The Novel Alices Adventures In Wonderland English Literature Essay

Lewis Carroll ( Charles Ludwig Dodgson ) was an unbelievable narrative Teller. He was known for being a good educated adult male who was capable of composing both complete literature and merriment, sarcasms that were diverting to kids and grownups likewise. However these yearss, he is remembered best for the novels he wrote for his kid friend Alice Liddell. Carroll wrote the first of the Alice books, Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland, in 1865 and the second of his novels, Through the Looking-Glass was written in 1871which topographic points these narratives right in the center of the Victorian Era, which arguably can be considered to be from 1837 to 1901, or the clip of Queen Victoria ‘s reign. As antecedently mentioned, Carroll was known for being a great ironist, composing verse forms and short narratives that mocked the English authorities, the stiff bookmans of Cambridge ( where he worked and was educated ) , and even himself. While his Alice novels are enjoyed largely for their thaumaturgy, antic qualities, they are non without their ain message that Carroll slipped beneath the narrative. In peculiar, the Alice narratives hold an implicit in message about the troubles of being a immature upper-middle category miss turning up in the Victorian epoch ; holding to blindly follow regulations and societal stereotypes that she does n’t hold with and going a immature adult female in a universe that provided misss with no information about the alterations that would happen, both physically and mentally.

It ‘s of import to understand that during this clip, adult females had a really specific topographic point in society which was notably below the work forces. Any upper-middle category miss turning up in the mid to late 1800 ‘s was taught from a really immature age a figure of social regulations that all adult females of a higher societal position were expected to follow. Young misss could be seen as the really underside of the common Victorian household. They were ever expected to keep a certain degree of submissiveness with their parents and defenders. Of class it was of import for any kid to obey their seniors, but immature male childs tended to hold more freedoms with their parents. “ Girlsaˆ¦treated their parents with the same sort of respect that we have observed in male childs, but there was frequently an added touch of servility and entry, ” said Anthony Fletcher, a professor at the University of London who has studied English societal history[ I ]. After a miss grew up and eventually became a adult female, there was no chance for her to travel up on the societal ladder. She was stuck in the position she was born in, and the lone outlook made of her was to move as a adult female of her position would be expected to move. Womans were besides ever expected to be subservient to the work forces in their lives. Katharine Chorley was a adult female who was turning up when Lewis Carroll was still composing his books. She was raised in such a manner that taught her that she was populating in a universe made by work forces, in which the work forces were Godhead. She wrote that “ [ Women ] existed for their hubby ‘s and male parent ‘s interests and their lives were shaped to delight masculine amour propre. ”[ II ]There is no uncertainty that Lewis Carroll was good cognizant of this clear differentiation between work forces and adult females, yet in the first of his Alice novels, Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland, he created a character that went against the really gender-laws that governed his society.

The Queen of Hearts is a character that clearly holds more power than her hubby the King of Hearts, and out right ignores the King ‘s remarks and demands. The Queen is celebrated for her invariably repeated bid “ Off with her caput! “ which is merely one of her ne’er stoping demands and announcements. The King attempts to ground with her with inactive remarks such as “ Consider, my beloved: she is merely a kid! ” but she blatantly ignores him without even the slightest intimation that she heard what he said in the first topographic point. Real adult females of the Victorian Era would non merely be improbably startled by the really thought of non making what her hubby told her to make, but she would hold no power to do demands or orders in the first topographic point. A immature miss reading Carroll ‘s novels would probably be instead amused by the thought that a adult male would be so wholly subservient to his ain married woman, particularly if the miss was holding problem coming to footings with the fact that she would ne’er be educated like her brother and, as a adult female, would ne’er hold the same opportunities a adult male would.

A nice game of Croquet was non an uncommon manner for an upper to middle category Victorian household to pass an afternoon. It was a game introduced by the Gallic around 1852, and the English picked up an immediate enjoyment of it. While the game was the exact type of unagitated game that would be enjoyed by center and upper category adult females who did n’t care to exercise themselves, there is small inquiry that the immature Alice Liddell ( about and for whom Carroll wrote his books ) and her sisters would hold thought the game to be most onerous. However, “ Mrs Liddell ‘s attack to exert for her misss suggests that they would hold participated in what became… the most popular of all country-house summer lawn games. ”[ III ]Carroll turns the game of Croquet into rather a jeer of ‘high category ‘ gambling in his first novel, as he creates rather a eccentric diversion of the game. The character Alice is forced into playing the game by the Queen of Hearts, much like Miss Alice Liddell would hold been forced into it by her female parent. “ Alice thought she had ne’er seen such a funny croquet-ground in her life ; it was all ridges and furrows ; the balls were unrecorded porcupines, the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to duplicate themselves up and to stand on their custodies and pess, to do the arches, ”[ IV ]Carroll describes a genuinely amusing scene which Alice Liddell might hold been improbably amused with and might even hold imagined herself in as she was forced to exhibit about her pace strike harding about a Croquet ball. Another past clip that Carroll mocked in the same manner a immature kid might is dance. Young adult females were encouraged to larn to dance because “ the great accent on larning dancing reflected the strong belief that it revealed gracefulness and hence governed organic structure linguistic communication as a whole: obeisance, curtsying and proper position were all in the remit of the dance maestro ”[ V ]. It was specifically of import for misss of a higher societal position to larn how to dance. It would demo possible suers that she was raised decently in a household who could afford to hold her larning to dance instead than working. Younger misss nevertheless, would happen the whole thing most taxing, particularly when they were merely get downing to larn the subjects of dancing. They would be improbably gawky at it, and would no uncertainty be embarrassed and frustrated at the really thought of dancing while their female parents looked on critically. Carroll did an first-class occupation of portraying the emotions that Alice might hold felt through the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon in Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland as they perform the Lobster Quardrille. ( The Quardrille was besides a common dance to larn in Carroll ‘s epoch. ) The brace of animals “ began solemnly dancing unit of ammunition and unit of ammunition Alice, every now and so steping on her toes when they passed excessively close, and beckoning their forepaws to tag the timeaˆ¦ ”[ VI ]and while they try to be serious about the dance, they are merely gawky animals that step on Alice ‘s toes. Carroll ‘s creative activity of these characters shows his penetration into how his immature friend Alice would hold felt while seeking her best to dance every bit good as her female parent would hold expected her to, even though she was merely 12 old ages old.

Carroll manages to capture another point of Victorian Childhood in how he writes about Alice ‘s assorted alterations in anatomy. The changeless alterations in Alice ‘s anatomy and how the animals of Wonderland find her odd while she is in fact normal may be diverting to the readers, they are really detecting Carroll gaining control the really kernel of how a immature miss might experience when traveling through pubescence, but holding no cognition of what was go oning to her at all. In the Victorian Era, immature misss were told really small about what was really traveling on in their organic structures. The first clip they experienced the catamenial rhythm was a awful surprise that they would be wholly unprepared for as their female parents would hold told them nil about it. The physical alterations would be merely as foreign to them and they would experience like they did n’t belong. Carroll portrays these feelings through the flowers that speak to Alice in Through the Looking-Glass. As Alice passes through their garden, they tell her form is awkward and that her ‘petals ‘ ( hair ) were “ tumbled about ”[ VII ]. Any immature miss who is sing new alterations with her organic structure and is get downing to notice and attention about current manners and desiring to suit in might experience that she stood out ; that while she truly looks like everyone else she did n’t suit in at all. Part of the thaumaturgy of Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland that every reader remembers is how quickly and often the heroine of the narrative alterations from being an mean miss, to five inches tall, so shortly thenceforth bigger than a house, back to being little, and before you even recognize it is all stretched out and remarkably thin. Physical alterations happen invariably throughout the book. This is more of a mention to non merely a immature miss altering on her ain, but how her female parent might alter her organic structure. “ The eighteenth century saw increasing parental preoccupation with the physical properties of their girls and concern about how these could be most efficaciously maximized, ”[ VIII ]and during that epoch in clip, the ‘preoccupation with physical properties ‘ manifested itself to the extreme in the signifier of girdles, which would literally deform a immature miss ‘s organic structure with metal boning. Corsets were designed to do a adult female slim and maintain her position vertical. Alice Liddell, and the immature, upper-middle category misss of her clip would go introduced to the girdle around the clip of pubescence. They would be forced to non merely cover with the natural development and changing of her organic structure, but besides the unnatural physical alterations that were induced by her parents. As the character Alice grows, psychiatrists, thins out, stretches, and grows once more, you see through a instead amusing manner how a Victorian miss would likely experience ; her organic structure altering from one extreme to the following, go forthing her feeling much the same manner about these new forms and sizes merely as the fresh heroine Alice, who “ was a good trade frightened by this really sudden alteration, but she felt that there was no clip to be lost, as she was shriveling quickly. ”[ IX ]

Young misss ne’er had the chance to go forth place and travel to school every twenty-four hours like their brothers did. In fact, most misss did n’t acquire any instruction at all. The upper category misss, such as Alice Liddell, were lucky plenty to hold the chance to be schooled at place by female parents or a governess if one could be afforded. As a consequence of being kept off from public schooling, misss had small experience with the exterior, grownup universe beyond any household friends who may hold paid her parents a visit or stayed for dinner. Girls could non be secluded everlastingly though, for the lone thing a miss was truly good for in the Victorian epoch was to get married every bit good as her societal position would let and bear kids for her hubby. Because of this responsibility, when her parents decided it was clip, an debut to society and ‘coming out ‘ was inevitable for misss. The full procedure was strenuous on a antecedently private immature adult female as “ she all of a sudden found herself expected to socialise and pattern polite conversation in an complete mode. ”[ X ]The Victorian epoch metaphor used for a immature miss sing the alterations of holding to dress with hair up and in full skirts like a adult female and coming out into the universe was one of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. One of the most popular of Carroll ‘s characters is the bluish caterpillar of Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland. This caterpillar is presumptively an grownup, as it acts in an grownup mode. It smokes a narghile and chastises Alice before demanding that she declaim for him. Though this caterpillar has the air of an grownup, he remains a caterpillar and the reader ne’er has the privilege of reading any scene in which the caterpillar forms a chrysalis and emerges as is the metaphor for maturity. The caterpillar besides lives entirely on his mushroom and attempts to blissfully disregard Alice until she speaks to him, at which point he is forced to react. Carroll developed this character magnificently, as he is a great representation of how a immature Victorian gir.l who has small experience with the public universe. would much instead stay at place and basically remain a caterpillar. These misss would hold had such small experience with being societal, that the thought of staying at place and going an grownup entirely, educating themselves and disregarding the remainder of the universe would hold been much more appealing than the thought of exercising themselves and invariably fearing they would do a sap of themselves and their household.

Another thought that Carroll could be researching through the ill-famed Caterpillar is how immature Victorian misss would be expected to move around a male figure in her life. Victorian male childs were ne’er truly expected to emerge into like immature miss was because they were ne’er truly maintain off from society to get down with. Male childs were the pride and joy of Victorian households, and were n’t kept indoors and conceal off from the populace. They went to school and were able to acquire used to society right off. The undeveloped Caterpillar, in this sense, basically represents a privileged Victorian adult male who ne’er truly had to “ emerge from his chrysalis ” , and upon returning place from his topographic point of work, could sit around in his survey and smoke all eventide, much like the Carroll ‘s Caterpillar sits around on his mushroom and spends his clip smoking a narghile. Upon run intoing Alice for the first clip, the Caterpillar does non admit her at all until he feels up to it, and when eventually he speaks to her he is really austere with her. He gives her unsolicited for advise, such as “ Keep your pique ”[ XI ], demands that she declaim for him, and so chastises her that her recitation was “ incorrect from get downing to stop ”[ XII ]. The Caterpillar Acts of the Apostless in such a manner as a male parent might move towards his girl, particularly if she were to disrupt him when he had withdrawn to his survey and did n’t wish to be disturbed, knocking and doing demands of her in a really paternal mode. Because “ A miss ‘s premier duty was ever obediance to her parents and chiefly to her male parent ” [ insert footer ( Fletcher ) ] , a miss interacting with her male parent in this manner would be expected to compel him no affair how she disagreed with his demands or was irritated by his criticizing. It ‘s rather clear that Alice is frustrated by the Caterpillar, and Carroll expresses this clearly, composing that Alice “ felt a small annoyed ”[ XIII ], she “ swallow [ s ] down her choler every bit good as she could ”[ XIV ], and “ had ne’er been so contradicted in all her life before, and she felt that she was fring her pique ”[ XV ]. While a existent Victorian miss may hold felt the same manner, she would hold been forced to follow with her male parent and remain pleasant. Carroll chooses to dig into these ideas though, and alternatively of composing Alice as a mild mannered miss without an ailment idea in her caput when she addresses a father-like figure, he shows her true ideas and how she is positively aggravated by the Caterpillar ‘s jokes, and despite cognizing how she ought to act, remains discontent. Carroll opens a window right into the head of a immature Victorian miss and how she might experience about her relationship with her male parent figure.

In Through the Looking-Glass, Alice goes through a alone experience and, thanks to the Red Queen and the White Queen, is able to go queened herself. By and large, immature misss are associated with princesses, non Queenss. Princesss are the guiltless 1s, with no power and are frequently so childly that they find themselves being kidnapped in many fairy tales by the scoundrel. They besides are representative of the adolescent phase ; non small babes any longer, but surely non adult females. Queens on the other manus, are the female parent figures. They ‘re the adult adult females who are accomplished and the image of a absolutely feminine adult female. When Alice becomes queened, it is as though she is being forced to jump her princess phase wholly. At no point in Carroll ‘s books do you see Alice travel through a ‘princess ‘ phase, in which she starts developing a sense of muliebrity. She maintains her childlike demeanour and the froward unmindful attitude of a immature individual through the books, merely to be queened and have to travel directly from childhood to muliebrity. The Red and White Queens are really feminine characters, and they treat Alice really much like a Victorian female parent might handle her girl or a governess ( in upper-class fortunes ) and the miss she teaches, the Red Queen particularly. She gives Alice many nit-picky waies such as “ Look up, speak nicely, and do n’t twirl your fingers all the clip ” and “ Curtsey while you ‘re believing what to state. It saves clip ”[ XVI ]. While the former of the instructions makes a good trade of sense and sounds something like what a female parent would so state to her kid, the latter of the two remarks the Red Queen says to Alice makes really small sense and is really impractical. Alice merely “ wondered a small at this, but [ she ] was excessively much in awe of the Queen to discredit it ”[ XVII ]. This is a perfect presentation of how immature Victorian misss were expected to merely accept everything their parents told them to make, believe or state simply because their parents told them to make it and they had to be really respectful and obedient without exclusion. On top of that, the Red Queen presents an image of how many Victorian female parents ( particularly the upper category female parents ) would learn their girl how to be a proper lady ; by being nit picky and rectifying their girls ‘ behaviour invariably. Due to the fact that Alice Liddell ‘s household was reasonably respectable, it is really likely that her female parent would be the type of female parent who would do the same critical remarks on her girl ‘s behaviour that the Red Queen made on Alice ‘s behaviour merely in order to do her appear as civilised and proper as possible. Knowing that Carroll knew the Liddell household good, it would non be a stretch to state that the Red Queen is likely modeled after Mrs. Liddell. Therefore the Red and White Queens desiring to queen Alice every bit good is representative of how Victorian female parents basically took away their girls ‘ ‘princess ‘ phase in order to learn them to go complete, good developed adult females, or Queenss. Alice ‘s reaction to the Queenss, how she “ attended to all [ the queen ‘s ] waies ” and “ did n’t make bold argue [ the queen ‘s ] point ” confirms this perceptual experience.

Lewis Carroll was a really educated adult male who befriended a immature miss named Alice Liddell. From this friendly relationship sprouted Carroll ‘s books Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. It is through these two Alice novels that Carroll demonstrated a deep cognition and compassionate apprehension of what it was like to be a immature miss turning up in Victorian England. Through his characters he portrays of import figures in the lives of the upper-middle category misss whose lives he had a cognition of ; he shows a female parent figure through the Red Queen and a male parent figure through the Caterpillar. He had a clear apprehension of the Victorian household construction every bit good. He even gets into the head of immature misss, portraying how they would experience and respond to the obstructions of turning up. The manner he writes the character of Alice, how she wants to respond to being bossed around by the grownup figures and how she, in bend, really responds shows how Carroll comprehended the child outlook of his immature friend Alice Liddell. There is no manner of cognizing how Carroll was able to understand the nature of a immature miss ‘s head to such an extent that he was able to compose about it in his novels, but it is clear that he had penetrations into the kid head that Victorian society as a whole was missing due to the “ kids should be seen and non heard ” outlook. It is a possibility that he was trusting his novels would bring forth a more profound reaction from the people who read it, and hoped by that to open the eyes of Victorian society to the troubles they were seting their girls through. It seems as though this message was overshadowed by the phantasy and merriment of his narratives and hence lost on anyone who was n’t looking specifically for a deeper significance. Possibly that was his very purpose ; to be elusive adequate to illume a flicker of penetration through his narratives and so allow single readers delve deeper into the significances as they see fit. Even if this is n’t the instance, Carroll ‘s narratives earned him the rubric of a existent ironist ; he turned a unfavorable judgment of Victorian society into narratives that were merely every bit loved so as they are today, and merely those who truly choose to look are able to pick up on his social expostulations. There ‘s no denying that he expressed the feelings, ideas and attitude of immature Victorian misss masterly in his novels. Even if the message he intended to show may hold been lost by the really epoch of people it was designed for, the message is at that place none the less and many a immature miss can still, to this twenty-four hours, relate to the troubles of turning up that Carroll expressed in Alice ‘s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.