The Complete Alice in Wonderland (19 page)

“Allow Me to Sell You a Couple”:
This is a joke referring to the swarms of Victorian charlatans who would sell “cures” for any ailment. The implication, of course, is that Father William is spry and active not because of his quack medicine, but because of his attitude. He is young at heart. His offer to sell a “cure” to his overly-serious son is just another point of fatherly mischief.

The Pushy Pigeon:
The poor, beleaguered Pigeon may be a caricature of people who believe in justified prejudice. She equates Alice with a serpent, simply because she has a long neck and eats eggs. Of course, considering the situation, her outrage is entirely understandable.

Chapter VI

Two Footmen of Wonderland:
The Fish-Footman and the Frog-Footman are classic Carrollian figures. Their goggling eyes and aquatic natures make them “fish out of water,” out of their element and quite at odds with the current fashion and culture of Wonderland. By the 19
^th
century, footmen were somewhat outmoded and were easy targets for jokes. Their formal livery, powdered wigs, stockings and stilted manners were relics of an older age.

The Fish-Footman:
This character is probably the result of one of Alice’s “almost-adventures” in real life. When she was young, she wanted to see an advertised fair attraction featuring a “talking fish.”
 
She would probably have been quite disappointed to learn that the fish didn’t actually talk. They do, however, in Wonderland!

The Dumpy and Frumpy Duchess:
Carroll’s depiction of the Duchess is probably not based on an historical character. Tenniel’s illustrations, however, are quite ingeniously different from Carroll’s original conception. (There is a reference to the Duchess’s pointed chin in the text, although the illustration shows nothing of the sort.)
 
Tenniel’s Duchess was inspired by a caricature of an old woman drawn by Leonardo da Vinci. This amusing portrait was later developed into a painting by Quentin Matsys, “The Ugly Duchess.”
 
The Duchess’s ridiculously sumptuous headdress and her wrinkled features are taken directly from those sources.

The Pig-Baby:
It is interesting that the Duchess has a baby, since this implies that there is a Duke, and that he has only recently departed. Whether he is imprisoned by the Queen of Hearts, or in exile, or simply out on an errand, we cannot say. Carroll’s dislike of boys (perhaps dating back to the abuses he suffered in school) was well known, and as a result his choice of showing the baby boy as half-pig is not surprising!

The Mysterious Cook:
The pepper-obsessed Cook is surely one of the most violent characters in Wonderland (superseded, of course, by the Queen of Hearts). Why the Duchess puts up with the Cook’s antics is not explained. Considering the violent streak, however, it’s entirely possible that the Queen, Duchess and Cook are all related. Her aggression is completely focused on the Duchess, while the Cheshire-Cat feels quite comfortable sitting on the hearth. Whether this all has something to do with the recent disappearance of the Duke (father of the Pig-Baby?) remains wide open to speculation!

From Whence Came the Cheshire-Cat?:
One of Carroll’s most famous creations, the Cat remains mysterious and simply grins over our attempts at classification. It is possible that Carroll was inspired by a then-contemporary discussion in
Notes and Queries
, where the origin of the phrase “to grin like a Cheshire cat” was discussed at length. The real origin, however, is probably from Charles Kingsley’s 1863 story,
The Water-Babies
: “And the otter grew so proud that she turned head over heels twice, and then stood upright half out of the water, grinning like a Cheshire cat.”
 
The further idea of a speaking, mischievous, yet helpful cat may also have been inspired by Charles Perrault’s classic fairytale, “The Booted Cat,” or Puss in Boots.

Up on a Branch:
The Cheshire-Cat is sitting in a horse chestnut tree—the very same one, in fact, that grows in the Dean’s Garden. The tree lives to this day.

Chapter VII

The Madness of Hares and Hatters:
These characters were chosen by Carroll due to two sayings common in his time. “Mad as a March hare” refers to the wild, unpredictable behavior of mating hares in the spring. “Mad as a hatter” is a reference to the neurological damage caused by mercury poisoning. Mercury, before its full dangers were known, was used to cure felt for hat making. The Hare’s madness is hopefully temporary, but the Hatter is surely forever mad.

The March Hare Revealed:
The March Hare is something of a country squire. He has a strong ego, and his house has been to built in his own image (complete with ears!). He distrusts the nobility of Wonderland, and is quick to look down on outsiders (especially the urbane and well-to-do Alice, quite out of her element).

A Portrayal of the Hatter:
The Hatter is frequently misunderstood. In many theatrical releases, he is portrayed as a flitting, neurotic character. Carroll, however, seems to have intended the Hatter as a casual rustic man. For example, in a letter regarding the stage portrayal of Alice, he wrote, “… My second small request is that the Hatter may drawl, not hesitate, with long pauses between the words, as if half-asleep.”
 
The character then is not wild and frenetic, but rather slow and dreamy. Our impressions of the Hatter are probably informed more by Tenniel’s illustrations than by Carroll’s own wishes!

The Truth About Dormice:
Real-life dormice are often sleepy, because they are nocturnal and hibernate in winter. When we consider the nature of the Mad Tea-Party, in which Father Time has caused an endless loop of daylight that might be in either March or May (or both at once!), we can easily see why the Dormouse is having difficulties with waking.

“Like a Tea Tray in the Sky”:
This line of the Hatter’s improvisation refers to an amusing incident which happened in Carroll’s rooms. Helmut Gernsheim, in his excellent book
Lewis Carroll: Photographer
, tells the story this way: “At Christ Church the usually staid don relaxed in the company of little visitors to his large suite of rooms—a veritable children's paradise. There was a wonderful array of dolls and toys, a distorting mirror, a clockwork bear, and a flying bat made by him. This latter was the cause of much embarrassment when, on a hot summer afternoon, after circling the room several times, it suddenly flew out of the window and landed on a tea-tray which a college servant was just carrying across Tom Quad. Startled by this strange apparition, he dropped the tray with a great clatter.”

The Dormouse’s Story:
As part of her dream, the Dormouse may well be drawing information for stories out of Alice’s mind. The three sisters, of course, are Lorina (Lorina Charlotte, or L.C., or Elsie), Alice (an anagram for Lacie), and Edith (Tillie, short for Matilda, which was Edith’s nickname).

The Treacle Well:
The medicinal, or treacle well, exists at Saint Margaret’s Church, Binsey. This locale (quite close to Christ Church and the “Wonderland” region of Godstow) was frequented in medieval times by those who hoped to heal themselves with pure mineral waters. Alice certainly knew of the place, and was probably taken there by Carroll.

The Garden of Cool Fountains:
This reference may be to the Christ Church Cathedral Garden, adjoining the Dean’s Garden. The Liddell girls were not allowed to enter the Cathedral Garden, but they could see it from their nursery window and always wondered about it. Without doubt, they were intrigued by the “forbidden” beauty of the place and may have wondered what occurred on the grounds!

Chapter VIII

The Red and White Roses:
These seemingly innocuous flowers represent the War of the Roses (white for the House of York, and red for the House of Lancaster) in English history. As the red rose is the flower of the Queen of Hearts, we can assume that the white rose is the symbol of some rival lineage of royalty in Wonderland. No wonder the gardeners are nervous about being seen by the Queen before they can change the roses’ color!

Tulips of Madness:
The passing reference to tulips as flowers of Wonderland is interesting, since tulips are sometimes regarded as symbols of passionate madness. In the early 1600s, the
tulipomania
took place: A wild surge in tulip buying and speculating that caused bulbs to fetch outrageous prices. When the bubble finally burst in 1637, the result was one of the first and most ridiculous market crashes (which certainly afflicted royalty). Such an insanity-inducing flower is quite appropriate for the garden of the Queen of Hearts!

Five and Seven Said Nothing, but Looked at Two:
This is one of Carroll’s hints that an unspoken hierarchy exists among the numbered cards, with ten being the tenth in precedence (and least important), and the Ace being the most senior. In this case, Five and Seven are deferring to their superior to answer Alice. This subtle hierarchy is further supported when we see that the executioner—the most important of all the solders—is the Ace of Clubs.

The Queen, the King and the Knave:
These characters are caricatures of iconic royalty. The Queen is imperious and tyrannical, the King is doddering and self-important, and the Knave is a drunken rogue.

The Hierarchy of the Cards:
As in the classic card game of Hearts, the Hearts are the ruling suit of Wonderland. Beneath them are the courtiers (the aristocracy, dressed in Diamonds), soldiers (the warrior class, wielding maces, or Clubs) and gardeners (the working class, toiling with Spades). The other Hearts are the royal children of the King and Queen. The nature of the Knave of Hearts is not stated, but we can assume that he is a roguish brother, cousin or nephew of the Queen.

The Courtiers:
As mentioned, the courtiers following the Queen of Hearts represent the suit of Diamonds in the card deck. They are scarcely mentioned, but if they are in good graces with the Queen of Hearts and willing to let their own rule be overrun by hers, they are probably fawning sycophants who are quite comfortable in their “high, yet not quite mighty” position of favor. This might be the royal lineage that has the white rose as its symbol.

“
I
See!”:
The Queen here believes that the gardeners are traitors. In changing the color of the roses from white to red, she believes they are trying to hide their allegiance to whichever other royal power in Wonderland has the white rose as his or her symbol. (Possible suspects, as we have seen, include the Kings and Queens of Clubs, Spades and especially the Diamonds.)

“Off With Their Heads!”:
The Queen of Hearts may be a parody of Queen “Bloody” Mary. It is also possible that she is from the line of William the Conqueror, who the Mouse was quite fascinated with. It is said that William introduced the grim practice of beheading to England. Of course, the Queen’s fascination with beheadings might also be a reference to English postage stamps, which of course feature Queen Victoria’s disembodied head in profile!

The White Rabbit Peeped Anxiously into Alice’s Face:
The White Rabbit is nearly blind, and does not recognize Alice at all. (We will also remember that he mistook her for Mary Ann, and almost walked into her despite her huge size in the Hall of Doors.)
 
Here, the Rabbit is erring on the side of caution. He sees that Alice has been accepted by the Kings and Queens, and so he might suspect that she is a Princess from another land. Perhaps he might be thinking of the Red and White Queens of Looking-Glass Land, just over the hedge.

“Did You Say, ‘What a Pity?’”:
Following Carroll’s later descriptions of his characters, we know that the White Rabbit is not only elderly and nearly blind, but also hard of hearing as well!

The Absurdity of Croquet:
The Liddell sisters loved the game of croquet, and often played in the Deanery garden. It’s quite possible that the rules confused them and—like most children—they simply devised new and more entertaining rules as they went along. Carroll himself, recognizing the deceptive complexity of the game, invented his own extremely convoluted variant called “Castle Croquet.”
 
While the Queen of Hearts would have found it delightful, we can only hope that Carroll did not subject the Liddell children too much to his creation!

The Poor Flamingoes and Hedgehogs:
Although it is never said outright, there is (as mentioned prior) a strict hierarchy of power in Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts rules over all, while the cards of the other suits (Diamonds, Clubs and Spades) do her bidding. Sentient animals, such as the White Rabbit, are her servants. (Others, such as the Cheshire-Cat, are regarded as rebels or outsiders.)
 
There are few animals in Wonderland who cannot speak, but the flamingoes and hedgehogs certainly fall in this category. As we can see, they are treated as little more than objects of cruel amusement. All of this is consistently implied, but Carroll probably felt it was far too deep and depressing for a story of children’s fantasy!

“A Cat May Look at a King”:
Alice is quoting an old saying which dates back several centuries. In other words, animals need not show respect for royalty, because royalty is a strictly human condition. The implications of this toward the improper rulership of Wonderland, in which human-like cards control a kingdom populated mostly by sentient beasts, are probably quite ominous to the King of Hearts!