Curiouser and Curiouser: Why Alice's Wild Trip Still Intrigues Us!
Most of my readers have probably noticed that I use a ton of Alice in Wonderland quotes in my post. The reason is pretty simple:
Penned in 1865 (can you believe that?) it is still one of the most read books by children. Several movies have been made about it. And so many pop culture references were born from it.
But why? Over a hundred years later, why do we still love this book so much?
I can only speak from a personal place. But here are some of the answers I came up with:
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
As a strange little girl myself, I completely fell in love with Alice and the surreal, creepy fantasy world Lewis Carroll created. But as I grew older, the more I read of her adventures though Wonderland, the more layers I discovered about her.
For one, Alice was the first female protagonist I read about who didn't need to be saved by a man!
Everything she thing she did, every decision she made, was her own doing. She was strong, but still vulnerable. She stood up for herself even before a psycho queen, and she wasn't afraid to call the Mad Hatter out on his bullshit!
And as the story goes on, you see her become stronger and more capable.
But the other thing that's interesting about Alice is the question of her sanity.
- Did she imagine it all?
- Was she actually on drugs?
- Was she as crazy as everyone in Wonderland?
- Did she ever really wake up?
There are actual psychological theories written about Alice's mental state. One in particular I read in a magazine about 10 years ago that hinted at her being a disturbed child before she even got to the rabbit hole.
Why didn't the manic creatures of Wonderland seem that crazy to her? Was it something in them she saw in herself?
Maybe this is why I identify with her so much I wonder?
"Were' all mad here!"
What the Cheshire Cat told Alice when she questioned her sanity.
This is probably my favorite quote of all time! Mainly because the thought of "true sanity" is a lie. We are all messed up! Even if it's just a little.
No one is 100% whole. We are flawed mammals who are bumbling our way through life, trying to reach a destination that never truly pays off. We are insecure, selfish, scared, manic, emotionally unstable, and so many other things.
We are all broken. Looking for others just as broken as we are.
Wonderland represents a place where being broken is not only accepted... it's encouraged.
“If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later.”
It's rumored that Lewis Carroll wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" while being stoned out of his mind on shrooms. Which is pretty impressive since the only thing I can do on shrooms is not fall off the planet!
There has always been a deep connection between Alice in Wonderland and drug use. Obviously from the images of her drinking from the bottle that said "drink me" and eating the tart that said "eat me," and the intoxicated affects they had on her after.
In fact the expression "tripping" was born from this story as it's a take on her "bad trip" in Wonderland!
This would explain why she sees hooka smoking caterpillars, disappearing cats, and all the other strange shit she encountered.
It also explains why she continued to "chase" the White Rabbit."
The rabbit represented her "high." A creative take on the drug metaphor: "chasing the dragon!"
“Through the looking glass!”
The looking glass was symbolic of a place where everything looked right and seemed normal, but in "reality," there was something very wrong about it.
Much like we humans. We put on masks everyday to hide what's really going on. We blend. We drink our lattes with a smile.
But on the other side of that smile is something we are hiding.
- Pain
- Secrets
- Guilt
- Fear
- Anxiety
The mirror is said to expose all. We can fool everybody but ourselves right?
In Alice's trip through the looking glass, she thought she made it back home and was safe, only to realize she was still trapped in Wonderland. She had to confront her fear of the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like monster that chased her throughout the story.
Just like the Jabberwocky, we have demons that will chase us through friendships, relationships, careers, debt, etc., until we confront them and deal with them!
TIME TO WRAP THIS UP!
There's so much more I could really dig into with this, but for the sake of time, I'll probably save that for "part 2!"
If you haven't read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, you are missing out on one the wildest stories of all time!
You'll be shocked at how much you'll walk away with!
Thank you @ remic2005 for allowing me to see your post 🔝🔝
I love Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll is a genius 🖤
This book is a bible for me 🏆
I love all the illustrations you added to your post 😻
This book makes much wonder, it appeals to the reflection, the imagination and the interpretation that one wishes 🤔
Great article 🔝🔝🖤🖤
These stories literally got me through my childhood!
I understand you 100%
I do not know if you saw my post with mad hatter scary tales
Earlier today an ITS Engineer quoted lines from The Walrus and the Carpenter to me in conversation, naturally I responded with a stanza from The Jabberwocky, of course. And now this post. Curiouser and curiouser! What a brillig day.
Well
Charles DodgsonCarroll almost certainly would have encountered opiates, which at the time of his life were as common as aspirin and used just as liberally. However he wrote AIW on a boat with the Liddell children (one of whom was called Alice), so it's highly unlikely he was under their influence while he did so.But there was ample inspiration all around him in the society of the day, behaviourally and otherwise.
Thanks for the serendipity, your AIW post made a topsie turvie day go all sidewaysie.
Thank you for the insightful comment! I don't think Alice would have been on any drug recreationally, but if she were troubled parents had a tendency back then to give their kids drugs or booze as a form of medication. But I find your theory more plausible.
Absolutely;
I can barely remember the story now after all these years - but you've prompted me to go back and look at it again - thanks!
And there's the whole escapism thing. We all need a dose of that from time to time ;)
More lately it seems like!
Hi @suicidalviral, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
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Wow! Thank you so much!
I have always suspected that the author is schizophrenic. The level of imagination is just not human unless he is in a different world imagining things. Anyway its a good write. I enjoyed reading it.
I'm assuming the shroom tea played a part too.
I think it does.
I'm sure the story was inspired by hallucinogenics but not penned or sketched out whilst under the influence. Like you said it can be your only objective not to fall off the planet whilst on mushrooms. It's the secondary effects days later where the mind is open to all sorts of suggestions that just seem to come from another world. Maybe lsd and the likes are just a natural technology to blast us into the dreams of our fellow earthlings, who knows? Really great post!
I like your theory! And as a writer myself I would love one day publish something as thought provoking as Alice in Wonderland!
I love your blog!
Alice has always intrigued me, and now again I understand more why. You have inspired me to read Alice in Wonderland the book since I have only seen the movies. And a good read makes me happy so thank you for the inspiration :)
excellent look at Alice in Wonderland. I agree completely I don't think that there is any such thing as normal and everyone has voices in their heads, even if it's different versions of their own voice.
Thanks luv. Glad you liked it. It's one of those books where the more you dig the more you find.
Interesting :) I'm not especially a fan of Alice in wonderland, though I know it (But I don't remember reading it... But for sure I saw one or two films versions of it ;)) But I like the different interpretations you talked about!
And I think @charline is a fan of it ;) I'm sure she would like your post :D
The book is open to a lot interpretation which is what's really cool about it. You should give it a read.
Yeah, I will