Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones Character Analysis in Coraline

Coraline’s mother is, like Coraline’s father, a busy and hardworking person who, at the start of the novel, seems to have had very little time for Coraline lately. Coraline’s mother keeps an intense focus on her work and on housekeeping, which leads her to seem more flighty and easily distracted about other aspects of her life—for example, she’s shown to be unable to keep fresh food in the kitchen, not realizing that the grocery shopping needs to be done until food is literally rotting on the shelves. Coraline’s mother seems invested in making sure that their family’s new home is kept in tip-top shape, in keeping up with her work, and in helping Coraline pick out sensible, practical clothes for the new school year—but Coraline misreads her mother’s intentions at every turn. By the end of the novel—after her frightening, miserable encounters with the deceptive other mother—Coraline comes to understand that her real mother honestly does want what’s best for her and loves her in a way that only a true mother ever could.

Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones Quotes in Coraline

The Coraline quotes below are all either spoken by Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones or refer to Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Coming of Age and Finding Oneself Theme Icon

[The other mother] picked Coraline up, just as Coraline’s real mother had when Coraline was much younger, cradling the half-sleeping child as if she were a baby.

The other mother carried Coraline into the kitchen and put her down very gently upon the countertop.

Coraline struggled to wake herself up, conscious only for the moment of having been cuddled and loved, and wanting more of it, then realizing where she was and who she was with.

Related Characters: , ,

Page Number and Citation: 87

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, the other mother retrieves Coraline from the cupboard behind the mirror after sending her there to teach her about manners and respect. As the other mother carries Coraline into the kitchen, Coraline is, in her drowsy, dreamy state, reminded of the love, care, and affection her real mother used to show her. Coraline feels betrayed by her own body and her own memories once the other mother sets her down—she longs for the other mother to hold her some more and show her more of that affection, even as she knows that any displays of warmth or love the other mother makes are false, deceitful, and even dangerous. Coraline is learning to differentiate between fake and real ideas of the comforts of home, and between the imperfect but genuine parental love and its perfected—but inherently dishonest—facsimile. This passage also has a dark undertone as it suggests that Coraline is not invincible to the other mother’s tricks—and shows that the longer Coraline is away from her parents and trapped in the other mother’s world, the more susceptible she’ll be to falling for them.

“I think I like this game. But what kind of game shall it be? A riddle game? A test of knowledge or of skill?”

“An exploring game,” suggested Coraline. “A finding-things game.”

“And what is it you think you should be finding in this hide-and-go-seek game, Coraline Jones?”

Coraline hesitated. Then, “My parents,” said Coraline. “And the souls of the children behind the mirror.”

Related Characters: The Other Mother (speaker), Coraline Jones (speaker), Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones, Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones, The Lost Children

Page Number and Citation: 90

Explanation and Analysis:

“Help me, please,” she said. “All of you.”

The other people in the corridor—three children, two adults—were somehow too insubstantial to touch the door. But their hands closed about hers, as she pulled on the big iron door handle, and suddenly she felt strong.

“Never let up, Miss! Hold strong! Hold strong!” whispered a voice in her mind.

“Pull, girl, pull!” whispered another.

And then a voice that sounded like her mother’s—her own mother, her real, wonderful, maddening, infuriating, glorious mother—just said, “Well done, Coraline,” and that was enough.

Related Characters: Coraline Jones (speaker), The Lost Children (speaker), Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 131-132

Explanation and Analysis:

Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones Character Timeline in Coraline

The timeline below shows where the character Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones appears in Coraline. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

One afternoon, Coraline is forbidden from exploring when a heavy rain begins to fall. Her mother and father tell her she must stay inside, and Coraline is cross with her parents... (full context)

...to talk to him. She asks him if she can go outside—he asks what her mother has told her, and Coraline admits that her mother has forbidden her from going exploring.... (full context)

...a large wooden door in the wall of it is locked. When Coraline asks her mother where the door goes, her mother retrieves a key ring from the top of a... (full context)

Coraline goes inside and tells her mother that she’s grown bored again. Her mother laments that there is still a whole week... (full context)

The next day is sunny, and Coraline’s mother takes Coraline into town to buy some new school clothes while Coraline’s father goes into... (full context)

On the way home, Coraline asks her mother whether there’s anyone (or anything) in the empty flat, and whether the apartment somehow connects... (full context)

As soon as her mother leaves, Coraline retrieves the key ring from on top of the cupboard and goes into... (full context)

...about them, a voice calls out to her—it is a voice that sounds like her mother’s. (full context)

...into the kitchen to find a woman standing there. She looks very much like Coraline’s mother but is different in several ways. She is tall and thin, with extremely pale skin... (full context)

At the kitchen table, the other mother serves a huge roasted chicken with delicious sides. Coraline eats hungrily. As Coraline shovels food... (full context)

Coraline walks down the hall towards the front door, where she finds her other mother and other father waiting for her. They smile and wave at her and tell her... (full context)

...puts the key ring on the kitchen counter. She is surprised to find that her mother still isn’t home. Coraline makes herself some toast using frozen bread and waits for her... (full context)

...see Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. They serve her some tea and ask how her mother and father are doing. Coraline explains that her parents are missing—she says they’ve “vanished under... (full context)

...in the mirror. She sees not only her reflection in it, but those of her mother and her father as well—they look “sad and alone,” and wave at her dejectedly. Coraline... (full context)

...Frightened, Coraline runs down the hall and right into the waiting arms of the other mother. (full context)

Coraline asks where her parents are—the other mother, gesturing towards the other father sitting in a nearby chair, insists Coraline has already found... (full context)

Coraline tells the other mother she doesn’t believe her. In response, the other mother bewitches the hall mirror to play... (full context)

The other mother summons a rat to her side and orders it to retrieve the black key from... (full context)

...the stoop. The cat approaches Coraline and rubs against her. Coraline asks why the other mother wants her to stay—the cat replies that the other mother “wants something to love” or... (full context)

...the cat what he suggests she do. The cat tells Coraline to challenge the other mother to a game—“her kind of thing,” he says, “loves games.” Coraline asks the cat what... (full context)

Coraline wakes to find herself being carried—the other mother is carrying her to the kitchen as Coraline struggles to rouse herself fully. The other... (full context)

Coraline asks the other mother if she is planning on turning Coraline into a “dead shell” like the other children... (full context)

The other mother sets Coraline’s breakfast down on the kitchen table and asks what kind of game Coraline... (full context)

...souls look like, how big they are, or where they might be hidden. The other mother smilingly watches Coraline search for a while, then vanishes. Coraline leaves the kitchen and wanders... (full context)

...One of the lost children’s voices is in her ear warning her that the other mother is angry. Coraline shouts out, calling for the other mother and ordering her to play... (full context)

Coraline is awakened by her mother gently shaking her and chiding her for sitting on the nice furniture in the drawing... (full context)

...that Coraline’s trials aren’t yet finished. The tall girl states that even though the other mother swore to let Coraline go, she lied. The children can’t tell Coraline what’s coming for... (full context)

...light of dawn. Soon, the thing scuttles past Coraline—it is, to her horror, the other mother’s right hand, severed when Coraline slammed the door on it on her way back to... (full context)

...seems to Coraline that her parents have no recollection of being trapped in the other mother’s world—she isn’t even sure if they are aware that they lost two days of their... (full context)

In the morning, Coraline asks her mother if she can borrow a sheet—she explains that she wants to have a picnic with... (full context)

...she heads back to the meadow but remains determined to get rid of the other mother once and for all. She sits down with her dolls, announces she’s brought her “lucky... (full context)

Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones Character Analysis

Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones Quotes in Coraline

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 11 Quotes

Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones Character Timeline in Coraline