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The Construction of Space and the Breakthrough of Growth: A Hyperreal Exploration of Coraline
HU Kun, LI Kunmei
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DOI:10.17265/2161-623X/2025.08.005
Nanfang College Guangzhou, Guangzhou, China
As a master of fantasy literature, Neil Gaiman has advanced the development of fantasy literature through his award-winning works. This paper focuses on his work Coraline, employing liminality theory, spatial theory, and Baudrillard’s hyperreality to examine the story of Coraline, an adolescent girl who explores a door leading to a dangerous other world, accompanied by her growth and self-discovery. This study explores the spatial construction and hyperreal representation through liminal elements and spatial metaphors. The interweaving and mutual transgression between the Other World and the real world in the work demonstrate a surreal chaos and complexity, highlighting Coraline’s predicament and courage when confronting the other world. As an individual existing in a liminal state, Coraline navigates between two worlds where the virtual and real intersect. Through this process, she not only achieves personal growth but also seeks self-integrity through continuous questioning and exploration. The blurring and overlapping of these spaces make Coraline a typical hyperreal text, endowing this fantasy work with new depths and meanings of interpretation.
Coraline, fantasy literature, liminality, space, hyperreality
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