Coraline Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Coraline follows Coraline Jones, a bored, curious girl who finds a small door in her new home that leads to a copy of her world. There her Other Mother, who has black buttons for eyes, cooks wonderful meals and wants Coraline to stay forever, if only she will let buttons be sewn into her eyes.
Neil Gaiman began the story for his daughter, who loved scary tales.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Coraline Jones | Brave, curious girl |
| Her parents | Busy, distracted, but loving |
| The Other Mother | Creature with button eyes |
| The cat | Black cat who can talk in the other world |
| Miss Spink and Miss Forcible | Retired actresses downstairs |
| Mr. Bobo | Neighbor training a mouse circus |
| The ghost children | Three children the Other Mother trapped long ago |
How does Coraline find the other world?
Coraline's family moves into an old house divided into flats. Her parents are always working. In the drawing room is a door that opens onto a brick wall. One day it opens onto a corridor leading to a flat just like hers, where her Other Mother and Other Father, with black button eyes, welcome her with delicious food and toys.
↑ Back to the topWhat does the Other Mother want?
The Other Mother invites Coraline to stay forever, on one condition: she must let buttons be sewn into her eyes. Coraline refuses and goes home. Her real parents are gone. She sees them in a mirror, trapped. She realizes the Other Mother has taken them.
↑ Back to the topWhat game does Coraline play?
Coraline goes back and challenges the Other Mother: if she can find her parents and the spirits of three ghost children trapped behind a mirror, they all go free; if she loses, she will stay. With a stone with a hole in it from her neighbors, she can see the hidden spirits, which look like marbles. The cat helps her. The other world starts to fall apart, and the Other Mother grows monstrous.
↑ Back to the topHow does Coraline escape?
Coraline finds the ghost children's spirits but not her parents. She guesses they are inside a snow globe, tricks the Other Mother by saying they are behind the door, throws the cat at her and escapes, slamming the door on the Other Mother's hand. At home, her parents reappear, with no memory of what happened.
↑ Back to the topHow does Coraline end?
That night the ghost children warn her in a dream that the Other Mother's severed hand is coming for the key to the door. Coraline sets up a pretend picnic beside an old well, with the key on a tablecloth over the open shaft. The hand leaps onto it and falls down the well, and she covers it up. Coraline is ready for the new school year, no longer afraid.
↑ Back to the topMore about Coraline
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.