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Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones
Coraline’s other father is the version of her real father who exists in the other mother’s realm. Coraline’s other father is, at first, a sunnier, warmer version of her own father whose presence Coraline enjoys. However, when the other father offers Coraline the chance to stay in their world forever—if she sews black buttons onto her face in place of her eyes—Coraline balks at the offer and returns to her own world. After she realizes her parents are missing, she goes back to the other mother’s world once more in hopes of finding them—and, upon her return, realizes that things there are deteriorating quickly. The other father has, by Coraline’s second morning in the other mother’s world, begun to look vague and dough-like; he reveals answers to the questions she asks about the other mother’s whereabouts and her construction of the world parallel to Coraline’s, but upon realizing he’s said too much, his face goes blank and he shuts down. The next time Coraline sees the other father, he is all but unrecognizable—as she goes into the empty flat next door to search for one of the lost children’s souls, she encounters a terrible grublike creature in the flat’s cellar whom she soon recognizes as the other father, returned to his original state. The other father apologizes to Coraline for being unable to help her—and unable to resist the other mother’s directive to harm Coraline. Coraline escapes the other father—or what’s left of him—just as he turns on her. A miserable, spineless creature completely under the other mother’s control, the other father is an example of just how powerful the other mother truly is.
The Other Father Quotes in Coraline
The Coraline quotes below are all either spoken by The Other Father or refer to The Other Father. 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:
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Chapter 3 Quotes
“Coraline?” the woman said. “Is that you?”
And then she turned around. Her eyes were big black buttons.
“Lunchtime, Coraline,” said the woman.
“Who are you?” asked Coraline.
“I’m your other mother,” said the woman. “Go and tell your other father that lunch is ready,” She opened the door of the oven. Suddenly Coraline realized how hungry she was. It smelled wonderful.
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[Coraline’s] other parents stood in the kitchen doorway as she walked down the corridor, smiling identical smiles, and waving slowly. “Have a nice time outside,” said her other mother.
“We’ll just wait here for you to come back,” said her other father.
When Coraline got to the front door, she turned back and looked at them. They were still watching her, and waving, and smiling.
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Chapter 4 Quotes
The three of them walked back up to Coraline’s other house together. Coraline’s other mother stroked Coraline’s hair with her long white fingers. Coraline shook her head.
“Don’t do that,” said Coraline.
Her other mother took her hand away.
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“If you want to stay,” said her other father, “there’s only one little thing we’ll have to do, so you can stay here for ever and always.”
They went into the kitchen. On a china plate on the kitchen table was a spool of black cotton, and a long silver needle, and, beside them, two large black buttons.
“I don’t think so,” said Coraline.
“Oh, but we want you to,” said her other mother. “We want you to stay. And it’s just a little thing.”
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Chapter 6 Quotes
“If you won’t even talk to me,” said Coraline, “I am going exploring.”
“No point,” said the other father. “There isn’t anywhere but here. This is all she made: the house, the grounds, and the people in the house. She made it and she waited.” Then he looked embarrassed and he put one finger to his lips again, as if he had just said too much.
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The Other Father Character Timeline in Coraline
The timeline below shows where the character The Other Father appears in Coraline. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...and she explains that she’s Coraline’s “other mother.” She urges Coraline to fetch her “ other father ” for lunch. Coraline goes down the familiar hall towards her father’s study—the man she...
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...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 to have a...
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Chapter 4
...Coraline’s other mother strokes Coraline’s hair. Coraline tells her to stop, and she does. Coraline’s other father asks if Coraline likes it in their world—Coraline says she does. Coraline’s other mother tells...
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Coraline’s other father tells her that if she wants to stay, she has to do one small, simple...
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Chapter 5
Coraline asks where her parents are—the other mother, gesturing towards the other father sitting in a nearby chair, insists Coraline has already found her parents. The other father...
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...rat quickly does so. Coraline asks why the other mother doesn’t have her own key— the other father answers her, explaining that there is only one key for only one door. The other...
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Chapter 6
...goes into the kitchen to find it empty. She walks down the hall to her other father ’s study and finds him sitting inert at the desk. Coraline asks where the other...
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Coraline says the other father told her that the other mother is trying to keep the cat out—the cat laughs...
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Chapter 9
...name, she becomes full of pity—she realizes this creature is what used to be her other father . Coraline asks the creature if her parents are down here, or perhaps one of...
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