The Complete Alice in Wonderland (Wonderland Imprints Master Editions) Read online

  “How Doth the Little Crocodile”: Alice’s darker dreaming nature begins to assert itself here, much to her own surprise. The original poem, “How Doth the Little Busy Bee,” is a moralizing work stressing the importance of work and humility. Alice’s subconscious improvisation, “How Doth the Little Crocodile,” is about predation instead of meekness, deception instead of humility, and subversion instead of the submittal to authority. As we shall see, Alice’s true nature tends to come out every time she tries to recite someone else’s beliefs!

  Bathing-Machines: Carroll, as an absurdist and amused observer of Victorian quirks, loved to talk about bathing-machines. These curious contraptions were wheeled enclosures, which allowed prudish vacationers to bathe in the sea without attracting the unwanted attention of prying eyes.

  “O Mouse!”: These lines are making fun of the formality found in Harry Liddell’s Latin primer (and are also an indirect jab at the classics master, Henry Liddell, who was Harry’s and Alice’s father). Interestingly, however, there is a subtle distinction here where Alice regards the creature first as “mouse,” and then as “Mouse” when she addresses it. Throughout the stories, the capitalization of an animal’s name is an honorific assigned to sentient, speaking animals as individuals. Alice here is regarding the Mouse not as a mere animal, but as an intelligent companion worthy of conversation.

  “Où Est Ma Chatte?”: Literally in French, “Where is my cat?” Alice is innocently trying out the tiny bit of French that she has learned. Of course, this question would be quite upsetting to a mouse, especially one which has had a past of being pursued by cats and dogs!

  Torturing the Mouse: Much like Alice was surprised by the grimness of her improvised “Crocodile” poem, here she cannot seem to stop herself from threatening the Mouse with her admiring chatter about the predatory Dinah. She is again showing aggressive tendencies, and is quite horrified to find that she cannot control these subconscious urges from surfacing.

  The Duck, the Lory and the Eaglet: In one of his letters, Carroll’s friend Robinson Duckworth explained who these three caricatures were written to allude to: “I figure as the ‘duck’ in the Adventures, Lorina Liddell (now Mrs. Skene) is the ‘lory’ or parrot, Edith Liddell (now no more) is the ‘eaglet.’” These four individuals, along with Carroll himself, comprised the boating party which was present when Carroll began improvising the stories which would later become Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

  The Dodo in Wonderland: Alice and Lewis Carroll were quite familiar with this most curious of birds. One of the only “surviving” specimens is located in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, not far from Alice’s home. The Dodo is quite a natural denizen of Wonderland; since he is extinct in the real world, the land of dream is his last refuge!

  Lewis Carroll, Dodo Extraordinaire: Carroll suffered from a speech impediment, which caused him to stammer in uncomfortable or stressful situations. As an example, his diary entry for August 31, 1862 includes the following: “… Read service in the afternoon. I got through it all with great success, till I came to read out the first verse of the hymn before the sermon, where the two words ‘strife, strengthened,’ coming together were too much for me, and I had to leave the verse unfinished.” When Carroll would introduce himself, he would sometimes nervously call himself “Do-Do-Dodgson.”

  Chapter III

  “I Must Know Better,” “Hold Your Tongue”: These two lines are probably parodies of an episode in the novel Holiday House, where one Mrs. Crabtree says to the uppity young Master Harry, “Give me no more of your nonsense, Master Harry! I was in the world long before you were born, and must know best; so hold your tongue.”

  A Most Serious Mouse: Unlike most of the creatures of Wonderland, the Mouse has an exceedingly low tolerance of nonsense. His self-respect and indignation arise from his education, which he is quick to lord over Alice and the others. We are tempted to draw direct parallels to one or more of Carroll’s Oxfordian associates, who admired Carroll’s success in writing “children’s stories,” but may have been quite unable to enjoy the fun in the stories themselves!

  “The Driest Thing I Know”: The Mouse is quoting from A Short Course of History, by Havilland Le Mesurier Chepmell. Carroll’s mockery of boring lesson books (first Latin, then French, now English) continues merrily apace!

  Edith the Eaglet: The Eaglet is a caricature of Alice’s younger sister, Edith. As we can see, the Eaglet does not suffer the pomposity of authority figures. She is more than willing to snub those who are putting on adult airs. In heraldry, the eagle stands for courage and action, a watchful bird who is quick to challenge.

  “Speak English!”: Here we can tell quite a bit about how Edith Liddell may have reacted to Carroll’s too-fancy language when it came to storytelling!

  A Caucus-Race: This incident is a parody of politics. In a political race, rivals run against one another for election. In a caucus, political allies gather together to discuss, negotiate and strategize. A caucus-race, then, is a political race in which allies bustle about and compete against one another for no real reason at all.

  The Formatting of the Mouse’s Tale: Due to the limitations of the Kindle and adjustable text sizing, the tail-shaped formatting of the poem can unfortunately not be perfectly reproduced here. This change represents one of the few compromises I have been forced to make in creating the complete electronic Alice.

  A Long and Sad Tale: In the original version, Mouse’s friends were squashed and killed by hungry animals. Carroll must have thought this version was too dark for public consumption, and so we have the Mouse’s tale here as a conflict between Mouse and an imperious dog Fury, with the threat of death but not the actual act. We will see that this poem’s mockery of the court system foreshadows the trial that serves as the climax to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and also the scene of the Barrister’s dream in The Hunting of the Snark.

  The Mysterious Fury: Although it is not made clear in the poem, Fury was the name of a terrier owned by one of Carroll’s friends. The name is also appropriate when we consider the Erinyes, or furies, of Greek mythology. Those furies were demonic spirits of justice and divine retribution who haunted the dreaming ghosts of the netherworld. When we consider the underground nature of Wonderland itself, the allusion is quite a clever one!

  She Had Got to the Fifth Bend: Alice is visualizing the Mouse’s poem in tail form, bending back and forth. The Mouse, of course, is simply furious because he realizes that Alice has been going off with her own daydreaming, and has forgotten (yet again!) to be sympathetic to his fears.

  The Old Crabs: Later, when the Mock Turtle is regaling Alice with tales of the Underwater School, we will learn that this school has a classics master who is an old Crab as well: a caricature of the author of a famous Greek lexicon, Alice’s father Henry Liddell. the female old Crab is pedantic and chiding of her daughter, and may represent Alice’s society-climbing mother, Mrs. Lorina Liddell. Carroll may be taking jabs at those stuffy parents who sometimes forbade him from taking the Liddell sisters boating on the River Isis!

  Chapter IV

  “As Sure as Ferrets Are Ferrets”: The Rabbit here is hinting at the hunting instinct of wild ferrets, who often clamp their teeth into rabbits’ necks, drain their blood, and even kill them. The White Rabbit’s obvious fear of the Duchess here (and her death threats, which Alice will learn of later) is ominous indeed.

  Mary Ann, the Housemaid: Carroll may have chosen this common English name at random, or may have been naming one of Alice’s friends. However, it is more likely that he is providing a winking reference to Mary Ann Hillier. Ms. Hillier worked as a parlor maid for Carroll’s colleague, the pioneering experimental photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. Mary Ann was quite beautiful and was Julia’s favorite model throughout the years when the “Alice” stories were written.

  Why Is Mary Ann in Wonderland?: As Carroll pointed out in his character sketch of the White Rabbit, Mr. Rabbit is a bit elderly and has po
or vision. Here he has mistaken Alice for Mary Ann, his housemaid. This curious episode leads one to wonder if Mary Ann is a dreamer much like Alice herself, who was unable to wake and was “taken in” by the Rabbit; or, if Mary Ann is a simultaneous dreamer, caught up in the same dream as Alice.

  The Fragility of Kid-Gloves: Kid-gloves are made of fine, thin leather and are very comfortable. However, they tear or split easily, and—despite care with olive oil—often need to be replaced. This is likely why the White Rabbit owns multiple pairs.

  Going Messages for a Rabbit: Alice is of course referring to the servant’s duty of running messages between houses in the age before telephones! Same-day business (for which the mail was too slow) was always conducted by servants “going messages.” In Wonderland, as we shall see, this duty is performed by the Fish and Frog Footmen as well.

  “When I Grow Up, I’ll Write One”: This passage is intriguing because it might imply that Alice had told Lewis Carroll that she was interested in writing her own stories when she got older. This never happened, but Alice was certainly a creative young woman. She was very skilled in sketching and watercolors, and studied under John Ruskin himself. (Many of these works survive.) But she was quite secretive about her talents. If Alice ever wrote a book of her own, it has never come to light.

  Cucumber Frames, Digging for Apples: Here we learn a bit about White Rabbit’s favorite foods. A cucumber frame is a miniature greenhouse for cultivating cucumbers quickly and in abundance. By digging for apples, Pat is making a jest about the French term for potatoes, pomme de terre—“apple of the earth.”

  “It’s an Arrum”: Pat here is a caricature of a typical servant in the English countryside: garrulous, well-natured and poorly spoken.

  Alas, Poor Bill: Bill, it seems, is a hearty Irish lad, with more loyalty than sense. He’s industrious, takes orders well, is fairly clumsy, and when he is hurt, is by no means averse to drink. The name William means “valiant protector”: an apt one in this case, considering that the White Rabbit intentionally sends Bill in his place to take care of a dangerous situation! (By the way: From a color illustration in The Nursery “Alice,” we can venture a guess that Bill is a common, or viviparous lizard (Lacerta vivipara), a species native to England. If this is the case, he is agile, swift, an excellent climber, and none too bright.)

  Many Voices All Talking Together: This section of confused babble is written for effect, not for clarity. If it were properly attributed (with some guesswork applied), it would probably go something like this:

  White Rabbit: Where’s the other ladder?

  Pat: Why, I hadn’t to bring but one. Bill’s got the other.

  White Rabbit: Bill! Fetch it here, lad!

  Pat: Here, put ’em up at this corner.

  Guinea Pig: No, tie ’em together first—they don’t reach half high enough yet.

  White Rabbit: Oh, they’ll do well enough. Don’t be particular.

  Guinea Pig: Here, Bill! Catch hold of this rope.

  Pat: Will the roof bear?

  White Rabbit: Mind that loose slate.

  Guinea Pig: Oh, it’s coming down! Heads below!

  Pat: Now, who did that?

  Guinea Pig: It was Bill, I fancy.

  Pat: Who’s to go down the chimney?

  Guinea Pig: Nay, I sha’n’t! You do it!

  Pat: That I wo’n’t, then!

  White Rabbit: Bill’s got to go down.

  Guinea Pig: Here, Bill! The master says you’re to go down the chimney!

  White Rabbit’s Darker Side: When Mr. Rabbit is thwarted on his own territory, he becomes quite imperious indeed. The White Rabbit has many servants, including Bill, Pat, Mary Ann, the guinea pigs and many birds as well. He feels no guilt in ordering his servants about, to clean the dread imposter (Alice) out of his home as quickly as possible. He even threatens to burn the house down with Alice still inside it!

  The Subtlety of Pebble Cakes: There is no particular reason why pebbles would turn into “Eat Me” cakes, of course. But Alice had a prior experience with cakes shrinking her, and here she might be subliminally giving the cakes properties they normally would not have. Alice has considerable control over her environment (since it is her dream, after all), but does not yet realize that she has mastery over the situation. When she does finally realize this, it will be at the trial, and her insistence on control of the situation will lead to her waking up and leaving Wonderland. (In other words, when she realizes she is dreaming, the dream will then end.)

  The Enormous Puppy: This creature is quite out of place in Wonderland, as it is one of the few animals unable to speak. It is only enormous, of course, because Alice herself has become quite small again. The puppy might, in fact, be a child of Fury who tormented the Mouse.

  Chapter V

  The Nature of the Caterpillar: The Caterpillar is a cranky, terse and self-obsessed philosopher. He shows an Oriental influence with his hookah and flowing sleeves. (The sleeves that are part of his body, in fact, hint that he might be a silkworm as opposed to a common English caterpillar!) It is quite possible that he is smoking opium, which was an omnipresent drug of choice in Carroll’s time. Opium visions are akin to hallucinatory dreams, and Carroll was probably familiar with Thomas de Quincey’s 1821 autobiographical account, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.

  Father William: Carroll’s parody here takes aim at a popular moralizing poem. Alice’s oration, however, gives us further insight into her own secret nature. Her Father William poem is centered on role reversal. Father William’s young son is responsible and overly serious, while the old man is playful, childlike and rebellious.

  “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 19th 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-p
ig 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.