I
adore this book, which surprises me because much of it doesn’t have
a real goal or plot, and usually that sort of thing looses my
attention so quickly. Instead I discovered that the word-plays on each page
kept me endlessly amused, and the non-sensical rules of the
Wonderland world are so cleverly counter-productive that they almost
make sense. In the words of Alice (after the "Jabberwocky” poem, which is- according to many critics and I
would agree with them- the greatest nonsense poem written): “Somehow
it seems to fill my head with ideas- only I don’t know what they
are!” Beneath all the strangeness, there’s a treasure trove full
of meaning, if you just know how to look for it.
I
may be reading far too much into this, but I found it curious that
Dodgson stayed so clearly away from anything religious in this work
(I am not sure about others- I haven’t read anything else by him,
so I can’t say). The reason I found this so curious was because
Dodgson’s father was actually a clergyman, and Dodgson himself
attended college pursing a religious degree. Eventually he became
clergyman, too. So one would think that his work might, if not point
to something Christian, at least elude to it. Contrariwise, there
isn’t a thimble of anything like that to be found, unless I have
missed it? I once heard (from a debatable source) Alice’s near-drowning in her own tears
described as a “baptism” but I find this difficult to believe in
the context and also in light of the lack of other evidence to
support this claim. In fact, I think there is evidence to support
that Dodgson avoided
Biblical references on purpose, but I could be wrong, of course. When
Dodgson wrote Alice,
he wanted an artist to illustrate his book even though he had drawn
up some of his own illustrations. He felt someone professional could
do it better, so he hired Tenniel. Tenniel appears to have worked
closely enough with Dodgson that he followed Dodgson’s instructions
for each piece and Dodgson frequently critiqued Tenniel’s work.
According to some notes made on the text, there were even several
illustrations that Dodgson had Tenniel do over for various reasons.
In one of these pieces, the illustration depicts chesspieces, one of
which is the pope, holding a newspaper. This may be significant in
that it shows how Dodgson views men of the church, or at least
a lack of respect for church leaders. Again, it’s possible that I
am wrong, but it is rather odd that Dodgson would request this, or
even if Tenniel drew it himself that Dodgson would not scrutinize it or
ask Tenniel remove it.
I
am also well aware of the speculations surrounding Dodgson and the
real Alice Liddell, but beyond that are a great many things that
appeal to children in this story and spark the grown-up child of
adults, too. It is interesting that Alice feels she cannot control
anything about herself throughout the stories, yet it is the
scatter-brained adults who supposedly can. Remember, this is all from
Alice’s perspective. To her eyes, everything should be one way, but
contrariwise, it ain’t. Did not we, as children, have a view of the
world that we felt our peers could not possibly see? And did we not
become so terribly frustrated with their control over us at times?
The book was written for children, and I think it appeals to them in
a different way that it would to an adult. As a child, often times
you did not understand everything around you, and yet you accepted
it- I think that is a huge part of understanding this book. The logic
of this world makes little sense, but Alice is again and again faced
with the decision of whether or not she will accept it. There are
rules given to us even as adults that feel ridiculous, and we must
decide how we will react to them daily. Will we take it out on
someone else, or will we look to Christ as devotedly as Alice looks
up to the Queen in Through the
Looking-Glass? (I'm talking about the Queen in the book, not the movie versions.)
The
puns and word-plays are witty and sharp, sometimes referring to
things that are inside-jokes with the Liddell children, thus leaving
us a vaguely out of the loop but the meaning as a whole is usually
grasped with little trouble. These word-plays are actually my
favorite parts of the book, as they are something over which I
puzzled over at times, or even giggled (outloud, a few times). It’s
generally a work which requires you to think, but not think too hard.
Sometimes the characters say things that make you just want to roll
your eyes, but mostly you are captured by their silly, illogical
seriousness.
This
is such a nice, relaxing, trouble-less book that I think it is
perfect to read during a summertime vacation. It is best enjoyed in a
golden afternoon on a soft grassy bank. Sometimes, nonsense is just
what one needs to relax and banish all the overly-thought-out
problems in the world. And other times, you can find the sense in
nonsense if you know how to look for it…