Coraline Versions of Reality Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

There was nothing here that frightened her. These things – even the thing in the cellar – were illusions, things made by the other mother in a ghastly parody of the real people and real things on the other end of the corridor. She could not truly make anything, decided Coraline. She could only twist and copy and distort things that already existed. (10.9)

This passage implies that the other world isn't a reality, it's just a "ghastly parody" (a scary imitation) of the real world.

Quote #2

The other mother was huge – her head almost brushed the ceiling – and very pale, the color of a spider's belly. Her hair writhed and twined above her head, and her teeth were sharp as knives […]. (11.7)

The other mother turns into a monster here, which we're guessing is her true form. She was never really a copy of Coraline's mother at all. Also, check out the "Character Analysis" for the other mother for more on her similarities to a spider.

Quote #3

The wall she was touching felt warm and yielding now, and, she realized, it felt as if it were covered in a fine downy fur. (11.48)

As Coraline starts to escape the other world, it's like the entire place falls apart and morphs into some sort of strange being. It actually made us wonder if the other mother and the other world were the same sort of creature.