Dangerous/Magic/Real: Complexity of Magic vs Reality in Neil Gaiman’s Novel “Coraline”

Abstract

Ol’ga Zakutniaia's article focuses on the interaction between the magic (unreal) and real categories in the fairy tale novel, Coraline, by the contemporary British author, Neil Gaiman. The author’s intent to create a scary story for a child is supported through his employment of different literary devices, among them various motifs, keywords, and a particular set of characters. The category of magic is represented in the story first and foremost as dangerous. The relationship between the magic and the real could be described as twofold: reality is often staged as substantial, while magic is always scary and unreal. On the other hand, reality is also absorbing the category of magic, thus insisting on possibilities of expansion beyond the limitations of the real world. This text could be seen as a possible reflection on a literary fairy tale genre in general and on a scary story in particular.   Keywords: Coraline, Neil Gaiman, literary fairy tale, scary story, fantastic, wondrous, fearful, black cat