The theme of bravery is introduced in Chapter 5, when Coraline returns to the other world to rescue her parents. Coraline tells the story of when she and her father encountered a nest of angry wasps during a hike. Her father dropped his glasses and had to return for them later. Coraline explains that it wasn’t brave that he saved her from the wasps the first time, but it was brave of him to go back and face them a second time when he was already afraid of them and understood what they could do to him. She declares “when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave” (57).

Coraline exemplifies this concept multiple times as she ventures through the other world looking to save her parents, the souls of the lost children, and herself. Coraline’s first demonstration of this is while she tells the story. At this point, she knows the other mother wants to keep her in the other world forever, and she knows the other mother is capable of stealing her parents. Though she isn’t yet sure of what the other mother wants from her, she knows enough to feel afraid. Once she gets to the other world, she reassures herself, thinking “I will be brave, […] No, I am brave” (59).