|
|
Throughout our childhood we are told exciting, unforgettable stories filled with magic, heroes, witches, and far off fantasy lands. These magical stories are the ones we keep with us for the rest of our lives, are ingrained into our minds so that we may never forget the fantastic adventures and entertainment they provided us. However, are these innocent children's stories solely about magic and adventure, or is is there a hidden meaning behind these journeys to far off lands?
My English teacher had always told us that every serious author writes with an agenda. He or she has a story to tell, a message to share, or a warning to give, and it may not always be so apparent. I have always been absolutely fascinated with the vehicles some authors use to communicate their message. I particularly have respect for the authors who can relay such a serious message through something as simple as children's stories, like Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", sometimes simply referred to as "Alice in Wonderland".
Alice's story begins while she is sitting by the river with her sister, when she follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole. When she falls to the bottom, she finds herself in a room with a very tiny door, and ends up growing and shrinking depending on what she eats and drinks. Alice begins to cry and finds herself swimming in a pool of tears. Once she swims to shore, she continues to chase the White Rabbit, who sends her into his house to fetch some items. Inside, she drinks an unlabeled bottle and grows to enormous size. The White Rabbit and Bill the Lizard try to get her out, but Alice eats some small cakes and shrinks into a tiny size. She then runs into the woods to meet a caterpillar smoking a pipe who argues with Alice momentarily, but also teaches her that different parts of a mushroom will help her to grow and shrink.
Alice then wanders off to the house of the Duchess who is nursing her baby. The Duchess treats Alice disrespectfully, and then leaves for a croquet game with the Red Queen, handing the baby to her. The baby turns out to be a pig, and Alice lets it go and it runs away. She asks Cheshire Cat for help, and he directs her to the March Hare's house where she meets the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse at the mad tea party. After many discourtesies and confusions, Alice leaves the tea party and finds herself wandering into a game of croquet with the Red Queen where she must play with a flamingo and a hedgehog. The Queen then sends Alice to listen to the story of the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon who tell her about the lobster quadrille. After the story, Alice is sent back to the croquet grounds, where a trial is starting over the Knave of hearts who stole the Queen's tarts. In court, Alice upsets the King and Queen who demand her beheading, but she begins growing to enormous size, knocking over the Queen's army of playing cards, when all of a sudden she finds herself back by the river with her sister where the dream began.
What many people don't know is that behind the thrill of Wonderland is a metaphor with many different interpretations. One could really read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" as either a fairytale or a social satire. Throughout the book there are many hints to the negative feelings of Victorian England at the time. There are actually many clues that keep consistent throughout the story, such as Wonderland being a monarchy (Great Britain), and the Red Queen's (Queen Victoria) evil rule. Additionally, the Mad Hatter's never-ending tea party seems to be a negative hint to the English social tradition of tea time, portraying it as an incessant string of pointless chatter.
Another possible stab at English society and politics was the caucus race after Alice got out of the pool of tears. To dry off, a dodo suggests that they run a caucus race, which requires them to run about every which way until the dodo calls the end of it a half hour later to declare everyone a winner. The definition of caucus from dictionary.com is "A meeting of the members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates or decide policy." So the author naming it a caucus race suggests that the English politicians did the same, running about without meaning, acting as if it's a big deal, only to randomly stop without accomplishing anything.
One can also look at "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" as a coming of age story. In the great hall, Alice is too big to fit in the tiny door leading to the garden. She gets upset that she isn't the right size, and is confused as she constantly shrinks and grows, as a child may feel during puberty. The garden, in this case, can represent childhood, and Alice is simply too old for it, no matter how hard she may try to get in. Also, in the course of her adventure through Wonderland, she learns that a life full of nonsense and play is displeasing to her, and she comes to realize the need for order and sanity as she makes the transition from child to adult.
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" seems to have many different possibilities for interpretation, and has been looked at in many different lights, other than the two I've mentioned. No one knows for sure if "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is a political satire, thoughts about the process of growing up, a story written by a mad man about drugs, or simply just a fairy tale. Lewis Carroll made a comment on one of his poems, "The Hunting of the Snark", protesting that it was simply just written for a child's entertainment, but it can definitely be open to interpretation.
"I'm very much afraid I didn't mean anything but nonsense. Still, you know, words mean more than we mean to express when we use them; so a whole book ought to mean a great deal more than the writer means. So, whatever good meanings are in the book, I'm glad to accept as the meaning of the book."
(source: "The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll")
Many have taken his quote and found that it may apply to all his novels and written works. So, is "Alice in Wonderland" really just a child's fairy tale? I guess it just depends on how you want to read it.
For now, I must go - I'm late for a very important date!
Until next time!
-xoxkitkat
|
