Coraline: How The Other World Represents Maureen Murdock's Heroine's Journey Model
Coraline: How The Other World Represents Maureen Murdock's Heroine's Journey Model
The Focus Features film “Coraline” represents Maureen Murdock’s model of The Heroine’s Journey in an interesting way: through the representation of the masculine and feminine in the other world and the real world, respectively. The film starts out with its protagonist, Coraline, a curious and independent young girl who has recently moved to Oregon. Both of her parents are busy writing and editing a garden catalogue, making Coraline feel lonely and bored. An important part of the film is Coraline’s relationship with her mother, who represents the feminine side of her world.
In Murdock’s first step, separation from the feminine, Coraline’s mother represents the feminine and the real world which Coraline departs from. On the other side, her father represents the masculine side as well as the other world. There in the other world, Coraline experiences the identification with the masculine stage when she meets her Other Father and Other Wybie, and the cat. I call this the masculine stage because she has a present father figure in the other world, unlike the real world where she interacts with her mother more. However, something interesting I’d like to point out is that the world I’m calling masculine is all controlled by Coraline’s Other Mother. While she is another representation of the feminine, she does not represent Coraline’s real world. This is also the time where she starts gathering her allies, and this part of her journey blends into the road of trials, represented by different excursions to the other world through the little door in her family room.
Coraline soon takes a terrifying turn though. She comes back from a trip to the other world only to realize her parents are gone. Fortunately, her parents’ rescue symbolizes the healing of the mother/daughter split, and all is thought to be well for a while. But that’s not true! She is still in danger, and this resembles the stage in her journey where she has resolved the tension with her feminine side, but now her masculine side is wounded. The final scene is the ultimate resolution between her two worlds, the bridging of the gap; where she finally gets peace and is reunited with her parents. How does the scene bridge the gap, you may ask? Well, her parents gardened. This contrasts greatly with the beginning of the film when they refused to go out because it was raining or because they had work to do. This is also the opposite of the other world, the masculine, where Coraline’s other parents have a beautiful garden which Coraline loves. Because there are elements of both the feminine side and the masculine side, this gardening scene effectively brings the two opposites closer together.
Coraline’s journey through the other world and her fight against her Other Mother wouldn’t seem to bring Coraline and her real mother closer together, but it does just that. While her parents don’t originally pay enough attention to her, Coraline’s rescue really helps rekindle their familial relationships and intertwines her two worlds in such a way that her life in the real world is forever affected by the other world.
Works Cited
“Coraline.” Focus Features, 2009.
Focus Features. Coraline crawls through doorway. The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/movies/06cora.html?login=email&auth=login-email. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Great interpretation. I like how the structure was done in a way that both allows for an understanding of why each part represents each step, but also an understanding of the story itself. I agree that this film represents Maureen Murdock's version of the heroine's journey.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of Coraline’s story as a Heroine’s Journey, but your analysis really opened my eyes to that perspective! I love how you highlighted the differences between the feminine and masculine elements in her two worlds. For example, Coraline's relationship with her Other Mother in the other world reflects a distorted version of femininity, while her real mother's busy life represents the struggles of reality. Your interpretation of how these dynamics impact Coraline’s growth is really unique and adds depth to her journey!
ReplyDeleteHi Citlali, I thought that this interpretation was very unique! I never fully thought about how the feminine and masculine are specifically parental figures and instead thought of them more as gender roles. I also thought that using the garden to represent the embodiment of both masculine and feminine was a great symbolic image.
ReplyDeleteYour perspective on the Heroine's Journey is very unique. Instead of a path internally with the character, the phases of the Heroine's Journey are represented by an alternate world. I like how you mentioned that the masculine is represented by Coraline's other mother, I agree that is very interesting. The other world as a whole is almost personified, its incredibly interesting.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THIS MOVIE I was always so scared of it as a kid and I love your take tying Coraline into the heroine's journey. I feel like the defining point in the movie is her resolve to return to the normal world so I love that you highlighted the moment of her return and how it transforms the "real" world into the perfect world. Really fun post!!
ReplyDeleteHi Citlali! I've never seen Coraline, but you do a great job of explaining the plot (without spoilers!) while also making your argument. The 2 worlds representing the feminine and masculine. It reminds me of some discussions we've had about different locations representing different genders for Helga in Quicksand! Great post, I'm going to have to look into watching Coraline!
ReplyDeleteHi Citlali! I agree with your argument that even though the Other World seems like a more masculine side, in reality, it seems to be controlled by a more "feminine" part, though fake. I thought it would be interested to investigate the bridge between the Other World and normal world. Depicted in the story, it seems to be another entity that controls the Other Mother and has a mind of its own. I think by finding peace at the end, it symbolically represents Coraline defeating the Other Mother. The bridge between masculine and feminine can be interpreted as the balance of masculine and feminine (the peace in Murdock's steps), and this bridge seems to "control" (or at least influence the Other Mother). By embodying this balance, she signals the Other Mother's defeat.
ReplyDelete