Other Mother vs. Beldam

[Coraline]

Call me crazy, but I HATE it when people refer to the Other Mother as the Beldam.

Here's why.

It kind of started with me sparking the topic with my sister, who said, "Well, it's the Other Mother, duh. She doesn't go around saying, 'I'm your Beldam!'"

Then I talked to a friend with the same pet peeve, who told me that she'd actually looked up "Beldam" on Dictionary.com. Turns out, it's an actual word -- a noun, not a name. Definition? "An old woman; especially, an ugly old woman; a hag."

Discuss.

[Wybie Lovat]

I already knew what Beldam meant. There's a character in Paper Mario named "Beldam", who is an old hag witch. Funny, eh?

Anyways, I really didn't see a distinction between them. The "Other Mother" persona was just sugar coating put over an evil form no kid would trust.

[Coraline]

Well, maybe the Other Mother really didn't have a name. Maybe she was someone nameless and old and definitely not named "Beldam" or "Other Mother" but we have to call her one or the other because if we didn't then everybody would be horribly confused. WhaddayasayaboutTHAT?

[Wybie Lovat]

I'm majorly confused. Is your problem that the fandom has NAMED her Beldam?

I think that's the closest thing to a name she has. The lady is, after all, a monster. She has no need for a human name.

[Coraline]

Yes, that is my problem. And do you know why it's my problem? Because in the book, she's referred to as the beldam, but in the movie they used the term and everbody had to go sticking in a capital B.

DARN THOSE CAPITAL B'S!

[Flying Cat]

Ah, book/movie discrepancies. Did you know that in the Watchmen graphic novel, the organization of the second generation heroes was called Crimebusters? But everyone thought it was Watchmen, since the actual name isn't mentioned much in the graphic novel. It was doubly confusing because the first generation's organization was called the Minutemen. So in the movie they dumbed it down for the viewers and just called them Watchmen instead. And while I don't like the deviation from the original canon, it's okay because Watchmen makes a cooler sounding name anyway. (which was kind of the point because "Crimebusters" was thought up by a character designed to portray the pathetic side of costumed heroes, but that's a tangent of its own)

And I think that's how it is here, Beldam is just a cool name. It sounds much more like a name than Other Mother, for one, and it's easier to type. Also, I'm pretty sure the way the Ghost Children phrased it made it sound like a proper noun.

[Other Squirrel]

Was she ever called Beldam? I thought she was just Other Mother.

[stevejpulaski]

Jul 21, 2009 20:01:51 GMT -6 Other Squirrel said:

Was she ever called Beldam? I thought she was just Other Mother.

I was wondering the same

[flikaline]

The ghost kids refer to her as the beldam