ALICE

IN

WONDERLAND

Alices Adventures in Wonderland(commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland is an !"#$ novel %ritten &y En'lish author Charles Lut%id'e Dod'son under the (seudonym Le%is Carroll)It tells o* a 'irl named Alice %ho *alls do%n a ra&&it hole into a *antasy %orld(Wonderland (o(ulated &y (eculiar +anthro(omor(hic creatures),he tale (lays %ith adult as %ell as children)It is considered to &e one o* the &est e-am(les o* the literary nonsense 'enre+and its narrative course and structure have &een enormously in*luential) Le%is Carroll adored the un(re.udiced and innocent %ay youn' children a((roach the %orld)With Alices Adventures in Wonderland+he %anted to descri&e ho% a child sees our adult %orld+includin' all o* the rules and social eti/uette %e created *or ourselves+as %ell as the e'os and &ad ha&its %e have develo(ed durin' our lives) In the 0ictorian Era children had to learn many morali1in' (oems &y 2eart)Carroll altered some o* these verses *or the Alice &oo3 +o* course to the Amusement o* Liddell sisters)4n*ortunately these (oems are hardly remem&ered no%adays+so the *un o* the (arody has disa((eared *or the 'reater (art) ,he most o&vious theme that ca &e *ound in Alices Adventures in Wonderlandis the theme o* 'ro%in' u() Alices Adventures in Wonderland re(resents the childs stru''le to 5urvive in the con*usin' %orld o* adults),o understand our adult %orld+ Alice has to overcome the o(en6mindedness that is characteristic *or children) Althrou'h Carroll invented Alices Adventures in Wonderland *or the entertainment o* children +many (u(ils have discovered various underlyin' in*luences in his %or3),he &oo3 have &een e-(lained *rom all 3inds o* vie%(oints+li3e dru' use+7reudian in*uences+ mathematics+(olitical satire+seand (edo(hilia+nonsense+ etc) ,he &oo3s have al%ays &een a *avourite su&.ect *or analysis+as the story lends itsel* to various inter(retations ) It is im(ortant to &ear in mind that Alices Adventures in Wonderland+ho%ever s(ecial it may seem and ha%ever many di**erent inter(retation one thin3s one can *ind+is+ a*ter all+&ut a story %ritten to entertain Charles Dod'sons *avourite child6*riends)It is veryo&vious in the

storythat it %as vvritten *or the three Liddell 'irls+o* %hom Alice %as the closes to Dod'son) In the introductory (oem to the tale+there are clear indications to the three+there named 8rima+5ecunda and ,ertia6Latin *or *irst+second and third res(ectively in *emini1ed *orms),he (art considerin' ro%in' on ha((y summer days %as derived directly *rom reality)It is said that he use to no% out on (icnics %ith the Liddell 'irls and tell them stories)On one o* these e-cursions it started rainin' heavily and they all &ecame soa3ed),hist+ it is said+%ast the ins(iration to the second cha(ter o* the &oo3+ ,he 8ool o* ,ears) 9any (eo(le have seen Alices Adventures in Wonderlandas a (rime e-am(le o* the limit6&rea3in' &oo3 *rom the old tradition illuminatin' the ne% one) ,he underlyin' story +the one a&out a 'irl maturin' a%ay *rom home in %hat seems to &e a %orld ru&ed &y chaos and nonsense +is /uite a *ri'htenin' one)All the time Alice *inds hersel* con*ronted in di**erent situation involvin' various di**erent and curious animals &ein' all alone)5he hasnt 'ot any hel( at all *rom home or the %orld outside o* Wonderland)Le%is Carroll descri&es the *all into the ra&&it6hole as very lon' and he mentions &oo3shelves on the sides o* the hole)Carroll is an e-(ert at (uns and irony),he (art %ith the mad tea6(arty is one o* the &est e-am(les o* this) ,heres a lot o* humour in the *irst Alice &oo3+&ut in the second the mood 'ets a &it dar3er and more melancholic) ,he theme %ith Alice 'ro%in' and and shrin3in' into di**erent si1es could re*lect the u(s and do%n o* adolescence %ith youn' (eo(le sometimes *eelin' adult and sometime /uite the o((osite)One other e-am(le o* maturin' is Alice 'ettin' used to the ne% si1es she 'ro%s)5he tal3s to her *eet and learns some o* the ne% %ays her &ody %or3s in)2er *eelin' are very sha3en *rom her adventures and she cries /uite o*ten %hen its im(ossi&le o&ey the rules o* the Wonderland6or is it adulthood:Everythin' is so out6o*6the6%ay do%n hereas Alice o*ten re(eats to hersel*)Alice doesnt li3e the animals in Wonderland %ho treat hes as a child+&ut sometimes she 'ets daunted &y the res(onsi&ility she has to ta3e ),he /uote Every one in Wonderland is mad +other%ise they %ouldnt &e do%n heretold &y the Cheshire Cat can &e 'iven an e-istential meanin') It is that everyone alive mad &ein' alive+or everyone dreamin' him6or hersel* a%ay is mad due to the esca(e *rom reality:,ime is a very central theme in the story ),he 2atters %atch sho%s days &ecause its al%ays siocloc3 and tea time),ime matters in 'ro%in' u( +&ut *urther inter(retation are le*t unsaid),he (oem in cha(ter !; hints at *or&idden love +and it is entirely (ossi&le that it is a&out his (latonic love *or children +or 9rs) Liddell+

*or that matter) Considerin' the *act +that the *irst manuscri(t %as called Alices Adventures 4nder'round+and that some6at least the 5%edish <translation o* the title is a &it am&i'uous +it &ecomes more a((arent +that the %orld Alice enters isnt .ust any childrens (lay'round+&ut a some%hat *ri'htenin' and dan'erous (lace *or maturin'),he under'round (art o* the old title undenia&ly su''ests dra%in' (arallels to the direction o* Dante or the 2olly =i&le)Continuin' in this direction +the %onder*ul 'arden +into %hich Alice %ants to 'et+can &e a sym&ol o* the >arden o* Eden)It can &e assumed &y Dod'son+&ein' a cleric and a strictly reli'ious man+had read and %as very *amiliar %ith the &i&lical myths as%ell as 9iltons 8aradise Lost )It &ecomes 9ore interestin' %hen Alice *inally 'ets into the 'arden and *inds a (ac3 o* cards rulin' it+%ith a very evil /ueen at its head)It a((ears to &e a %ay o* sayin' that even ,he >arden o* Eden can &e in chaos +or that the 'arden isnt really %hat it a((ears to &e )Or+havin' in mind his 0ictorian irony in the tale+a %ay o* sayin' that our lives on Earth are+in *act +the closest %e can 'et to a (aradise+and that it is ruled &y a mali'nous /ueen %ith little res(ect *or human lives),hese theories are +o* course +merely s(ectaculations and it %ould &e /uitte rude to su''est even madder (arallels+%hich+isnt at all di**icult %ith a childrensstory o* this 3ind) 5ome (eo(le have 'one very *ar in their claims that Le%is Carroll %rote the stories %hile in*luenced &y o(ium),hey say the *i*th cha(ter %ith ,he smo3in' =lue Cater(illar is a&out dru's ),hese claims have no real evidence or *acts to (oint at+and it seems that theyre .ust mad rumours made u( &y stories derive *rom the 'enious o* a man +and not *rom dru' in*luence) At a closer &oo3 +there seems to &e a %hole lot o* an'uish in the story) ,his &ecomes even more a((arent in the se/uel +throu'h the Loo3in' >lass+and its introductory (oem+%here the *ollo%in' can &e *ound? I have not seen thy sunny *ace+ No heard thy silver lau'hter+ No throu'ht o* me shall *ind a (lace In thy youn' li*es herea*ter) ,he (art surely e-(resses Dod'sons *eelin's *or missin' the youn' 'irl Alice used to &e &e*ore 'ro%in' u() 8erha(s the *irst story is more li3e a descri(tion o* a youn' *riend 'ro%in' u( and disa((earin' out o* ones li*e &y &ecomin' a n adult +and as such +out o* Dod'sons reach)Dod'son lost contact %ith Alice Liddell in !"#"+a *e% years &e*ore the (u&lishin' o* the se/uel)It seems that the *irst &oo3 is a tri&ute to a *riend %ho+in time+%ill &e lost to Dod'son+and that the se/uel is+considerin' its tone are e(ita(h),his is clearly seen in the last lines o* the *irst story %hen Alices sister thin3s o* Alice)

It a((ears to the Dod'sons o%n throu'hts a&out the 'irl 'ro%in' u( e-(ressed throu'h one o* Alices sister)Another /uote that e-(resses Dod'sons *eelin' old *ound in the same introduction mentioned a&ove ? We are &ut older children+dear+ Who *ret to *ind our &edtime near) ,his melancholy tone o* Dod'sons can &e *ound in various (art o* the s/uel+%hich e-(resses his 'rie* o* losin' the close *riend he once had &e*ore she 're% u( and vanished),he very last (oem in the se/uel &e'ins its lines %ith letters that ma3e u(Alice 8leasance Liddell6her com(lete name) Charles Dod'sons academic education sho%s in his &oo3 ),he e-otic *antasy ca(tures %ho inha&it the %olds o* his ima'ination all have very 8eculiar name made u( *rom real %ords in En'lish+7rench and Latin)7or e-am(le +the Dormouse is a slee(in' mouse)Dormirein Latin means to slee( +%hile theres no need to e-(lain the rest o* the %ord) It is di**icult to decide on+or %rite a conclusion to a (ro.ect concernin' so intricate su&.ects as this),he su&.ect is vast and there could (ro&a&ly &e years s(ent on it %ithout reachin' a de*initive ans%er+common sense and lo'ic %hen discussin' the &oo3Alices Adventures in Wonderland) One o* the *e% certain thin's are that Charles Lut%id'e Dod'son really loved children and dedicated his %or3s *or them)Whether this love o* his %as (latonic or not+is almost im(ossi&le to decide %ith the *e% indications he le*t a*ter him)