Symbolism In Coraline By Neil Gaiman

The cat in the book “Coraline” by Neil Gaiman, is a very mysterious entity; he is one of the few entities that we know of that can travel from the regular world to the other world; as well as one of the few entities that help guide Coraline in her eerie adventure among both worlds. That cat symbolizes a mentor in the novel. Nevertheless, the cat at the beginning of the novel openly declares that he doesn't require a name because, simply, “cats don't have names.” (35) However, later in the novel, we find out that the cat does possess a name. Beldam, also known as the other mother—the main antagonist of the book—, refers to the cat as Vermin. “And you brought Vermin with you.” (125) This is significant because we know that cats merely don't have names, according to

I believe that reason for this is because Vermin was once his name, his human name, and he got later transformed by Beldam when she wasn't able to feed on his soul. Since that's the only reason she wants kids in the other world. “She stole our hearts, and she stole our souls and she took our lives away…” (82) The reason I say Vermin was human is because we know that the Beldam can not create stuff but only transform them. “The other mother could not create. She could only transform, and twist, and change. “ (122) Meaning that Vermin wasn't created but most likely transformed by Beldam- transformed into a cat. To further justify this claim let's take a look at the ghost children. When Coraline first talks to them we notice that the children appear to not remember their names. “ We keep our memories longer than our names.” (81) This can explain why the cat says that he doesn't need a name - he merely forgot it. He may have forgotten his name but not his memories, this is how he is able to help Coralaine in the novel. However, the Beldam didn't forget his name, that's why she calls him