Some background
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Pen name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
Born January 27, 1832 in Cheshire
Eldest boy of 11 children
Father was a vicar
Lewis Carroll
 Graduated from Oxford University in 1854
 Professor in mathematics at Oxford 1855-1881
 1861 became a deacon in the Church of England
 Expert photographer
 Developed puzzles and games
 Invented a substitute for glue and a device for taking notes
in the dark!
Lewis Carroll
 Timid and reserved around adults
 Formed close relationships with children
 Henry George Liddell had 3 daughters
 Alice was the middle child, and Carroll’s favorite.
 Based Alice books on stories he told the Liddell girls
The Liddell Girls
Opening poem to Wonderland
What does this poem describe?
Who are Prima, Secunda and Tertia?
What is each one like?
Victorian Rules
 Although entertaining to children, the Alice books are full of material that
makes more sense to adults
 For example:
 Puns
 Parodies
 Allusions to Victorian society
 Philosophical Exploration
 Games, Riddles, Puzzles
Puns
Play on words/double meaning
Such as:
tale/tail not/knot
Meanings of words is a huge philosophical
question in Alice (Mad Hatter, Humpty Dumpty
etc.)
Nonsensical Words
“The Jabberwocky”
 Making sense from nonsense?
Parodies
 An imitation of a literary or musical work
 Lewis Carroll’s “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat” is a parody of the nursery
rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Allusions to Victorian society
MANNERS
 The Alice books are both a critique
of Victorian manners, and a
guidebook to proper behavior.
Societal Norms
 What are some behavioral norms
or codes of conduct for MHS?
 For being in public in the Treasure
Valley?
Victorian Societal Norms for Men
 A gentleman never
 Picks the teeth nor scratches
the head,
 swears,
 picks the nose,
 spits upon the walk,
 stares at anyone in a marked
manner,
 scans a lady’s dress
impertinently or makes rude
remarks about her,
 treads upon a lady’s dress without
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begging pardon,
loses temper,
dresses in an odd or singular manner,
fails to raise his hat politely to a lady
acquaintance.
He will always offer a lady his right
arm
Victorian Societal Norms for Women
 A lady will not:
 Be rude,
 dress so as to attract undue attention,
 absorb too much of the walk,
 allow her skirt to drag upon the walk,
 fail to recognize friends by a pleasant
smile and slight bow,
 look back at anyone who has passed
her,
 eye another lady’s dress as if studying
its texture,
 make the street a place of meeting
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with a person whom she can receive
in her home,
act conceited or vain.
She will:
be kind to all;
be modest, discreet, kind, and
obliging;
give the first smile or bow when
meeting a gentleman
Victorian Societal Norms for All
 Very impolite things include:
 Loud and boisterous laughter,
 reading when others are talking,
 talking when others are reading,
 spitting about the house,
 cutting fingernails in company,
 leaving a church before public
worship is closed,
 whispering or laughing in church,
 gazing rudely at strangers,
 leaving a stranger without a seat,
 failing to respect and reverence older
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people,
correcting parents,
receiving a present without an
expression of gratitude,
making yourself the hero of your own
story,
laughing at the mistakes of others,
starting to eat as soon as you get to
the table.
Philosophical Exploration in the Alice Books
 The nature of reality
 Perception and time
 Language and Meaning
 The application of logic
 And many others besides…
Games, Riddles, Puzzles in the Alice Books
The Alice books are full of them.
 He created several collections of riddles and
mathematical puzzles. SUCH AS….
The Hatter’s Riddle
“
Why is a raven like a writing desk?”
Carroll’s answer:
Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are
very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end
in front!"
 “You Are Old, Father William” is a parody of Robert Southey’s “The Old
Man’s Comforts and How He Gained Them”
 Compare the poems – what is Carroll’s purpose?