Victorian England

Shane Leslie, for instance, writing on “Lewis Carrol and the Oxford Movement” (in  the London Mercury, July 1933), finds Alice a secret history of the religious controversies of Victorian England.

To begin with, I know none of us or for sure at least not all of us are experts on the Oxford Movement or the history of religious controversies of Victorian England. Through internet research as well as The Annotated Alice, I have acquired the different roles of the characters thought to have been similar to the movement and controversies in England. The Orange marmalade in the cupboard when Alice is falling is thought to represent William III (of Orange). There may be many reasons for this representation besides the obvious ‘Orange’ reference. William and Mary were crowned king and queen of England, destroying the possibility of divine right. William and Mary were understanding of the parliamentary system meaning the power would be divided. In Alice, the Orange marmalade is empty. Perhaps the marmalade symbolized the power which was divided among the parliament and monarch. However the marmalade also could have symbolized the sympathy that William had for Catholics, which was none.

Though there are endless relations between Alice and the outside world, this instance seems to be one that you must dig deeper in research to understand. I am absolutely sure that Alice relates to almost every form of government in some way. Though each type of government is different, the story provides more than a variety of characteristics of society to choose from.