Student Question
Why do you think the protagonist's name in Coraline is spelled unusually?
Quick answer:
The unusual spelling of "Coraline" originated from a typing error when the author intended to name her "Caroline." He found the name intriguing and fitting for the story's theme of parallel worlds. The novel frequently uses linguistic play and inversions, such as Mr. Bobo's name, the dual roles of Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, and symbolic elements like the button eyes. These elements highlight the duality and mirror worlds Coraline encounters.
The author states that he was originally going to name the protagonist "Caroline," but accidentally mistyped it as "Coraline". After thinking about it, he decided that the name "Coraline" intrigued him. As you read the story, you see the author uses other language inventions and inversions that call to mind the two worlds that Coraline comes to know. Mr. Bobo is a duplicate syllable. The two other tenants Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are both actresses. The buttons sewn over the eyes are also "I"'s, the identities/souls of the children. There are her parents, and then the Other Parents, who seem more interesting at first, just as actors inhabit more interesting characters. The Other Parents are in a mirror world, so Coraline can see her real kidnapped parents through a mirror. The Other Mother is the "kind of thing" that loves games, according to the cat Sebastion (not Sebastian), and it seems the author loves word games as well.
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