It’s Creepy, but Why?
November 12, 2009A question that many people have asked themselves is why does Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a book written for a little girl, have numerous underlying morbid references?
Most books written for children aren’t so, to put it bluntly, creepy. To give credit to Lewis Carroll, the quirky, eccentric, and decidedly weird characters do have a way of not only capturing but keeping the reader’s attention. But perhaps all of this “creepiness” is merely a misconception by the people of our day. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in 1865, meaning it was intended for an audience of almost one hundred and forty-five years ago. A hundred and forty-five years is enough of a time span to provide an audience with different cultural beliefs, and this audience was the one Carroll was writing for, not the more overprotective society we have today. My point is, perhaps what would be considered inappropriate and morbid for our children today, would be considered more along the lines of normal for children of back then.
The book was published during the Victorian Era in The United Kingdom, a period of time generally considered a very prominent period of The United Kingdoms history. However, during the particular period of time that the book was published, the 1860′s, The United Kingdom was going through a rather low point of the Victorian Era due to the death of Prince Albert. Queen Victoria refused to show herself in public for many years, and when she did go out in public, she would wear a widow’s cap instead of the traditional crown. This may seem utterly insignificant, but the Queens morose attitude for the few years following the princes death would indeed affect the mood of the entire country.
Also, 19th century The United Kingdom was undergoing an incredible increase in population which was most likely spurred by the Industrial Revolution. When a countries populace is faced with a rapid increase, the availability of jobs decrease and wages are decreased. During the particular period of time that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published, many people were faced with extreme poverty.
Even though The United Kingdom itself was saddened by the Queens morose attitude and the increase in poverty, there is absolutely no denying that the Victorian Era was an incredibly prominent time, as most of the middle class developed skills in literature and arithmetic, a skill that before was reserved for the elite. But how does the Victorian Era relate to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Because they seem to follow the similar trend of being incredibly prominent in the case of the time period and childish in the case of the book but having slight underlying problems in the case of the time period and subtle negative references in the case of the book.
The book was intended for children, and the children of 1865 were very different from the children of today. Perhaps that sentence is a bit misleading, because it wasn’t the kids themselves that were different from the ones of our day, but it was the way they were looked upon. In today’s society, children are considered a priority. There are numerous examples of this, from public education starting from a young age to the restrictions put upon them, such as the age limits put on things such as driving, drinking, and buying miscellanea. However, this was not so much the case back then. In fact, something that would never be tolerated today in the year 2009 was widespread in 1865. During the Victorian Era, there was something known as child labor, which almost all people in today’s society would find appalling. However it was commonplace during The Victorian Era in The United Kingdom. But what does this say? It says that children were not treated with the same protection that they are today.
Finally, to the point. Many people say that there are many things that would be considered too mature or inappropriate for children in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. However, maybe that is only true for the children of today. Children back then were not treated with the same protection as they are today, and perhaps Carroll was not concerned with putting in references to drugs or death when he knew perfectly well that his audience, the children, were themselves working in factories and possibly being mistreated and that they were more than likely mature enough to handle the references if they even understood them in the first place.
Christian Long
Katherine H.
Melissa H
Rivu D.
Alex E.
Sylvia A.
You’re very right, Rivu. Everything about this book is creepy, weird, and warped in some very peculiar way. When we all first started reading it, that’s what we thought. Heck, you probably thought the same thing! However, back in Carroll’s time, none of the material was thought of to be all of the adjectives I have mentioned (plus more). But that’s because times are different. What is normal to them, is most likely not normal to us. The material, within the novel, was socially accepted by all ages, children and adults. They were brought up different than we are. But since times have changed, some of it is now considered inappropriate and too mature for our children. Carroll intended to write it as a children’s book, never anything to be taboo. He specifically wrote it for a 10-year-old girl! It’s interesting to look how society has changed our outlook on things…
And so, I would like to end this comment with something that Hersh has said. I really think this speaks a lot:
“History can change easily and the culture of these times affects the works of that time. The culture… must [be] consider when analyzing the literature of that time. In fact, often, the most important factor is the culture of the time.”
Children have protection today only in some parts of the developed world. Perhaps we an only expect the next Alice or equivalent from those places where things are no better than in Victorian England?
I agree, the time period did have a lot to do with what is in the story. One thing though is; is it really that creepy? I’m not so sure. Of all the movies and books we have seen and read, there are plenty of things that back then you never would have shown a child. Carroll’s story is a bit odd simply because it seems to revolve around madness. But there are so many things we have read and seen as children about madness even now. It’s really not all that odd after all, as children we have to slowly be introduced to the oddities and strangeness of the world so that when we do go out into the world we won’t be in shell shock. It’s almsot like conditioning. It’s so much easier to accept the world if it’s bundled up into a pretty story we can enjoy from childhood.
Very true, the audience of his time widely accepted the book and it suffered no criticism for themes in it that I know of, but the book still appeals to the general population of children and adults even in modern times. You bring up the point that “Many people say that there are many things that would be considered too mature or inappropriate for children in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.Many things such as the hookah and the caterpillar can be considered inaproppriate, however even though this book has those themes it would most likely not be banned in America, England, and many other places, because it is a children’s classic that many people have grown up on and enjoyed.
You are right!! This directly answers the puzzling questions that many of our peers have asked. Everyone has been saying that this is weird, it is creepy, it shouldn’t be a children’s story, but we have never taken into consideration what was normal back then. History can change easily and the culture of these times affects the works of that time. The culture brings in a new factor that we must consider when analyzing the literature of that time. In fact, often, the most important factor is the culture of the time. I feel as thought if there was child labor then why bother writing a children’s book??