Druga matka czy Wielka Matka? Koralina Neila Gaimana w świetle myśli Jungowskiej

The following chapter is an attempt at reading Coraline as an artistic vision of an individuation process, with the special focus placed on the mother complex. The main interpretative tools derive from depth psychology, which is deeply rooted in Jungian psychology. The girl’s exploration of the other house is treated as a journey of self-discovery and her release of the unconscious, which is inhabited by the archetypal figures of a mother and father. Coraline’s struggle with the other mother, which is the emanation of the archetypal Great Mother, simultaneously loving and devouring, symbolizes the first stage of her individuation process, namely, the confrontation with the mother complex. The defeat of the other mother constitutes the positive resolution of the conflict and facilitates Coraline’s rebirth and the emergence of a new self, separate from her mother. Besides the theories deriving from depth psychology, the following chapter also refers to theories developed by Donald Winnicott in the field of developmental psychology, with special attention given to the notions of secure attachment and a good enough mother. Similarly to Cinderella, Snow White, or Hansel and Gretel, Coraline continues the long literary tradition of addressing the negative aspect of the mother complex. However, the other mother with her unaccountable nature indubitably surpasses the characters of stepmothers and witches created so far, breeding utter horror in the hearts and minds of many a young reader.