Milee Jangid
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Nidhi Bhandari
Lewis Caroll was a British children's literature writer and has been immortalised for his
unique and unconventional style of writing and world-building. When one reads Through The
Looking Glass, one might think of it as any other novel from the 19th century, but looking at it
with magnifying glasses- the satirization of Victorian society is indelible. The subject matter was
derived in form of Alice Liddell for whom he created this magnificent fictional world, but the
expressions of the book make it undoubtedly clear that Caroll was deeply influenced by the times
he lived in. The narrative shifts and the sudden movement of Alice from one square to another
are refined, laced with distinction from other children's literature of the time and a humourous
commentary on the rigid Victorian society.
In children’s literature, the existence of primary and secondary worlds is necessary for the
fantastical elements to nuzzle with the appeal to children. Sometimes, the existence of both
world are not contrary- they blur into each other with smooth ease and the readers glide from one
world to another with little to think of the transformation. Some other times, it is more about the
primary world in contradiction to the secondary world. This creates confusion, chaos, disorder
and most notably- nonsense. The Looking Glass combines the journey trope of children’s
literature which takes us to another reality, with a whimsical nature only Caroll had at the time.
Caroll employs the use of the metaphor of chess in his stories- his journals express his love for
the game and he employs it in the play strategically. What makes it unconventional for the
19th-century children’s novel is the fact that chess is often employed to show the journey of
female characters gaining independence, usually in novels for adults. But Caroll, does it, in the
interpretation of some critiques to show Alice rejecting growing up and for some her embracing
it. Nevertheless, it is unquestionable that its significance is power. Thomas Hardy and Anne
Brontë used the technique as well. Similarly, in Caroll’s employment of the same Alice goes
from being a pawn to becoming the most important creature in the world of nonsense Caroll so
artfully creates.
Another fascinating aspect of the story is that all three female characters of the novel- the
Red Queen, the White Queen and Alice are exceedingly important and power-wielding
characters. As in an actual chess game, the kings are merely figureheads than actual
power-holding authorities in the story. The Red King and the White King’s appearances and
mentions are easily ignorable. The former sleep throughout the story and Alice remarks, "He had
a tall red night-cap on, with a tassel, and he was lying crumpled up into a sort of untidy heap, and
snoring loud." The White King merely exists and observes while taking notes. When Alice first
meets the White King, it's when she first enters the world behind a mirror. She notices the White
King struggling so she offers him help to get up the bar, and in a stereotypically female act of the
1800s novel, he faints and crumples. Alice deigns him as a fragile person with a delicate
character so she is cautious and wary about him for the rest of the story but continues to observe
him from the periphery.
Caroll marks a sharp contrast with how he presents his male characters and female
characters. The queens are courageous and vigorous in their actions and are fiercely independent.
In addendum, the White King in a humorous chain of events asserts the Queen’s ability to look
after herself. While Alice is visibly alarmed to see the Queen running, the King doesn't lose his
cool in a show of overt masculinity and a saviour complex. In fact, he doesn’t even look up.
Alice worriedly declares, "There's some enemy after her, no doubt.” His response is reflexive
and factual that proving that gender disparities do not account for the White Queen not being
capable and Caroll once again takes the feminist side of the writing while creating the world. The
White King remarks, "No use, no use!"; "She runs so fearfully quick.”
Children’s literature prior to the mid-1800s had a tenacity for focusing more on moral,
social and religious lessons. British children’s authors such as these were Anna Laetitia
Barbauld, Maria Edgeworth, Sarah Trimmer, George MacDonald, and Christina Rossetti; they all
shared one thing in common and that was the encouragement for self-improvement, religious
piety, and appropriate social behaviour. Fairy tales and folklore became accessible to children
only in the 1800s, before that these tales were considered inappropriate and lewd for children.
When Caroll started writing, fairy tales had already become part of children’s literature. Carroll's
two Alice books represented a new type of children's literature. With the reversal of gender
roles, the critique of society, and the distinction from typical morality play it can be concluded
that Caroll presented an intervention in the world of children literature like no one had before in
the 19th century.
Work Citation
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. New York: Dover Publications, 1993.
Chicago (author-date), 17th ed.
