Down the Rabbit-Hole

During the Victorian era (1837-1901), the perception of children evolved : among the major changes that took place at the time was the introduction of compulsory education. As children began to be able to read, writers seized the opportunity to reach a new audience : Lewis Carroll was among them. Inspired by the daughter of one of his friends, he wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865. The book tells the story of Alice, a young girl, living extraordinary adventures in a fantasy world called Wonderland. In the first chapter, entitled ''Down the Rabbit-Hole'', Alice, running after a mysterious talking white rabbit, falls into a hole leading to an entirely unknown world. To what extent is this first chapter an essential key for the reader to enter Wonderland? By presenting the reader with several clues to what will happen next, the text is preparing us to understand the rules of Wonderland. It is essential to note first that the text suggests the mind is allmighty. Yet, one cannot understand Wonderland by reasoning normally, as the elements that compose it are always shifting. Finally, the reader is presented with various themes and symbols that will allow for an interpretation of the whole text.

I THE MIND IS ALLMIGHTY

1/ Force of thought
!!! Mthode : champs lexicaux rcurrents See lesson : repetition of verbs such as ''think'', ''wonder'', ''make out'' ''notice'' : Alice is constantly using her mind, but not always at the right moment (see echo ''how in the world she as going to et out again''). She also expresses her thoughts aloud, turning into words. These words have an impact on our perception of the story, as do the words uttered by the narrator.

2/ Use of language
!!! Mthode : s'interroger sur les choix narratifs : 3rd person narrative omniscient narrator Mostly descriptive (actions), a few sentences of direct speech and free indirect speech

absent or non-existent characters. => Is this surprising ? In a way, yes : the only other human character is her sister and she doesn't talk to her.

Direct speech : When ? When Alice is in the tunnel. Who utters the sentences ? Alice. To whom ? To herself. She imagines that she's talking to A/ a lady she might meet B/ her cat =

=> The use of language is not usual : The only other character speaking is the rabbit (to itself as well) + it's used in a
peculiar context connected with unusual events : the appearance of the rabbit and the fall > speech is connected with Wonderland. Language will help create the reality perceived by Alice : her language, and the narrator's. The book is thus mirroring what happens to Alice : it underlines the process of shaping a world from words. The author, through the narrator, is building this world for us out of his mind, and Alice is putting into words what she can't understand to sort it out. By doing so, she manages to create new realities, as any author does when writing a text : the reader indirectly witnesses the process of creation, thanks to the strength of language.

The use of ''Antipathies'' is another clue : the mastery of language helps to be rational about the world :
losing it, or inventing new words, is linked to fantasy : distorted language might be used to describe a distorted reality : a word which doesn't exist is used to describe a fantasy. (the Antipathies is the idea created by Alice, it's not what the antipodes should be : it's not only the word which is distorted). The question she asks while falling (do cats eat bats) is reverted because as it has no answer, it seems to work in either way : Wonderland seems to make no sense, but any kind of situation is possible. => NONSENSE literature uses language in this way : coined words, riddles ('do cats eats bat')...

=> On the contrary, elements that are not connected to language are not important : the sister (no dialogue with her + no name : no importance in the story), her book (no ''conversation'' = no dialogue). Language is linked with imagination (linked with ''pictures'' > images in the book Alice dislikes) : it creates the link between what's real and what's connected to the imaginary. It allows Alice to express aloud the reasoning she follows in her own mind. Language has its own, fixed rules, which also allows Alice to keep an element of stability while everything else is changing around her. Yet even language will in time lose its rigidity to adapt to a shifting world, entirely shaped by the mind.

II SHIFTING ELEMENTS
1/ Reality vs imagination
The story is full of peculiar elements, to say the least : a white rabbit with pink eyes, a talking rabbit, with a watch, then, a rabbit-hole to fall in, a fall that lasts for a long time and doesn't hurt. Curiously, the narrator, though giving a few comments now a then, does not deny th e possibility of such a world : ''fancy curtseying as you're falling?'' is not judging strange the type of fall Alice is experiencing, only commenting on the fact that Alice, perfectly well educated, never forgets courtesy. Alice herself is not really surprised : ''there was nothing so very remarkable in that''... + she's quite confident, takes times to think and talk aloud. She's quite composed considering the situation : this facet of her personality was already hinted at at the beginning : she wanted to read a book with conversations and pictures : she's having a conversation, although only with herself, and looking at interesting things : this type of reality is much more acceptable to her, so that it becomes her reality as it does for the reader, compelled to accept the story as it is. Moreover, fantasy and real elements are mixed : the cat Dinah is real, but not present when mentioned, as are the parents. The objects that Alice sees are all very common objects : shelves, jars, a table, a key... but they seem to be found in out-of-the way places. The conversation she imagines with inhabitants of the ''Antipathies'' is based on real facts that she has forgotten or got wrong : the fantasy world springs from reality, while fantasy irrupts into the real world (the rabbit) => The contrast between reality and imagination melts into confusion > another clue to the rules of Wonderland : thought (and the imaginary) are closely linked : what you think makes it possible, as the last sentences suggest : Alice believe it possible to shut up like a telescope if only she can start ! However, the narrator leaves a possible escape route for the reader (adding to the confusion): ''sleepy'' / ''dreamy'' can lead the (adult) reader to understand that we are told Alice's dreams. Consequently, the rules normally applied in the real world are modified : Time, is among these rules.

2/ Time is blurred
The sequences of time do not always correspond to what the reader might expect. The text is builty on a succession of fast and slow moments, sometimes against all odds : Alice's fall is the most marked example of erratic Time (see notes)

III SETTING THE RULES : AN INTRODUCTION TO MOTIVES AND SYMBOLS

1/ Frustration, trial and error
Every attempt made by Alice to achieve something is bound to fail : she considers the possibility of picking flowers but never does, the rabbit always escapes, she's blocked by the small door : she has to try to find what's right (see ''never considering how she would get out'' / later regrets) Whenever she comes nearer to her aim, a new object is presented to her curiosity (the rabbit, then the hole, then the room, the key, the door, the garden) : there's a constant movement through doors or symbolical thresholds : the hole, the tunnel, the little door. Some of these are harder to go through than others (the little door) : difficulty is increasing, compelling Alice to be submitted to frustration Nothing ever fits : size is wrong, language is wrong, time is wrong : Alice is subjected to shifting rules that she can't understand and that are always changing : literally and symbolically she hasn't got the key, or not the right one. All these motives are symbolical : a fantasy world, that the reader has to decipher, is the key to the real world : under cover of creating a nonsense, imaginary world, the author is in fact illustrating some of the important steps of a real life.

2/ A fantasy world to represent the real world

Alice's frustration : a child's frustration is part of growing up Thresholds : steps, progress while you can't go back (Alice can't go back up) the fall : going under : under the conscious, possibly the little garden : ideal representation (colours as opposed to darkness in the previous rooms, ''loveliest garden you ever saw'') but impossible to reach : knowledge (how to shut up like a telescope) seems necessary + implies learning and self-improvement (if i only knew how to begin) the rabbit : white + always running, late, with a watch, will be a guide throughout the story : may symbolise Time, passing everywhere, that you can't catch up. Time / hurrying are the most important elements to characterize the rabbit : Alice is suprised when she sees the watch, not when she hears him talking. => When the rabbit appears, time suddenly speeds up : steps with action / when the rabbit disappears : time slows down + these moments correspond to moments of inner thoughts and personal reasoning. To grow up, a child needs both : action and reflection on this action. More than a fantasy story destined to children, the story is the symbolical representation of growing up. The first chapter is designed to allow the reader to grasp all the rules of Wonderland, and thus, of the rest of the story.