Roaming in Wonderland
In the last few weeks, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland reminded me of my childhood memory. I had read this book when I studied in the primary school. I really like the book at that time and I still remember some storyline after years. But this time, I learn something more, not just the story.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It seems like one of Alice’s fantastic dream, but I do think different characters in the story must have more significance. We can know more when we think more.
When I find related knowledge about this book, I know that Carroll described Alice as "loving and gentle," "courteous to all," "trustful," and "wildly curious, and with the eager enjoyment of Life that comes only in the happy hours of childhood, when all is new and fair, and when Sin and Sorrow are but names — empty words signifying nothing!” In my understanding, Alice, the main character in the story, a pure lovely little girl, full of curiosity and desire, in her reflects the pure belong to children. In person's growth process, the innocence of children is often eroded. Thus, Alice’s innocence is precious and attractive to children, adults, and more.
In the Wonderland, the first character Alice met is the Hatter, a white rabbit. It’s a frantic, harried Wonderland creature that originally leads Alice to Wonderland. The White Rabbit is figure of some importance, but I think he is manic, timid, and occasionally aggressive sometimes.
There are many characters in this story, and I think that Alice and the Hatter are the clue characters. Maybe they make the greatest impression on the readers. It seems quite strange that I don’t want to analyze Alice or the Hatter any more but want to write more about the Queen of hearts, an antagonist. I’m really interested to analyze this character.
As the ruler of Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts is the character that Alice must inevitably face to figure out the puzzle of Wonderland. In a sense, the Queen of Hearts is literally the heart of Alice’s conflict. Unlike many of the other characters in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts is not as concerned with nonsense and perversions of logic as she is with absolute rule and execution. In Wonderland, she is a singular force of fear who even dominates the King of Hearts. In the Queen’s presence, Alice finally gets a taste of true fear, even though she understands that the Queen of Hearts is merely a playing card. The Gryphon later informs Alice that the Queen never actually executes anyone she sentences to death, which reinforces the fact that the Queen of Hearts’ power lies in her rhetoric. The Queen becomes representative of the idea that Wonderland is devoid of substance.
Furthermore, what’s the significance of the Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?
Again, as the ruler of Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts functions as Alice’s primary antagonist, controlling the realm that thwarts Alice at every turn. As the suit of hearts suggests, she is the heart of Alice’s conflict with Wonderland. When Alice exposes the Queen as a fraud who is nothing more than a playing card, the dream of Wonderland ends abruptly and Alice regains the world of sense and order she has known since birth. Though Alice guesses the Queen of Heart’s secret midway through the book, she hesitates to call her out, demonstrating the power that the Queen of Heats has over the characters in Wonderland. Though the Queen’s threats are, like Wonderland itself, devoid of substance, she still instills fear in her subjects and Alice alike.
The Queen of Hearts poses an additional threat to Alice in her journey toward womanhood. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland recounts Alice’s metaphorical journey to adulthood. Over the course of her adventures, she faces several threatening situations with sexual overtones, but the Queen of Hearts’ threat is both the most direct and the most subtle. In screaming “Off with her head!” to Alice, the Queen of Hearts threatens her life but also her sexuality, since the word refers both to Alice’s literal head and her maidenhead, or maidenhood. The Queen of Hearts violently attempts to force Alice’s sexual awakening against her will, and only with Alice’s growing power and sense of self can she stand up to the Queen and “call her hand” by revealing her to be a mere playing card.
The words written above is the analysis of several characters of this book, and I want to talk more about some symbolism.
When the author write this book, some of the book's adventures may have been based on or influenced by people, situations, and buildings in Oxford and at Christ Church. For example, the "Rabbit Hole" symbolized the actual stairs in the back of the main hall in Christ Church. What’s more, in the eighth chapter, three cards are painting the roses red on a rose tree because they had accidentally planted a white-rose tree that The Queen of Hearts hates. Red roses symbolized the English House of Lancaster, while white roses were the symbol for their rival House of York. Isn’t it quite interesting?
Except the symbolism and the significance, this book have many other good things to appreciate. Its narrative course and structure, characters and imagery have been enormously influential in both popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. What’s more, this book has another characteristic that Carroll added many mathematical things while writing Alice in Wonderland. It seems like that the book was art and mathematics put together. Carroll’s unique understanding of children’s minds allowed him to compose imaginative fiction that appealed to young people.
Today, Alice Adventures in Wonderland has been translated into many languages around the world. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with children as well as with adults. It will never be boring though you read it many times. Every time you read it, you will learn something different. The more you read, the more you think. We will know more when we think more.
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