Going Back to the Roots: The Relationship between the Fairy Tale and Gothic in Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002)

Abstract

Between mystery, magic and folklore, the fairy tale and the gothic seem to be like day and night at first glance, two genres seem like they radically differ from one another. While the fairy tales are seen as educational magical stories for children, the gothic is regarded to show the darkest side humanity has to offer. However, the fairy tale and gothic have more in common than it is expected of them. This is what the following research will try to investigate, while taking Neil Gaiman’s novel released in 2002, Coraline, as a case study. The analysis will be about the story, characters, and themes, but most importantly, it will be about the fairy tale and gothic’s respective tropes, because the novel indeed has characteristics of both genres, which results in a new and innovative story