Down the Rabbit Hole: Alice in Wonderland and the Science of the Mind

 Nicolina Vega ENGL 402 Dr. Rampelli December 7, 2020 Final Project: Library Blog Article  Definitive Moments in Childhood Leading to Womanhood, and Peculiarities of the Brain Lewis Carroll’s, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , exhibits psychical diseases of early life, in particular, childhood, the defining moments or entrance into womanhood, impressionability and hysteria and the nervous diseases placed on women.  In terms of childhood, Alice appears to be vulnerable to outside stimuli and conditions. Her emotional outbursts appear to reflect her early stages into puberty, which makes her rely on her reproductive organs rather than her brain, causing her to think illogically, and become impressionable, showing signs of hysterical behavior. Furthermore, Alice is an intelligent girl, that strays from the female norm, and oftentimes speaks out of turn, signifying that she is capricious and wayward, which furthers the evidence provided that she may be dealing with a nervo...

Possession and You: A Guide to Identify and Expell Your Demoniacal Possession Written by David Van Dewater --   Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Illustration from John Tenniel. published in 1865. — At the time this novel was writing there was an emerging study coming forth based on the validity of spiritual possession as a valid type of mental ailment; now separate from hysteria. Although it might not have been Carrol’s intent when writing this novel about a child’s adventure through their subconscious. Carrol was able to recreate what went through a possessed person’s mind when they were taken by the spirit. The reader goes on an adventure through this young girl’s mind plagued by hallucinations, immediate gratification, and twisting trails leading deep into her subconscious. Lewis Carrol brings to light the process in which one goes through when they are possessed. Exemplifying the trials of faith that one might go through while being possessed by a spirit or deity. Carrol wrote...

 Kira Stallworth Dr. Rampelli ENGL-402-A December 15, 2020 Childhood Narcissism     Introduction      When examining Victorian society through a modern day psychological lens, there is evidence of children falling victim to their embodiment of narcissism. According to the American Psychological Association, “in psychoanalytic theory, the earliest type of narcissism, in which the infant’s libido is directed towards his or her own body and its satisfaction rather than toward the environment or objects” (APA). American Psychological Association. This reveals that all children are inherently narcissistic beings and endure a narcissistic phase, which is valid in contemporary psychology. It is proven in DSM-5 that, “The essential feature of narcissistic personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts” (Diagnostic Features). Although psy...

    In the Victorian era, it was not uncommon for writers to turn to fiction as a means of escapism for what was really going on in England during their time. Lewis Carroll’s novella The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland is a great example of fiction as escapism because Carroll takes a psychological approach in order to highlight the oppression of Victorian women occurring in the mid to late nineteenth century. Carroll critiques society’s viewpoint on gender roles through the portrayal of his unconventional female characters and by only allowing Alice to express her conscious thoughts on gender through her unconscious dreams, this later reveals a level of childhood trauma present in Alice. Alice's Unconscious View of Gender Roles      Alice’s encounters with the three female characters in the novel are significant because each character does not embody the typical stereotype of Victorian women during this time. Rather, Alice is exposed to unconventional gen...