MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

My paper discusses how Neil Gaiman’s children’s novel Coraline fits into the larger universe Gaiman created in his stunning graphic novel series The Sandman, demonstrating how these works take place in one world. Most research talks about specific works of Gaiman’s and looks at the themes in those particular pieces, without linking them to his other works. I wanted to look at the connections that his pieces have to others, specifically the power and idea of dreams in Coraline and The Sandman.

Through these two works, Gaiman maintains an affinity for two themes: the personification of ideas and liminal spaces. These themes manifest in Coraline through the character of Dream from The Sandman series. In Coraline, a tunnel connects Coraline’s real house to the house in her dreams, creating a channel from the waking world to the Dreaming, Dream’s realm. Dream represents one of the most powerful forces and ideas in the universe as he can embody the nature of any dream. Dream moves easily from the waking world to the Dreaming between their liminal spaces, places of transition, coming to Coraline’s aid as “a haughty black cat, who… watched her but slipped away if ever she went over to try and play with it” (Coraline 2). Dream helps Coraline with her journey throughout the novel in his cat form, one of his many aspects shown throughout The Sandman series.

The Sandman and Coraline sound worlds apart but the recurring themes in these stories tie them together into one world. Looking for the connections between Coraline and The Sandman series rather than at the individual tales influences an entirely different perspective of these particular works. Connecting Gaiman’s stories together shows the primal power of dreams, an idea as Endless and far-reaching as Dream himself.