In Lewis Carroll’s classic and beloved nonsensical tale, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, gets bored and wanders off from a picnic that she and her sister are having in the park. On her walk she pots a White Rabbit dressed smartly in a waistcoat and musing over his timepiece that he is late. While following the curiosity of a dressed and talking rabbit, Alice falls down a rabbit hole and meets a host of baffling talking creatures and animated inanimate objects, all the while eating and drinking things that are perhaps better left alone. While underground, she begins to formulate a different perspective on the confusing nature of interpersonal interactions.
I have a feeling that for me the mystery of Alice is best experienced as a child. I’d not read about Alice’s forays into the rabbit hole before, and don’t really have much to add to the discourse of this classic other than to say I am in the camp of people who think her dream/experience in Wonderland is about coming to terms with her imminent introduction into adulthood with all its uncertain situations, moral quandaries and inconsistent rules and behavior. I suppose if we knew what we were in for we’d all take a trip down the nearest rabbit hole too. Of note about the edition I read is that it has been reissued with detailed graphic plates and illustrations by Camille Rose Garcia. I originally thought it was a graphic novel, but the pictures accompany the full text of the first half of the book. No Jabberwocky for me. Alice fans will enjoy perusing the pictures to see which details of the story the artist has chosen to include. Garcia has a fun and quirky style that gets to the heart and absurdity of this strange tale. Recommended.
