The heroes of the work Alice in Wonderland. Hidden messages of the work “Alice in Wonderland. What does the book consist of?

This essay will focus on the prototypes of "Alice", and will also touch upon the problem of the perception of child nudity in art and photography of the Victorian era.

And about fairies, of course, where would the 19th century be without them!

There are several prototypes of the character of two "Alices" - "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass". The first of the books is undoubtedly dedicated to the daughter of the dean of Christ Church College, Henry Liddell.

The acquaintance with the Liddell sisters took place on April 25, 1856, when the future author of the cult book about adventures in Wonderland was photographing the cathedral; at that time Alice was almost four years old. Charles Dodgson* wrote in his diary: “The three girls were in the garden almost all this time, and we easily became friends; we tried to place them in a group in the foreground, but they turned out to be very restless. I mark this day with the sign of a stone.” With this sign he marked only meetings with outstanding people or events of exceptional importance.

Alice at age 8, 1860, photo by Lewis Carroll

Years passed, friendship with the girls grew stronger, and on July 4, 1862, an entry dear to all Alisomaniacs appeared in the diary of Charles Dodgson: “With Duckworth and the three Liddell girls, we went up the river to Godstow, drank tea on the shore and got home only at a quarter past eight, we arrived came to me and showed the girls a collection of photographs, and at about nine they were delivered to the dean’s apartment.”

It was on this day, at Alice’s request, that a fairy tale was invented about the adventures of a little girl in the Underground Country, where you can get by successfully falling into a rabbit hole.

The first manuscript of Alice's Adventures Underground (approximately eighteen thousand words) was handwritten by Carroll and decorated with thirty-seven drawings of his own. The author completed the manuscript in February 1863 and sent it to Alice's home in November 1864.

Soon, at the insistence of friends, Carroll begins negotiations to publish the fairy tale at his own expense. In the new version of the manuscript, the number of words increased to thirty-five thousand. Tom Taylor, the future editor of Punch, introduces the writer to the artist John Tenniel. But this is already material for the next post.

In the original handwritten copy of the tale, Alice's Adventures Underground (which was published in facsimile more than thirty years later), the author pasted a photograph of little Alice Liddell on the last page.

But if we look at Carroll's drawings, we see a completely different Alice. Before us appears a girl with slightly curly hair below her shoulders, her hair color is much lighter than that of Alice Liddell, and there is no similarity in her facial features.

The collaboration between Tenniel and the author of Alice was not easy, the artist complained of “tyranny.” Carroll outlined the desired image of Alice in words and jealously watched its execution. It is believed that he pointed to photographs of three girls as a prototype -

Mary Hilton Badcock

Mary Hilton Babcock

Beatrice Henley

and Alice's younger sister, Edith Liddell.

After much wrangling over the appearance and details of the heroine’s costume, the writer approved the following image:

Alice by John Tenniel

later version in color:

Alice by John Tenniel

Indeed, the heroine of the fairy tale bears no resemblance to the real Alice. Carroll often photographed not only the Liddell sisters, but many of his friends' children, especially girls.

Edith (left), Lorina (center) and Alice (right)

Lewis Carroll, Fine Art Photography, Liddell-Sisters (Alice right), 1858

About 3,000 photographs by Charles Dodgson (Carroll) have survived, just over half of them depict children, and only 30 photographs depict naked or semi-nude children. Now, in the 21st century, such images may be shocking, but by Victorian standards they were something quite common. In those days, childhood was considered the epitome of innocence and grace.

Evelyn Hatch, 29 July 1879

I want to make it clear right away that we are talking only about children from middle and upper class families. Little hard workers from poor families were forced to work almost equally with adults; they were deprived of childhood, and many of them died early, breaking under the yoke of unbearable worries and trials; girls were often sold to brothels. But they preferred not to notice the life of the “bottom”; wealthy people existed in another world.

All photographs were taken only with permission and in the presence of parents. In one of Carroll's letters to the mother of an eight-year-old girl, discussing plans to photograph the child, he insists that there must be no delay, since by next year Annie might already be "too old" to be photographed as "the daughter of Eve" (nude).

“It is a chance not to be lost, to get a few good attitudes of Annie's lovely form and face, as by next year she may (though I much hope won't) fancy herself too old to be a 'daughter of Eve. '"

It wasn't just Carroll who took photographs of naked children. Take a look, for example, at a photograph of little Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, the third son of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connau by photographer Leonida Caldesi, 1857

Or another striking example. Perhaps the most famous photograph of Frank Sutcliffe, “The Water Rats,” was taken in 1886. It became so popular that the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, ordered a large copy of this photograph for himself.

Water Rats by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, 1886

Children were considered the embodiment of innocence, purity and beauty. But the period of childhood was short. From the age of 13, it was unacceptable for a girl to be alone with a man, wear short dresses and behave spontaneously; from the age of 15-16 she was considered an adult. Although it was possible to marry without parental consent only after reaching the age of 21, parents often gave consent to marriage or engagement much earlier, for example, Queen Victoria's eldest daughter was engaged at the age of fourteen.

It should be noted that in 1875, the age of sexual consent in Great Britain was raised to 13 years (hard to believe, but previously it was only 10-12 years old!), and after a series of sensational exposés about child prostitution, the age of consent was raised to 16 years. this only happened in 1885.

Therefore, it was important for the photographer to photograph children who had not yet entered puberty.

Portrait of Edith (left), Lorina (center) and Alice (right) Liddell, 1860

“Lewis Carroll was unbearable as a photographer, there was no sweetness with him, he was not aware of the end of the world he was causing in someone else’s house. He stopped at nothing, pursuing two goals: to get either a celebrity or lovely children. The photographs that have survived to this day certainly justify his zeal.

He tried through third parties to obtain permission to photograph Queen Victoria, but to no avail. He addressed the Prince of Wales personally, and the story about this leaves a sad aftertaste. The prince (the future Edward VII) had just returned from America and, like everyone else, was completing his education at Christ Church College. In December 1860, Queen Victoria unexpectedly visited the college, and in the evening a reception was held at the dean's. Carroll seemed to feel uncomfortable there: “I chose the moment to remind General Bruce of his promise to introduce me to the Prince, which he did as soon as there was a pause in the conversation between His Royal Highness and Mrs. Fellows. He graciously extended his hand to me, and I began by apologizing for my importunity about taking photographs. He commented on the weather not being favorable for this activity, and I asked if photographers bothered him in America; he replied that they bothered him, but he didn’t really give in to them. I talked about a new American method in which you can take 12 thousand pictures per hour.

Alice, Ina, Harry & Edith Liddell, spring 1860

At that moment Edith Liddell passed by, and I noticed that you can make lovely compositions with children; he agreed with me, said that he had seen my photographs of children and he really liked them. Then I expressed my desire to get his autograph on a postcard with his portrait. He promised. Thinking it was time to end the conversation, I assured him that he would do me honor if he wished to receive copies of any of my photographs. He thanked me, and I walked away because I didn’t notice any desire on his part to continue the conversation.”

In November of the same year, he photographed the Crown Prince of Denmark and certified him (not without some vulnerability) as “undoubtedly a brighter representative of the monarchy than his relative,” the Prince of Wales: the memory of the refusal must still have tormented him. The following year, the queen’s own praise reached him in a roundabout way: “I received a letter from Mrs. Reed, in which was enclosed a note from Lady A. Stanley (the wife of the rector of Westminster Abbey) to Lady A. M. Dawson, where she says that she showed me photographs the queen and she was instructed to convey that “Her Majesty admires them.” Such photographs are in the taste of the Prince Consort and would give him great pleasure." **

Photography at that time was often inspired by painting. Carroll adored Gertrude Thompson’s drawings, he invited the artist to illustrate his book “Three Sunsets and Other Poems,” Thompson agreed and later even became a friend of the writer.

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 80

It must be said that Gertrude Thompson became famous for her images of fairies and little folk. It is illustrative to cite here some of her illustrations for Carroll's book in the context of the perception of child nudity in the Victorian era. It seems that the little people happily shared the happy privilege of the children, since these drawings did not shock anyone, on the contrary, they were touched and admired.

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 51

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 32

It is surprising that there was a surge of interest in the magical world in the 19th century - the century of the heyday of scientific knowledge and rationality, which we often associate with steampunk aesthetics. Yes, Victorians had a passion for fairies!

In 1922, Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous writer and certified physician, published the book “The Phenomenon of the Fairies”, here is an excerpt from this work: “There is a whole people who can be as numerous as the human race, which leads its own life and separated from us by some difference in vibrations."

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 46

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 40

The surge of interest gave rise to numerous images of the small people, which delighted Lewis Carroll. There are several known poems by the writer dedicated to magical creatures, the first of them, written by the 13-year-old author, depicts a very strict and forbidding fairy - My Fairy. An adult writer sent poetic greetings to his child friends on behalf of the fairies - Christmas-Greetings from a Fairy to a Child (Christmas greetings for a child from a fairy).

“When in London, Carroll often visited Gertrude Thomson in her studio, where she drew her “fairies” from life. Carroll also drew children who came to her; she corrected his drawings and explained things to him.

Soon Carroll invited her to come photograph “living fairies.” In her memoirs, written after Carroll's death, Gertrude talks about his spacious studio on the roof of the college, where there were costumes everywhere in which Carroll photographed the children (they loved these disguises). During frequent breaks, all the young models had a snack and listened to the fairy tales that he told them, and toys were taken out of the huge cabinet in the studio - clockwork wrestlers, rabbits, bears, etc. “We sat on the floor, Lewis Carroll, fairies, animals , I... How we had fun during these hours! How loudly his laughter rang out! And what wonderful nonsense he told! It was like entire pages from “Alice,” only much more delightful, because his voice and smile enchanted us all. I tried more than once to remember his stories and write them down. It was impossible - just as impossible as catching a flash of color on sunlit water or catching a passing rainbow. It was something mysterious, elusive, like an autumn cobweb, and to capture it in the words that we use would mean to deprive everything of life and grace, to completely destroy everything ... "

They saw each other often during these years and often worked together. Sometimes Carroll would bring his camera equipment to Gertrude's studio and photograph the children while she painted them. Sometimes Gertrude came to Oxford and spent the day there; he took photographs, she sketched his young friends for him. ***

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 70

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 84

“Well, secondly, the following question arises: when is the best time to see fairies and other magical folk? I, perhaps, can answer this question for you.

The first rule here is this: the day must be very hot - there’s no point in arguing about that; and you should be slightly sleepy - but not too much, so don’t forget that your eyes shouldn’t close. And, of course, you should be in an “otherworldly” mood - the Scots call such a mood “ghostly”, or even “otherworldly” - maybe this sounds better; Well, if you don’t know what this means, I’m unlikely to be able to explain it to you, wait until you see the fairy, then you’ll understand.”

It seems that a large part of Victorian society shared the idea expressed in the quote by D.M. Barry: “Every time you say you don”t believe in fairies, a fairy dies” - As soon as someone says: “Nonsense, there are no fairies,” one of them immediately falls dead.

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 65

Lewis Carroll, "Three Sunsets, and other poems ... With twelve fairy-fancies by E. Gertrude Thomson", London, 1898, page 76

Carroll's tender feelings for Alice Liddell waned after the publication of the book, it degenerated into reserved politeness. "Through the Looking Glass" already had a different Alice - Alice Theodora Raikes, at that time she was eight years old. She later recalled:

“One day, hearing my name, he called me over and said: “So you are Alice too. This is very good. Come to me, I’ll show you something very mysterious.” We went with him to a house with the same door to the garden as ours and ended up in a room filled with furniture, with a tall mirror in the corner. “Come on,” he said, handing me an orange, “in which hand are you holding it?” “On the right,” I answered. “Now,” he continued, “go to that mirror and tell me in which hand the girl you see there is holding the orange.” After some thought, I answered: “On the left.” “Right,” he said, “how do you explain it?” I couldn’t explain, but something had to be said, and I decided: “If I were on the other side of the mirror, then, probably, the orange would be in my right hand again, right?” I remember he laughed: “Well done, Alice.” Your answer is the best so far"

We didn't talk about it anymore; However, several years later I learned that, according to him, this conversation gave him the idea of “Through the Looking Glass,” a copy of which he sent me at one time along with his other books.” **

And "The Hunting of the Snark" was inspired by his friendship with the "little barefoot girl" Gertrude Chattaway.

Gertrude Chataway about 9 years old, photographed by Lewis Carroll

In December 1891, fifty-nine-year-old Carroll wrote in his diary: “Since Mrs. Hargreaves, the first “Alice,” is now visiting her father, I invited her to tea. She couldn’t make it, but she did me the honor of stopping by briefly during the day with Rhoda.” And a completely different tone in a letter to Gertrude, a few days later:

“My dear old friend! (Friendship is old, but a child never grows old.) I wish you a happy New Year and much, much happiness in the future to you and your loved ones. However, first of all - to you: I know you better and love you more. I pray for your happiness, dear child, on this joyful New Year and for many years to come.” **

It turns out that little Alice Liddell was the first lucky enough to become Carroll’s child-friend; she and the other girls simply embodied the ideal image of a “child friend.” This was also served by the ideal image of “Alice”, which the writer tried to capture in his photographs - a thoughtful look, slightly curly hair from light brown to chestnut shade below the shoulders, age up to nine years.

This is especially noticeable in photographs colored according to the clear instructions of the author.

Beatrice Hatch, 30 July 1873
Photograph taken by Lewis Carroll, then colored by Anne Lydia Bond on Carroll's instructions

Henderson Annie and Frances, July 1879
Photograph taken by Lewis Carroll, then colored on Carroll's instructions

The question is: how to achieve the perfect photo?
Carroll: "Just put Xie Kitchin in front of the lens."

"The Prettiest Doll in the World", Alexandra "Xie" Rhoda Kitchin by Lewis Carroll July 5, 1870

Carroll described his heroine in the article “Alice on the Stage” (“The Theatre”, April, 1887):

“What were you, Alice, in the eyes of your adoptive father? How should he describe you? Loving first of all; loving and tender - loving like a dog (forgive the prosaic comparison, but I don’t know any other love that would be as pure and beautiful), and tender as a doe; and then courteous - courteous towards everyone, whether high or low, majestic or funny, King or Caterpillar, as if she herself were a royal daughter, and her dress was pure gold; and also trusting, ready to accept all the most incredible things with that conviction that is familiar only to dreamers; and finally, inquisitive - inquisitive to the extreme, with that taste for Life that is available only to a happy childhood, when everything is new and good, and Sin and Sadness are just words - empty words that mean nothing!

It seems that the writer was sure that children (especially girls) live in a special, wonderful world, but they inevitably grow up and leave Wonderland. Carroll himself managed to avoid this.

P.S. Unfortunately, Gertrude Thompson's fairy illustrations do not excite me. If you want to see images of the wonderful people, I recommend the following posts.

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The main character of the story. In the books, her name is Alice Liddell and she is about nine years old, Alice appears as a schoolgirl with a whimsically logical mind, whose straight hair is “always in your eyes”, she is gentle, courteous, trusting and inquisitive.

Bumalic Hightopp

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Sister of Terrant (Mad Hatter). Daughter of Tyva and Zanik.

Jabberwocky

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In the book it is nothing more than a poem, but what a poem! The Jabberwocky is probably the most famous attempt to introduce non-existent words into the language, which nevertheless obey all the laws of the language. The first quatrain consists almost entirely of non-existent words, with the exception of service words.

In Tim Burton's film, this is a ferocious Dragon who is at the mercy of the Red Queen. A disgusting, slobbering, foul-smelling creature with a huge, scruffy body and a toothy, bulldog-like snout. The blow of his strong paws leaves Alice with rather painful memories of the regime of the Red Queen.

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A hound, an unwitting accomplice of the Red Queen's army, he fears that his wife and pups are in danger because they are in prison, and follows the Knave of Hearts' every command. The Dog supports an underground group that is trying to resist the Red Queen and therefore becomes Alice's ally

Mad Hatter

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Hat maker, one of the participants in the Mad Tea Party. In the words of the Cheshire Cat, Hatter is “out of his mind.”

In the Tim Burton film his name is Terrant Hightopp.

The White Queen

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One of the chess Queens who are going to examine Alice in order for her to become a Queen. In one of the scenes, the White Queen tells Alice about how you can live backwards and remember the future. The White Queen's shawl flies away, and in pursuit of it, she and Alice cross a stream and turn into a Sheep sitting knitting.

White Rabbit

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A talking animal with pink eyes, dressed in a vest and kid gloves. He carries a watch in his pocket and lives in a “clean house” with the inscription: “B. Rabbit". The rabbit is always late for something, and is always a kind of guide for Alice, helping her fall into Wonderland.

In Tim Burton's film, he still worries all the time that he might be late, he is constantly in a hurry to get somewhere. He must find Alice and bring her to Down Under so that she can fulfill her destiny - this is why the rabbit shows up at the garden party, where Alice notices him, and leads her to the rabbit hole. The rabbit is sometimes extremely irritable and strict with Alice. It feels like Time is very important to him and it makes him nervous and catch up.

White Knight

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When the Black Officer tried to capture the pawn Alice, the White Officer saved her and escorted her to the next square.

The White King

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Alice first meets him in the first chapter of "Through the Looking Glass House". She then meets him in chapter seven, "The Lion and the Unicorn". He believes that when you feel sick, you should eat splinters. Has two messengers “one runs there, the other from there.” He loves precision (he specifies the number of troops sent) and writes everything down in a book. The king is amazed that Alice sees Nobody and asks to sit down “for a minute.” Has a daughter Lily

Bim Hightopp

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Brother of Terrant (Mad Hatter). Son of Tyva and Zanik.

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Royal Messenger Back (The King explains that he needs two messengers, since "one runs there, and the other from there"). In Through the Looking Glass, he is essentially a Wonderland character, namely the Hatter. Tenniel's illustration shows Chick sipping tea from a cup in the same way as the Hatter did in the first story, confirming the author's references to this character

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A huge monster that serves the Red Queen and guards the Sharp Sword, which can be used to kill the Jabberwocky

Knave of Hearts (Ilosovic_Stayne)

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He first appears in Chapter Eight, "Royal Croquet", where he carries the crown. Shown as a kind character. Knave then appears in the chapter "Who Stole the Pretzels?", where he is the main suspect.

In Tim Burton's film, Knave gets a new name - Ilosovich Stein. He is the Queen's lover and head of her guard.

8 2 0

Guardian of the chronosphere. He not only closely monitors all the inhabitants of the country, but also decides who is about to expire. He hangs a closed clock depicting the lifetime of each inhabitant in the hall of the "Late Citizens of the Underdark".

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First mentioned in the second chapter by Rabbit. In chapter six, she rocks a baby, which she later hands over to Alice. Her cook, having prepared the soup, begins to throw everything she can get her hands on at the Duchess. While playing croquet, Alice learns from the Rabbit that the Queen has sentenced the Duchess to death for slapping her. Subsequently, the Queen relented and did not demand that the sentence be carried out. The character has a sharp chin, and Alice herself considers her “very ugly”

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A mythical creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. During conversations, he periodically coughs. Griffin, by his own admission, received a “classical education” - he played hopscotch with his teacher all day long

Caterpillar

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The insect is blue in color and three inches tall. He sits on a porcini mushroom and smokes a hookah.

In Tim Burton's film, the caterpillar is given the name Absolem, and he is the all-knowing guardian of the Oracle, an ancient sacred document that reflects all the major events of the past, present and future of Nizhnekray history.

James Harcourt

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Hamish Ascot's employee.

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In the book, this is a bird that Alice discovers on the shore next to the Sea of Tears. Ed the Eaglet notes that Dodo speaks “not like a human being”: his speech is overloaded with scientific terms.

In Tim Burton's film, he is one of the first inhabitants of the Lower Land, whom Alice meets when she finds herself in a fantasy world.

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In the arrangement of the pieces before the start of the game, the Unicorn is classified as white pieces, and the Lion is classified as black. The Lion and the Unicorn, according to the King's first statement, are fighting for his own crown. Lion and Unicorn are quite cute animals. The Unicorn tries to make friends with Alice, and the Lion offers to eat pie in honor of friendship. This is where some complications arise. Looking-glass pies must first be distributed and then cut. Alice tried to do everything normally. Suddenly, a drum roll is heard, and Alice finds herself in the forest.

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Royal Messenger There (The King explains that he needs two messengers, since "one runs there, and the other from there"). In Through the Looking Glass, he is essentially a character from Wonderland, namely the March Hare

Zanik Hightopp

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Father of the Mad Hatter. Featured in the film "Alice Through the Looking Glass". He quarreled with his son, pointedly threw away his first hat, but in fact kept it.

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Alice's Raving Aunt

Iracebeth of Crims

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The reigning Queen of a magical land, the elder sister of the White Queen, popularly nicknamed the "Bloody Witch". A tyrant who rules the country of Nizhnekry. She is helped to rule the country by her exorbitant head, fiery temperament, and habit of shouting orders for her subjects to have their heads cut off. In the struggle for power, she killed many civilians with the help of her "Jabberwocky Bunny". Loses his temper at the slightest provocation or even without it. Her younger sister, the White Queen, plans to take away her throne and crown, which the Red Queen once stole from her by deception.

Queen Elsemere

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Mother of Iracebeta and Mirana

King Oleron

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Father of Iracebeta and Mirana.

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Lord Ascot's wife

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Business partner of Alice's father and new owner of Kingsley's trading firm

Lowell Manchester

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Unfaithful husband of Margaret Manchester, Alice's sister.

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Alice's older sister, correct in everything and what a real English lady should be

March Hare

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The crazy hare that Alice meets at the Mad Tea Party. He offers the little girl a drink of wine and believes that you should always say what you think. The character was also present at the trial of the Knave of Hearts, where he denied everything. The appearance of the character was influenced by a saying popular in Carroll's time - “Mad as a March hare”.

In the Tim Burton film, the March Hare invites the Mad Hatter to a tea party at his hare house. The hare looks like a paranoid person, he is constantly in a state of anxiety, he is a little crazy, he has the habit of shaking his paws and ears all the time, and also throwing teapots, spoons and other things. He loves to cook and is the only resident of the Lower Region whom the Red Queen has not reached.

Mirana of Marmoreal

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The Red Queen's younger sister, and although she looks white and fluffy, in reality her character is not so flexible. She came from the same place as the Red Queen. She likes the dark side, but is so afraid of going too far that she tends to show everyone only her bright side. When Alice returns to Down Under, the White Queen takes her under her wing, offering her protection, but her motives are not nearly as altruistic as they seem.

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A strange creature from the poem: “It was barking. Squishy little shorts were darting across the nave.

And the Zelyuks grunted like mumziks in a movie."

The Sheep

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The White Queen tells Alice about how you can live backwards and remember the future. The White Queen's shawl flies away, and in pursuit of it, she and Alice cross the stream. The White Queen turns into an old sheep, sitting knitting behind the counter of a shop where “various curiosities” are sold [note 3]. Alice is trying to buy something, but as soon as she approaches one or another shelf, the shelf immediately becomes empty, although the neighboring shelves remain full. The Sheep gives Alice the knitting needles, which turn into oars, and Alice discovers that she and the Sheep are floating in a boat on the river. Soon Alice and the Sheep find themselves in the shop again, and Alice buys one egg, which in the Sheep's shop costs more than two eggs. Alice tries to take the egg she bought from the shelf, crosses the stream, and the egg turns into Humpty Dumpty sitting on the wall

Paloo Hightopp

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Younger sister of Terrant (Mad Hatter). Daughter of Zanik and Tyva.

One of the world's favorite fairy tales, “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, is full of magic and strangeness. Modern critics find in it everything from sex and drugs to colonial politics and eating disorders. Let's try to see through the eyes of many modern and not so modern critics what it really means to “fall down the rabbit hole.”

Lewis Carroll's fairy tale is full of magical cakes and other sweets, secret doors, wide smiling Cheshire cats and other unimaginable creatures, places and events. The book has never gone out of print since the first moment of its publication.

Over the course of one and a half centuries of existence, the fairy tale has become the source of inspiration for several films, cartoons, computer games, ballet and countless attractions, illustrations and paintings. Even micropsia, a neurological disorder in which a person perceives objects around him in a smaller form, is called Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

However, despite such a tremendous influence on modern culture, the most voluminous product inspired by the fairy tale has been attempts to interpret its symbols. It’s hard to even imagine how many scientific works have been written on the topic, and how many non-scientific ones... everyone who is not too lazy intends to decipher the “hidden message” of the fairy tale.

When you look deeper into these attempts to explain the magic of Wonderland, the beloved classic story appears less like a children's bedtime story and more like a complex, twisted allegory about sex, politics and drug addiction.

The story of the book and Alice

One of the most popular books in literary history had unusually humble roots. While sailing along the Thames, a certain Charles Dogson told a certain Alice Liddell and her sisters the story of the adventures of the girl Alice in an extraordinary, wonderful country.

The girls loved the story so much that they convinced Dogson to write it down and publish it. Taking the now well-known pseudonym Lewis Carroll, Charles Dogson listened to the advice and published his famous work.

Alice was the daughter of the dean of one of the Oxford colleges, where Charles Dogson taught mathematics. Alice was Dogson's favorite, but she was far from the only one of his little friends. To today's observer, who grew up on nightmarish stories about pedophilia and moral violence, this scenario of friendship between an adult man and little ten-year-old girls will seem extremely ambiguous. However, despite the description and photographs, there is not a single piece of evidence that Dogson's intentions were criminal. All the more unpleasant is the reading of some interpretations of the book based on the theory of psychoanalysis - a movement that was just gaining momentum during the first edition of Alice in Wonderland.

Theory of psychoanalysis

Over time, Victorian hypocrisy began to subside, and the development and popularization of the foundations of psychoanalysis gave impetus to not entirely childish interpretations of Alice in Wonderland. Critics read the fairy tale-dream of the girl Alice and explained it in accordance with Freud's theory. Not surprisingly, gynecological, sexual and phallic symbols appeared out of nowhere, the victims of which were the poor caterpillar, which, according to its own statement, has a wonderful size of three inches. The fall into the rabbit hole and the curtain that Alice must part are a reflection of the sexual act, as is the desire to pick up the keys to the locks.

Growing up

More philosophically minded critics perceived the psychoanalytic interpretation of the tale as an allegory of growing up. All this sexual symbolism was just a passage from childhood to adolescence and then to adulthood, in which decisions must be made, the consequences of which affect others. Of course, this path also leads through puberty, because sexual and phallic symbols do not go away.

However, puberty, according to critics, is most clearly demonstrated in the changes in Alice's body - she is either too big, sometimes tiny, sometimes disproportionate. Psychologically, these changes lead to the fact that the girl cannot decide who she is and what she needs. She is in search of her Self, and in this search, Alice conflicts with authorities, doubts the legitimacy of the rules, learns to play adult games, acquires a sense of justice and for the first time faces the threat of death.

Drugs

Of course, there were those critics who focused on the too obvious narcotic nature of some events in the fairy tale. Images of a hookah-smoking caterpillar and hallucinogenic mushrooms only stimulate the imagination of those who want to interpret the whole story as one big “arrival.” Psychedelic imagery, falling down rabbit holes, characters disappearing and reappearing, meaningless phrases and memory problems have been interpreted as a result of regular drug use. It is worth saying that Dogson did not consume anything more dangerous than homeopathic cold medicines.

Political system

It wasn't just drugs, sex and rock 'n' roll that were found between the lines of this classic English tale. Another school of critics viewed Alice in Wonderland as a political allegory. After the heroine jumps down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a kingdom ruled by a hot-tempered and domineering person. This was seen as criticism of Queen Victoria, for whom, according to some reports, Dogson had no particular sympathy. In addition, the chaotic system of government and unclear laws also showed parallels with the Great Britain of the time of Lewis Carroll.

Colonization and attitudes towards colonies

Many critics perceived the behavior of Alice in Wonderland as a clear parallel with the attitude of the British towards their colonies. How does Alice behave after she finds herself in an unfamiliar, magical land with its own unique rules? Not understanding local customs and not knowing the laws, the girl seeks to establish her own rules in a new place. She is not at all embarrassed by the negative results of these attempts, and she continues to restore “order” where events occur according to completely different laws.

Considering all these theories, parallels and interpretations, one can clearly follow how society, its values and interests have changed over the course of a century and a half. All these changes bring with them a new “lens” through which you can look at the existing text. This speaks first of all about the timelessness of the work and its quality. Any generation will find a reflection of their events and interests in it.

Riddles and solutions

On the pages of Alice in Wonderland, critics found everything: representation of nutrition problems, symbolic algebra, satire on the War of the Roses and the problem of slavery. In all this endless and bright stream of theories, it is not surprising to get lost and find yourself as dumbfounded as a little girl who finds herself in a magical land.

As a mathematician, Lewis Carroll filled his history with mysteries, from the Mad Hatter's riddles to playing croquet with the queen. No matter how Alice tries to solve them, they turn out to have little meaning, and the solutions lead her nowhere.

Even though in real life Carroll loved, studied, and taught logic, there is nothing logical in his fictional world. Perhaps the main message of his extraordinarily strange book is that the world is actually full of madness and illogicality, so instead of looking for an explanation for everything, you should just enjoy the magic.

Professor of Mathematics Lewis Carroll wrote a famous fairy tale "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" when he was 32 years old. Date of birth of this strange but beloved fable 1865, already more 150 years has passed since it was written, and the heroes of the magical land still excite the minds of viewers and readers. 41 times the book was filmed in one form or another "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", these were films, short films, cartoons, shows, performances, and even anime.

this week "Alice in Wonderland" My brain was also excited, and this happened after I asked my fourteen-year-old daughter to write some article for me on the site, she chose a film "Alice in Wonderland" 2010 release. The first draft of the article was ready instantly, but I just had to reconsider this fairy tale myself in order to understand for myself who he is and how he differs from Bandersnatch why did Alice not want to marry Hemisha, and how Hatter was able to avoid execution.

Honestly, as a child the story of the onlooker Alice I was not at all impressed, although there was always a general excitement around this sensible girl, the only thing I always liked was how long Alice flew, falling down a rabbit hole, and how she then grew large, then shrank to the size of a mouse, eating or drinking various magical potions.

And now we will dwell in more detail on the description of the main characters of the film "Alice in Wonderland" directed Tim Burton and released in 2010, not all the characters were played by actors, but each of them is unusual, mysterious and eye-catching. If the plot of the film itself is not intriguing, then watching the characters and colorful landscapes created by computer graphics is a great pleasure. This is a real fairy tale, stills from the film "Alice in Wonderland" adequately decorate one of the articles on my site. By the way, the film "Alice in Wonderland" takes so far 22nd place on the list of the world's highest-grossing films.

Book Alice was only seven years old, but in the film the girl had already grown up, she 19 years old and her journey into the magical camp is not the first. Alice played Mia Wasikowska- Australian actress, this was her first leading, starring role, after which the actress was noticed by directors, and her career skyrocketed, and now Mia Wasikowski offer practically only the main roles.

Although it should be noted that many viewers were disappointed by the sickly pallor Alice, her dark circles around her eyes and her unemotional acting. There were a lot of negative reviews and sighs at the movie show regarding the fact that this is not the same Alice, which the audience pictured in their imagination. But in my opinion this one Alice you just have to get used to it, and already ten years after the film was released "Alice in Wonderland" no one else Alice he simply cannot imagine. It seems to me that Mia Wasikowska was taken to contrast with the world of the Wonderland. The fairyland is bright, because of the oppression of the Red Queen, everything has plunged into twilight, the colors have been saturated with darkness, and against the backdrop of all this there should be something pale and painfully fragile - and this something - Alice performed Mia Wasikowska.

Role Mad Hatter played Johnny Depp, the character turned out to be bright and memorable. Both old and young - everyone loves it very much Johnny Depp, and I also have a very warm attitude towards this actor, he is original and unique, like, in general, all his characters, and he was no exception Mad Hatter in his performance. Between characters Alice And Mad Hatter a tender feeling supposedly arises.

Johnny Depp very friendly with the director Tim Burton, he is even the godfather of his children: son Billy and daughter Nell.

Red Queen, she's the same Queen of Hearts she's the same Iracebeta of Marmoreal- the main villain of the fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland", this tyrant constantly shouts the phrase: “Head off my shoulders!” Because Red Queen ugly - because of her excessively huge head, her subjects, in order to please her, visually artificially disfigure themselves by putting on all sorts of fake things - such as false noses, ears, bellies and chins.

Character Chervonnaya or Red Queen performed Helena Bonham Carter- director's muse Tim Burton. Tim And Helena started dating in 2001 and at the time of filming "Alice in Wonderland" this talented couple already had two children together. But in 2014, after 13 years of living together, this couple broke up.

White Queen, she's the same Mirana Mramorealskaya. This girl is supposedly the embodiment of kindness and justice, she can make all kinds of magic potions, bat her fluffy eyelashes and win over those with a kind smile. But is it really that simple? White Queen? We will only be able to find out in the second part of the adventure. Alice.

Character White Queen played by American actress Anne Hathaway. For filming "Alice in Wonderland" Anne I had to put on a white wig, whiten my face with whitewash and paint my lips with almost black lipstick. All these manipulations did not add beauty to the actress, but rather disfigured her, but the image White Queen turned out to be brighter and more interesting.

Leo Bill played Hamisha- failed groom Alice. Hamish often suffers from constipation, so be Alice his wife, she would have to carefully monitor his health.

Role of characters Trulyalya And Tweedledum played by an English comedian Matt Lucas. Matt went bald when he was six years old, this guy is also known to be openly gay.

White rabbit voiced in the Russian version Sergey Makovetsky.

Another big-eared character is called, he is wildly crazy and doesn’t even try to hide it from anyone.

Absolem or Blue caterpillar. This character in the film "Alice in Wonderland" is the embodiment of wisdom and absolute knowledge. At the end of the movie Absolem turns into a blue butterfly. Voiced by Absolem in Russian version Ilya Lyubimov.

He can teleport, dissolve in the air and even take on the images of other characters. So in this film he transforms into Hatter in order to save him from execution. always smiles and has a dazzling grin. Voiced this cat in the Russian version Alexander Shirvindt.

Sonya Mouse- one of the participants in the mad tea party.

The frog who quietly devoured the Red Queen's cake and paid for it with his own head.

A dog named Bayard should have found Alice and deliver her to to the red queen, but in the end the kind dog took the side of the brave girl.

Jack of Hearts– henchman Red Queen. When his mistress was sent into long-term exile, he was supposed to be next to her, but in order to avoid spending time with the queen who was in love with him, he tried to kill her. Role Jack of Hearts performed by American actor Crispin Glover.

Monster Bandersnatch attacked Alice and wounded her, but brave Sonya mouse saved Alice punctures Bandersnatch eye. Later Bandersnatch forgiven Alice, which gave him back his eye.

IN Good day Alice must fight with Jabberwocky. This monster has killed many civilians Wonderland.

Summary of the film "Alice in Wonderland"

Alice Kingsley- not quite an ordinary girl. She inherited dreaminess and intelligence from her father, and golden curls from her mother. As a child, the girl was tormented by frequent nightmares like this: a hare drinking tea, a smiling cat and a caterpillar blowing rings out of its mouth. Having grown up, Alice still can't get rid of this eternal nightmare. And then the day comes when the dream comes true.

Alice goes with his mother to a social event organized by their friends. Very soon the girl will find out that she was invited there for a reason. Hamish- son of his father's old friend Alice, offers her his hand and heart. This young man was not distinguished by either a flexible mind or the slightest beauty. This engagement was beneficial for his parents. Everyone really hopes that Alice will give his consent. However, the girl runs away to think about the sudden proposal. Hamisha, leaving the entire crowd of invited guests in bewilderment. Running away Alice saw White rabbit, this animal was not quite ordinary, it was dressed in an elegant camisole, and there was a monocle in its eye. leads Alice to a hole, looking into which she stumbles and falls. After a long flight in an unusual hole, the girl lands safely. Finding herself at the bottom of the hole, she sees a strange picture - there is a table in the middle of the room, and the round walls of the room are lined with doors. Almost none of the doors are open, except for only one - the smallest one. Alice can barely fit his head in there. However, the girl notices a flask standing on the table, on which is written "Drink me". Alice does not hesitate and drinks the contents of the bottle, after which he notices that he is decreasing in size. Having finally walked through the door, the girl discovers a bizarre world that barely resembles the real one.

There the girl finds new friends: such as brothersTweedledum And Tweedledum , mouse Sonya And Cheshire cat. Alice finds out that she must save Wonderland from oppression Red Queen, for this she will have to fight in Brave day With Jabberwocky. As soon as she realized that she was in a magical place, Alice and her new friends have to escape from a bloodthirsty monster Bandersnatch. This Red Queen sent her faithful servant Jack of Hearts grab Alice and lead to her.

Hiding from Jack of Hearts- minion Red Queen, Alice goes out onto the lawn where the tea party is taking place, its participants are clearly not themselves. There she meets her future friend - Hatter. He saves the girl from being chased by giving her a shrinking elixir. And here Alice for the first time she realizes that everything that is happening to her is not a dream.

A little later Alice realizes that she really is the one "chosen one" which should expel Red Queen, nicknamed "Bloody Witch" for his cruelty towards his subjects and their frequent executions.

Previously, peace and joy reigned in a magical land. White Queen was kind to everyone and never offended the inhabitants of this wonderful country, but her sister - Red Queen- seized power, after which the dictator decided to burn the entire kingdom to the ground.

White Queen forced to flee and give up the throne to her cruel sister. Alice must win Brave day, because the life of her new friend is at stake - Hatter. And now it comes Brave day.

This is the day of battle White Army And Red. Alice, trusting in himself and his strength, beheads the monster Jabberwocky, thereby bringing victory to the white queen and giving peace to all the inhabitants of the magical land. Bloody Queen she is sent into exile, which should benefit her.

For a job well done White Queen gives Alice an elixir that should send her home if she so chooses. After some thought, the girl nevertheless decides to go home - there are unfinished business and unanswered questions waiting for her. When she returns, she refuses to marry him. Hamisha and decides to continue his father’s work, becoming his old friend’s partner.

But did this fairy tale end there?

Alice in Wonderland, the main characters of Lewis Carroll's fairy tale, are internationally popular.

"Alice in Wonderland" main characters

Alice

Alice is the main character of the fairy tale, who is about seven years old. It is believed that the prototype of the protagonist's image was the author's friend, Alice Pleasence Liddell, although Dodgson himself mentioned several times that the image of his “little heroine” was not based on a real child and was completely fictional. In the novel, Alice appears as a schoolgirl with a bizarrely logical mindset, whose straight hair “always gets into her eyes.”

White rabbit

White Rabbit White Rabbit) is a talking animal with pink eyes, dressed in a vest and kid gloves. He carries a watch in his pocket and lives in a “clean house” with the inscription: “B. Rabbit". In the first chapters, the Rabbit is late for somewhere, in the fourth he tries to get into his house, and in the finale of the work he accompanies the royal couple and acts as a herald. The author notes that the Rabbit was created to contrast with the main character. In contrast to her “youth,” “purposefulness,” “courage,” and “strength,” it corresponds to such traits as “advanced age,” “fearfulness,” “dementia,” and “nervous fussiness.”

Dodo

Dodo (English) Dodo) is a bird that Alice discovers on the shore next to the Sea of Tears. Ed the Eaglet notes that Dodo speaks “not like a human being”: his speech is overloaded with scientific terms. He suits Running in circles, after which he announces the winners of everyone who participated in the race. As a result, Alice has to give everyone a candied fruit, and she herself has to receive her own thimble from Dodo. The Dodo bird is a reflection of Carroll himself. When the writer stuttered, he pronounced his name as "Do-Do-Dodgson."

Caterpillar

Caterpillar Caterpillar) is a blue insect, three inches tall, found in chapters 4 and 5. He sits on a porcini mushroom and smokes a hookah. The Caterpillar's advice that one should always control oneself expressively parodies the main technique of moralizing literature for children of the early 19th century.

Cheshire cat

Cheshire Cat (English) Cheshire Cat) - Duchess's cat who smiles often. The character looks good-natured, but he has many teeth and long claws. Alice affectionately called him Cheshik and considered him her friend. The cat himself thinks that he is out of his mind, because (unlike dogs) he grumbles when he is happy and wags his tail when he is angry. He knows how to disappear - both completely and partially - leaving only a smile or a head.

Duchess

Duchess Duchess) - first mentioned in the second chapter by Rabbit. In chapter six, she rocks a baby, which she later hands over to Alice. Her cook, having prepared the soup, begins to throw everything she can get her hands on at the Duchess. While playing croquet, Alice learns from the Rabbit that the Queen has sentenced the Duchess to death for slapping her. Subsequently, the Queen relented and did not demand that the sentence be carried out. The character has a pointed chin, and Alice herself considers her “very ugly.”

Hatter

Hatter Mad Hatter, lit. "Mad Hatter") - hatmaker, one of the participants in the Mad Tea Party. When meeting Alice, he behaves tactlessly, so the main character asks him “not to get personal.” He asks her riddles and periodically tries to wake up Dormouse. In the words of the Cheshire Cat, Hatter is “out of his mind.” In addition to the fact that the character constantly drinks tea, he sells hats and sings songs at a concert. At the trial, he became the first witness, describing himself as a "little man" who was as round as his hats.

March hare

March hare March Hare) is a crazy hare whom Alice meets at the Mad Tea Party. He offers the little girl a drink of wine and believes that you should always say what you think. The character was also present at the trial of the Knave of Hearts, where he denied everything.

Sonya

Sonya (English) Dormouse) - Sonya, participant of the mad Tea Party. Most of the time he sleeps; Hatter and Hare use it as a pillow. Sometimes in his sleep he starts to sing, then they pinch his sides to make him stop. During the court hearing, Sonya reprimands Alice for growing too fast.

Griffin

Griffin (English) Gryphon) - a mythical creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. The character first appears in Chapter 9, in which he accompanies Alice, and for the last time at the trial. During conversations, he periodically coughs. Griffin, by his own admission, received a “classical education” - he played hopscotch with his teacher all day long.

Turtle Quasi

Quasi Turtle Mock-Turtle) - a turtle with a calf's head, tail, large eyes and hooves on its hind legs. Kwazii said that he was once a real Turtle and went to a school at the bottom of the sea, where he learned French, music, arithmetic, dirty writing and other sciences. Throughout Chapter 10, Kwazii talks about a sea quadrille with lobsters and sings songs. The Queen reveals that it is from this character that the quasi-turtle soup is prepared. This dish, which is usually made with veal, is an imitation of real green sea turtle soup. In the fairy tale, the character constantly cries. This is justified from a biological point of view. Sea turtles do often shed tears - this is how they remove salt from their bodies.

Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts Queen of Hearts) - in the fairy tale appears as a cruel antagonist who, with a certain periodicity, tries to cut off the heads of many other characters. She is often in an irritated or furious state. Has a loud, shrill voice. Alice has an antipathy towards the Queen. In the article “Alice on Stage,” Carroll imagined the Queen of Hearts as the embodiment of unbridled passion, absurd and senseless rage. Gardner stated that the royal execution orders outraged many children's literature specialists, who believed that there should be no violence in fairy tales. He ironically noted that a normal child is amused by these scenes and such books should not be given only to adults who have undergone a course of psychoanalysis.