In recent times, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" became known through the film adaptation by Tim Burton. However, the following work revolves around the original, the novel published by Lewis Carroll in 1856. This period is known as the Victorian age, during which Queen Victoria reigned and expanded Britain's sphere of power. Various influences and numerous inventions changed people's lives.
A keyword in this regard is the Industrial Revolution, the foundations of which were laid several decades earlier but came to full realization in the nineteenth century. These achievements transformed British society in a way that had never happened before. People increasingly moved to the cities, and new professions developed. The situation of children also changed because until then, they were seen more as miniature adults who had no needs or desires. What Rousseau had initiated decades earlier was now being implemented in the Victorian era: children were granted a world of their own. Although one cannot compare this understanding with the view of childhood today, it nevertheless represented progress for adolescents of Victorian Britain.
In this time of change, Lewis Carroll wrote his fairytale-like children's novel, in which a Victorian girl named Alice dives into a dream world and experiences all kinds of adventures. Throughout the story, she faces many characters and creatures that are still strongly reminiscent of the patriarchal system of that time. This process is significant since, during that period, the understanding of childhood evolved, and the role of girls, in particular, started to transform.
This term paper deals with the expectations placed on women and girls in the Victorian era and examines how female characters behave in the novel. The question to be addressed is: How does Lewis Carroll portray the female characters, especially Alice, in his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and to what extent are these literary figures shaped by the Victorian age?
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Victorian Age
2.1 Class
2.2 Gender
2.3 The Ideal of Womanhood
2.4 Childhood and Education
3 Analysis
3.1 The Duchess
3.2 The Cook
3.3 The Queen of Hearts
3.4 Alice
4 Conclusion
5 List of Works Cited
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Objectives and Topics
This thesis examines how Lewis Carroll portrays female characters in his novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" against the backdrop of Victorian societal expectations. The study aims to determine to what extent these literary figures reflect the gender roles, social structures, and educational paradigms of nineteenth-century Britain.
- Victorian social hierarchies and class divisions
- Gender roles and the "doctrine of separate spheres"
- The Victorian ideal of womanhood and domesticity
- Educational practices and the socialization of children
- Literary parody of historical figures and social norms
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 The Duchess
In chapter 6, Alice encounters the Duchess sitting in the kitchen nursing a baby. In addition to these three characters, a cook and a cat are also present. Since the Cook has put too much pepper in the soup and the newborn is constantly sneezing and crying, the Duchess seems very tense. Noticing the cat, Alice politely asks the aristocrat why it is grinning. The Duchess then criticizes the girl and replies that she does not know much if she does not know that all Cheshire cats grin. Here, the Duchess' cold and harsh tone becomes apparent. Instead of commending the child for its interest, the Duchess insults it, which does not fit Victorian etiquette.
Later, when Alice imparts her knowledge to the Duchess, the adult reacts infuriated by the girl's attempt to get into conversation, mistakes the word axis for axes, and orders Alice's head to be chopped off. At this point, the angry and child-hostile behavior of the upper-class woman becomes obvious. Threatening another person's life is highly uncivilized. Furthermore, the direct order of the Duchess not to bother her, illustrated by straight imperative, is highly impolite. Referring to the views of Jo Elwyn Jones and Francis Gladstone, knowing how to converse was a vital issue: books on etiquette could teach some of the rules of table manners and public manners, but at the center of the social encounter was conversation, "which had to be kept going however formal the situation, however awkward the circumstances" (50). The issue at stake was not just that conversation should be proper but that the speaker should be gentle and tactful, which the Duchess is not.
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the Victorian era and establishes the research question regarding the portrayal of female characters in Carroll's work.
2 The Victorian Age: Analyzes the historical context, covering social class, gender roles, the ideal of womanhood, and the nature of childhood and education in the nineteenth century.
3 Analysis: Examines specific female characters—the Duchess, the Cook, the Queen of Hearts, and Alice—to identify comparisons and parodies of Victorian norms.
4 Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, confirming how Carroll uses exaggerated characterizations to critique the societal flaws and double standards of the Victorian period.
5 List of Works Cited: Compiles the primary and secondary sources utilized for the historical and literary analysis.
Keywords
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Victorian Age, Social Class, Gender Roles, Ideal of Womanhood, Separate Spheres, Education, Childhood, Parody, Female Characters, Domesticity, Etiquette, British History, Literary Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic work?
The work explores the representation of female characters in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and correlates their behaviors and roles with the social and cultural standards of the Victorian era.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The study covers class structures, the gender-based "doctrine of separate spheres," the idealized role of women, and the evolution of childhood and education in Victorian Britain.
What is the core research question?
The paper asks how Lewis Carroll portrays female characters, specifically Alice, and to what degree these figures are shaped by or parodies of Victorian reality.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author uses literary analysis combined with historical research, linking key narrative scenes to established historical theories and sociological norms of the nineteenth century.
What topics are addressed in the main analysis?
The analysis dissects the characters of the Duchess, the Cook, the Queen of Hearts, and Alice based on their adherence to or transgression of social etiquette, maternal expectations, and educational standards.
What characterize the keywords of this paper?
The keywords highlight the intersection of literary critique, sociological history, and the specific historical period of Victorian Britain.
How is the Queen of Hearts characterized in relation to history?
The paper argues that the Queen of Hearts functions as a tyrannical, hyperbolic parody of Queen Victoria, contrasting the monarch's actual limited judicial power with the character's erratic, violent commands.
Why is Alice described as an atypical protagonist?
Alice is portrayed as self-confident and curious—traits often discouraged in Victorian girls—serving as a glorified figure who resists total intimidation by the absurd adult creatures of Wonderland.
- Quote paper
- Jalda Kalhor-Moghaddam (Author), 2021, "Alice in Wonderland" and the Victorian Age. A Portrayal of the Female Characters in Lewis Carroll's Novel, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1275939
