, who Coraline had once

called “a drunk.” Coraline defends her decision to invite Mr. B, and tells her mom, “Mr. B's not

drunk, Mom, he’s just...eccentric” (Selick, n.d.).

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References

Höffe, O. (Ed.). (2010). Aristotle's nicomachean ethics. BRILL.

Selick, H. (n.d.). The internet movie script database (imsdb). The Internet Movie Script

Database. https://imsdb.com/scripts/Coraline.html

Stedman, J. M. (2011). Aristotle’s Cardinal Virtues: Their Application to Assessment of

Psychopathology and Psychotherapy. Practical Philosophy, 10(1). http://www.practical-

philosophy.org.uk.
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