Theme Of Insanity In Alice In Wonderland

An Analysis of Alice’s Victorian Insanity In Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Alice must navigate her own mind to find out who she is. Nothing goes smooth, and Alice acts strangely in some cases; this is not by accident. In 1856, Carroll wrote in his diary that when we are dreaming, and we know we’re dreaming, we partake in insane actions. He continues to ask that because of this, why shouldn’t insanity be considered an inability to discern what is real and what is a dream? (Schatz 95) Alice shows signs of insanity as she falls down the hole. “Well! After such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down-stairs! How brave they’ll all think of me at home!” (Carroll 8) This is blatant disregard of the seriousness of the situation,

A quote from Samantha Pegg’s work ‘Madness is a Woman’: Constance Kent and Victorian Constructions of Female Insanity sums this up. “Morally purer, but vulnerable and weaker than men, women were then placed into a position where a fall from grace could easily be related to their inherent femininity.” This quote serves as an insight into why Carroll chose to make Alice a weaker, and seemingly lesser character. Moreover, Alice seems to fit that “morally pure” peg, at least by Victorian standards, as well. This is shown when she is talking to the mouse about his tail. “It is a long tail, certainly, by why do you call it sad?” (Carroll 23) Here Alice portrays that childhood innocence that plagues her throughout the story. She keeps up with her Victorian ideals, which makes her morally delightful by Victorian standards. This then leads back into Carroll’s portrayal of Alice as insane. She is again missing a piece of the puzzle that is right in front of

In the case of Constance Kent that lasted from 1860-1865, it is shown that a connection between the two was made true. This is best stated by Samantha Pegg: “Although the defence of insanity was not conceived as such at this point in history, it did find a place in the Victorian legal system as a defence for those suffering from ‘being female’.” (Pegg 212) This thought cannot be disputed as to not be wholesome throughout the country. “There is no, and cannot be, any situation in which we don't respect the law and the judiciary. It is unacceptable to attack the courts; criticism is allowed, but attacks are not. It shakes the basis of our democracy.” (Rivlin) What this is saying is that the courts sayings and doings are always a reflection of the public opinion at the time. That’s the basis of our country; the people are the basis of our country, and if the courts beheld a thought in the Victorian Era that the weakness of femininity was insanity, then that’s what the people