Chapter 8:

Coraline's other mother takes her out of the mirror the next morning, and is pretending to be nice again. Coraline proposes a game to her mother, but she makes a couple of rules. If Coraline loses the game, she agrees to stay in the other world forever and remain the other mother's daughter. But, if Coraline wins, the other mother has to let Coraline, her parents, and the other three children go. The other mother swears on her own mothers grave and on her own right hand to play fair, then disappears without giving Coraline any hints. Feeling optimistic, Coraline heads to her room, remembers what she heard last night, and looks through the stone. Through the stone, everything looks gray and flat in her room, except for a single red marble on the floor. She realizes that it is the boy's soul! She feels optimistic, but as soon as she walks out of her room, she feels a cold, hard wind blowing that she can not get past. She knows the other mother is causing this, so she yells at her to play fair and suddenly, the wind stops. She heads over to back to Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's flat, and allows herself in. Inside, she sees a cocoon with two bodies inside of it that look like mashed potatoes. She looks through the stone, and of course, she sees the marble inside of the cocoon. She grabs the stone, terrified. They bodies yell “thief” and bats chase her, but she hears a voice telling her to run, so she does.

​

Analysis: 

The other mother begins by buttering Coraline up again and reassuring her of her love. But, Coraline is buying the act less than ever by now. Coraline comes up with a plan to trick the other mother, which is clever. The only thing blocking the other mother’s power over Coraline is her own purely self-interested attitude. The other mother swears on some questionable assets. She swears on her right hand (which foreshadows chapter 12), and then she swears on her own mother, who she claims to have killed and buried herself. No wonder Coraline does not trust her. Being a smart girl, she remembers what was said to her, and she uses the stone she was given to complete her first task. The other mother immediately does not play fair, blowing a harsh wind down the hallway in order to prevent Coraline from completing what she set out to do. Coraline has to yell at the other mother in order for her to stop. This action of the other mother provides the readers with enough detail to know that she is not a loving mother, she is an obsessive being. “Through the imaginary mother, Coraline is able to experience what it is like to have a very powerful and overbearing mother.” (Martinez 10) and through this experience, Coraline progresses as a daughter. With her newfound confidence, Coraline tries for the next marble, but comes to the daunting realization that she is going to have to be very brave in order to collect the second one. “[Coraline] had never been so scared, but she still walked forward until she reached the sac.” (Gaiman 100) which proves that Coraline would do anything for her parents, even if it is the scariest thing she has ever done.