Identity And Agency In Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland

The Struggle for Identity and Agency in Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass and the Disney film Alice in Wonderland Whether on page or on the big screen, young Alice struggles with questions about her own identity and continually strives to gain agency in order to legitimize herself. Her journey through Looking Glass Land in Lewis Carroll’s novel and Wonderland in the film version, produced by Disney in 1951, are metaphorical expeditions to find her place in the Victorian society. Prior to visiting these alternate universes, she lived in a world where children were seen as inferior to adults. It is important to notice that in both the book and the film, the authoritative figures are highly satirized. This is evident because although they seem to know the answers to everything, their answers are contradictive to common knowledge or are even made-up. When comparing these places to Alice’s reality, one can come to the conclusion that this is how Alice perceives adults in the real world. As Alice travels through Looking-Glass Land and Wonderland she gains knowledge from these absurd, imaginative characters. However, the question remains:

He has a knack for appearing and disappearing at different intervals of her journey through Wonderland. He gives her insight on many of the creatures and people of Wonderland. However, the most useful piece of advice he gives Alice is that everyone is Wonderland is mad. In fact, even he himself is not “all there” mentally or physically. This is no humor lost in this pun because his body parts continually disappear as well. Despite this fault of his, Alice still finds herself dependent upon him. In this dependence, she her child-like behavior is noticeable. Often, she will give up until the Cheshire Cat will come along and help her decide on what she should