So…what’s up
with Wonderland?
Lewis Carroll’s
Alice In Wonderland
“…she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and
behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the
little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight, it fitted!”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll (1832 – 1898)
“Lewis Carroll” is the pen name of
Reverend Charles Lutwidge
Dodgson, a minister and
math professor at Oxford
University.
A story for Children….or NOT?
According to popular
accounts, one afternoon
in 1862, Dodgson (Lewis
Carroll) accompanied the
Liddell family on a boat
ride. When Alice Liddell
asked him for a story, he
began one - not just a
children’s story, but a tale
told on multiple levels.
♠ ♥ ♣♦ ♠ ♦ ♣ ♥ ♠
SATIRE
♠ Approaches serious issues, political
problems or social customs
♠ Draws attention to the situation, using
humor, irony & exaggeration
♠ Often uses imaginative characters
♠ Verbally caricatures prominent public
figures
♠ Appears nonsensical, but has serious
undertones
Caricature - a visual form of Satire
♣ This is a caricature of Lewis Carroll –
exaggerating his most prominent features.
♣ Satire is a verbal form that accomplishes
essentially the same effect.
♣ Lewis Carroll was a master of satire.
♠
Nursery Rhymes are another form of satire.
“Humpty Dumpty”, for instance, was written
about a cannon used during the English Civil
War, in the 1600s. When the cannon fell off the
wall, neither infantry nor cavalry could repair it.
♠ In “Through the Looking Glass”, Carroll’s sequel
to “Alice in Wonderland”, Humpty Dumpty
banters about language and labels…representing
propriety and class segregation in Victorian
society.
♠ Some say this character represents the Oxford
Don, a high-ranking University official.
Humpty-Dumpty
Through an “innocuous” fantasy
tale, Carroll satirizes
♦ Insanity
♦ British Empire
♦ Oxford professors
♦ Noted societal figures
♦ Class division & repression
♦ Philosophy & popularly-held beliefs
♦ Victorian customs and etiquette
♦ Aggression and colonization
♦ Public education system
♦ The justice system
♦ Social snobs
♦ Drugs
Imperialism
During Queen Victoria’s reign, Britain controlled 25% of the
world. (areas in pink)
♠
This created unique issues … and superior attitudes… among the
British.
♠
Many critics believe that the aggressive characters in “Alice in
Wonderland” satirize the aggression of Imperialism and the
inequities of the class structure in Victorian Society.
♠
The
Mad
Hatter
Alice
The
Mock
Turtle
“I’m late -I’m late!”
Caricature of Liddell
Possibly another
Caricature of Liddell?
♣ Dodgson’s supervisor at Oxford was Dean Henry Liddell, the
head of the college of Mathematics. Liddell had a habit of being
late for classes and meetings…and hurried everywhere. The
white rabbit is probably modeled after him.
♣ Liddell also had three young daughters, whom Dodgson often
entertained with stories: Lorina, Edith, and of course…Alice!
God
Save
the
Queen
♥ Victoria was a popular queen,
but also formidable, eccentric
and a bit stuffy. While her
shrewdness was politically
effective, she was easy to
caricature…and some say she
was the model for the Red Queen.
♥ Others say the Red Queen is
based on the Liddell’s governess.
The Caucus Race
♥ The character of the Dodo, an
extinct bird, is considered to be
Dodgson’s self-deprecating satire
of himself, making fun of his own
habit of stuttering. Notice that the
bird has hands under his wings.
♥ The caucus race was a reference
to political party organization (or
lack of it) during a primary
election. The story includes a
“caucus race” where there is a lot
of running around in circles and
there is no clear winner.
♥ Sound familiar?
Social Conventions
♥ Afternoon Tea was a social MUST for upper class British citizens –
it was synonymous with “polite society” and “proper civilized
behavior.”
♥ Ironically, the snobbery that became associated with tea was
anything but polite or civilized. One could say and do perfectly
beastly things at tea…as long as one’s manners were intact.
♥ Carroll draws attention to the hypocrisy of tea parties by filling his
table with beastly characters who are “quite mad”…including the
March Hare and the Mad Hatter.
A Mad Tea Party
♠ While fanciful characters and their antics
were entertaining to children, they were
more entertaining to the adults who
recognized them. The Mad Hatter, for
instance, was based on a local inventor
named Theophilus Carter, who was known
for his formal attire and unsuccessful
inventions.
♠ Some say the name is a spin on “mad as
an adder”, referring to the snake…
♠ It is also believed to be a commentary on
hat makers’ use of silver nitrite for
stretching the felt used in men’s top hats.
The substance contained mercury, and was
known to cause blood poisoning and
delusional behavior.
The Dormouse
♦
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a PreRaphaelite painter and a good
friend of Dodgson’s, had a pet
wombat who often slept on his
table. “Dormouse” means
“dormant” or “sleeping mouse”.
♦
Contrary to popular belief, the
Dormouse does not say “feed
your head”…as indicated in the
Jefferson Starship song, “Go Ask
Alice.”
♦
When the dormouse falls asleep
at tea, the Mad Hatter & the
March Hare stuff him into the
teapot. Some say this is a
commentary on the repression of
the lower classes.
Verbal & Visual Wit
♣ Much of the humor in “Alice” is derived
from foolish social conventions and
customs. The Mock Turtle and the
Gryphon “mock” the false appearances
and false manners in Victorian Society.
♣ “Mock Turtle Soup” was considered a
culinary delicacy, made with calf’s parts.
The “Mock Turtle” has a calf’s head and
feet. He refers to his former teacher as a
tortoise, because, as he says “he taught
us”.
♣ Some say the Gryphon and the Mock
Turtle represent Dodgson’s two younger
brothers.
The Game Motif
♣ Games require a set of rules,
but Wonderland seems to have
none. This is especially
frustrating for Alice.
♣ Carroll uses chess, cards, and
croquet to show levels of
nonsense in society.
♣ Games are often used in
literature as a metaphor for
trying to learn how the world
works.
♣ The queen insists on a game of
croquet using flamingoes as
mallets and hedgehogs
♣ This is probably a comment on
the exploitation of the lower
classes for the amusement of
the aristocracy
The Walrus and the Carpenter
♠“The time has come, the walrus
said, to talk of many things…of
sails and ships and sealing wax, of
cabbages and kings…and why the
sea is boiling hot, and whether
pigs have wings.”
♠Some critics believe the debate
between these two represents
Eastern vs. Western philosophies.
♠ Some suggest that the walrus is
Buddha and that the carpenter is
Jesus.…and that the common
people are the oysters, to be
converted to one or the other at the
convenience of a “superior class”.
Opium and altered states
♠ There are several references in
“Alice” to mind-altering
substances, including:
♠ the “drink me” label on a bottle
which makes Alice shrink…
♠ a piece of cake that makes Alice
grow huge
♠ a mushroom that also changes
her size
♠ a caterpillar who smokes a
hookah
♠ and a baby that turns into a pig.
♠ Each of these instances may be
indicate the influence of opium,
which was legal and commonly
used in many households. Its
health effects had not been
publicized.
♠ Dodgson used laudanum (an
opium-based medication)
A Little Bill
♣ Benjamin Disraeli was Queen
Victoria’s prime minister in the
1860s, the founder of the modern
conservative party and a supporter
of the Reform Bill.
♣ In the book, the White Rabbit
sends in a “bill” during a trial,
carried by a lizard character. “Bill
the Lizard” is believed to represent
Disraeli and his reform bill.
♣ Disraeli was a prominent social
and literary figure, and Dodgson
(Carroll) admired his wit.
♣ The trial of the Knave of Hearts
also satirizes the British court
system.
“Curioser
and Curioser”
♠ The Cheshire cat’s grin is always visible, even
when the cat itself disappears. The cat probably
represents the falseness of appearances and the
insincerity sometimes required in society.
♠ Carroll may have incorporated this character
based on a cat face carved on a church, or…
♠ The Cheshire cheese company, who used a
cheese maker’s mold resembling a smiling cat.
♠ Alice’s conversations with the cat establish
that Wonderland is a place where madness is
rampant.
Social Theory
♥ Many aristocrats believed that
the British, as a superior and
dominant society, had the right
and the responsibility to treat the
“inferior” inhabitants of their
conquered territories as if they
were children – incapable of
taking care of themselves, by
Western standards.
♥ When Alice, a child, takes the
Duchess’ baby, it turns into a
pig...not a child at all.
♥ This may suggest Carroll’s belief
that the conquered cultures were
quite capable of taking care of
themselves, with or without the
interference of the Empire.
Illustrators
♠ The first edition of “Alice” was published in 1865, with
black & white illustrations by political cartoonist John
Tenniel. (left)
♠ Later editions included illustrations by Arthur Rackham, a
popular illustrator of childrens’ fantasy books of the late
Victorian era (right)
Britishpoet
poetand
andliterary
literarycritic
criticW.H.
W.H.Auden
British
Auden
believed that
book set
out
to
later suggested
that the
Carroll’s
book
shows
show
the struggle
of children
the struggle
of adolescents
to to
adjust to an
understand
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world
where
rules
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where
and
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and
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order senseless.
often made
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He
sense.
He
also
implies
that
Alice
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implies
that
Alice
is the
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only
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inany
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who has
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follows
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or own
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conscience.
At the♠
end♥
of the
book,
the♣
White
Knight
♣
♦
♠
♦
♥
♠
bids farewell to Alice. This may
symbolize
acknowledgement
At the endDodgson’s
of the book,
the White Knight
that
hasto
grown
as may
a result
of
bids Alice
farewell
Alice.up,
This
symbolize
her experiences.
Dodgson’s
acknowledgement that Alice has
grown up, as a result of her experiences.
Great Information Sources for Alice in Wonderland :
The Victorian Web
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/carroll/index.html
Carroll Forums
http://thecarrollforum.proboards46.com
The Lewis Carroll Homepage
http://www.lewiscarroll.org/carroll.html
Lenny’s Alice in Wonderland Site
http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net
Looking for Lewis Carroll
http://www.lewiscarroll.cc