The Taming of the Other Mother - A Comparison of Henry Selick's "Coraline" and William
- Madyson Podojil
- Nov 20, 2015
- 3 min read
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Allow me to begin by discussing briefly our good friend Petruchio and his design for “taming” Kate. He malnourished her, had her wrapped around his pinky, and she cowers to him, believing every word he says while he has a choke-hold on her. Now, if I am addressing relationships, nothing pops out to me as more exceedingly similar than the correlation displayed by the “Other Mother” and all of her creations in the Henry Selick film, Coraline.
In the so-called “dream world” and nirvana-esque domain that the Other Mother creates in the film, everything is quintessential on the surface, but in the deep crevices of the new Earth she’s created (sort of like how Petruchio appears fun-loving in the beginning chapters of the play, but toward the end, we discover his true colors.), she manipulates every creature in it, including “The Other Father”. She creates him, shapes him, molds him to her liking, to the point where he is seduced into a drunken stupor when she is around. One of the lines which displays this is
“Mustn’t talk when mother’s not here.”
As if he needs her to tell him what to say, and/or give him permission.
Now, in Coraline, this can be taken more literally than figuratively. When it is recounted that The Other Mother creates The Other Father according to her own liking, she quite literally creates him. She molds him from a pumpkin and knows exactly how he should look and act, she even tells him so. In one scene in the film, The Other Father releases a dark secret about this parallel universe. The Other Mother immediately orders him to shush, and pulls one of the vines connected to the inside of his head (being that he’s a pumpkin) to silence him. When Coraline discovers him alone, he is seemingly depressed, exhausted, and very melancholy.
This is highly reminiscent of Petruchio’s role of taming Kate in the play. While in Coraline it was literal, in Taming of the Shrew the concept of molding a partner to be a puppet to pull the strings on is displayed more figuratively. In this case, Petruchio wishes to be the puppetmaster for his “pumpkin”, Kate. When he begins his spiral into the world of Kate’s behavior, even from the start, she becomes tired from lack of sleep, and saddened by her own mistreatment. She is tricked into believing every word that comes out of Petruchio’s mouth. Even if she was just playing the game, this is what is displayed in the plot.
The Other Mother and Petruchio both want things their own way, and they want them right at the moment they choose. They’re both narcissistic to the point where they must be in control of everything and everyone around them. SO, to get that way, they manipulate people into believing that they need them to survive. Like a dog being called for by his master. It’s almost like taking Taming of the Shrew and gender-flipping it. In the Shakespearean play, Petruchio rules dominion over Kate, but in Coraline, The Other Mother rules over the Other Father. Whether literal or figurative, the concept is quite unsettling. The only difference? Kate goes on living life. The Other Father, however, is not so lucky toward the end of his journey.
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