Definitive Moments in Childhood Leading to Womanhood, and Peculiarities of the Brain

 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 nervous disease, such as hysteria.  

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Bantam Dell, New York. 2006

Section on Psychical Diseases of Early Childhood: Impressionability, Incoherency, babbling, delusions and hallucinations

Alice is quite the curious and impressionable child from the very beginning of the novel. This impressionability and curiosity comes to light when she sees the white rabbit, and especially when, “Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit hole under the hedge.”, (Carroll, 2). Alice’s first impression of the white rabbit causes her to find out where he is going and what he is doing. Also, the significance of his white white fur, appears merely innocent to Alice as well. So much so, that Alice being a child that is with a childish mind, she follows the rabbit, “In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.”, (Carroll, 2). Alice appears to be impulsive in her decision making not only in the beginning of the novel, but throughout as well, making it ever more evident that she is still a child that does not think logically or all the way through. Her curiosity and impressionability is again struck when, “she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it. “That’s very curious!” she thought. “But everything’s curious to-day. I think I may as well go in at once.” And in she went.”, (Carroll, 61). Her curiosity and impressionability seems to control her everytime she comes across something she may never have encountered before. Therefore, during the victorian era, Alice would have thought to have some type of psychical disease, and the evidence is that, “ But with the above we should also remember the extreme susceptibility of the infant and childish mind; its high impressionability and the readiness with which it admits of being set aside from that perfect rectitude constituting health.”, (James Crichton-Browne, 336). This further insinuates that Alice is susceptible to being highly impressionable and susceptible to outward stimuli, showcasing that an unhealthy disease may be present in childhood. 

Not only is Alice highly susceptible, curious and impressionable but being in wonderland has caused her to become incoherent, and babble nonsense, which may result in delusions, illusions, and hallucinations forming. There are several instances in the novel that this nonsensical babble occurs, “And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, “Do cats eat bats?” and sometimes “Do bats eat cats?” for, you see, as she couldn’t answer either question, it didn’t much matter which way she put it.”, (Carroll, 4). These unanswerable questions were thought of while falling a long way down the rabbit-hole, or what appeared to be a rabbit-hole. The incoherent speech happened immediately. In another instance she had forgotten her first language, because of her curiosity, “Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she forgot how to speak English)., (Carroll, 8). This loss of language occurred when her body began to grow unevenly. Almost as if her appearance changed the way she spoke. Soon her body was so large compared to her feet, that she began to question their size, and if they would listen to her brain and walk the direction she chose. She became so attached to her newly formed feet that she thought about buying them their own separate Christmas present and she began to say, “Alice’s right foot, Esq. Hearthrug, near the Fender (with Alice’s love). Oh dear, what nonsense I’m talking!”, (Carroll, 9). Her delusional sense of self caused her to speak unmeaning thoughts. These two instances and several others surmise that, “Among certain class of young children, also little or no attention is, as yet, paid to the workings and operations of the immortal mind; and in them those incoherent speeches, or odd remarks, which are attributed to childish unmeaning babbling and folly, may sometimes be in reality the result of delusions, illusions, and hallucinations.”, (Crichton-Browne, 336). It seems the more and more comfortable, or the longer Alice spends time in wonderland she strays from reality and begins to have delusions, illusions and hallucinations, causing her to act out of character and forget who she is, making for the incoherent speech, and childish remarks to occur so frequently. 

Keeping both the impressionability and delusions in mind, Alice is also relying on something known as castle building. She has already made the white rabbit real and talked to other rodent animals along the way as well. Then she is busying herself by running errands for the white rabbit, “How queer it seems”, Alice said to herself, “to be going messages for a rabbit! I suppose Dinah’ll be sending me on messages next!” and she began fancying the sort of thing that would happen.”, (Carroll, 25). This castle building of the white rabbit character has forced itself into reality and she begins to believe that her pet cat will demand her in the same manner, and feels comfort in it as well. Throughout the novel she makes acquaintances with a variety of characters that she has built in her own mind, and false images as well, for example, “Alice noticed that with some surprise that the pebbles were all turning into little cakes,”, (Carroll, 30). Again, as time goes on, Alice’s mind begins to play tricks on her and reality is far from reach. The animals or people, or what looked like people she came across was a blue caterpillar (32), a large pigeon (40), a footman that was a fish (42-43), a newborn that turned into a pig (47), a deck of cards painting roses (63), a cheshire cat that appeared in the sky (69), and many other peculiar creatures and characters, (Carroll). These castle built characters are what, “We generally find that the delusions of the monomaniac bear distinct reference to his ordinary mode of thought and life, and are but diseased distortions or exaggerations of his ordinary ideas. Thus in childhood, they are frequently induced by castle building and we would here take an opportunity of denouncing that most pleasant but pernicious practice.”, (Crichton-Browne, 336-337). So, these characters are merely animals and creatures she would see in reality, but now they are exaggerated in her mind to the extent of talking and acting like humans rather than animals or creatures.  She has become so intimate with each one that it is not peculiar for them to talk or have human like tendencies. 

Alice is continuing to exhibit traits of loss of reality, and mixing her delusional state with reality. It is known that, “Impressions, created ever fertile imagination of a child; it may be whilst glow’ring at the fuffing low are soon believed in realities and become part of the child’s physical existence. They become in fact actual delusions.”, (Crichton-Browne, 337). When Alice comes in contact with the mouse, she is already feeling quite queer about the day and the fact that every creature she comes in contact with can talk, therefore her delusion of the mouse talking becomes reality. She does not overthink this delusion and begins to talk to the mouse, fully believing that the mouse will talk back, and she thinks, “Would it be of any use, now,” thought Alice “to speak to this mouse? Everything is so-out-of-the-way down here, that I should think very likely it can talk: at any rate, there’s no harm in trying.”, (Carroll, 13). Again, being in wonderland had made Alice delusional and believed everything she heard and saw, so much so, it became normal and the reality. Another instance her delusion became reality was when she came in contact with the cheshire cat, “You’ll see me there,” said the Cat, and vanished. Alice was not much surprised at this, she was getting so well used to queer things happening. While she was still looking at the place where it had been, it suddenly appeared again.”, (Carroll, 51). Alice was becoming normalized with these whimsical instances and encounters so much so that she physically became connected to each character, and fully believed they were in all actuality a reality, rather than a delusion. 

Embedded Source 1:

Crichton-Browne, James. Childhood:Physical Diseases of early Life. Journal of Mental Science. April, 1860. 

Section on Defining Womanhood: How Alice’s emotions rely on her reproductive organs, rather than her brain.

Alice is consistently having emotional outbursts, from high points of emotional distress that causes an overwhelming crying state to aggressive and out of line remarks towards superior figures in charge. Alice is rather hard on herself because she is an intelligent young girl, for instance, “She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes;”, (Carroll, 7). While crying, because she began to fear how she was going to get out the rabbit hole, and rather than thinking before she lept, she became overwhelmed and her emotions and hormones forced her to begin to cry. Knowing this would not help the situation, she began to cry anyway and was relying more on her emotions then her brain to think her problem through. Her overwhelming state grew more, and sadness quickly set in causing her to cry again, to the point of causing a pool of giant sized tears to be formed. She became harsh on herself and scolded herself over and over again, but still she sobbed longing for the tears to somehow get her out of the situation she was in. This evidence of high emotional distress, insinuates that, “She is less under the influence of the brain than the uterine system, the plexi of abdomena nerves, and irritation of the spinal cord; in her, a hysteric predisposition is incessantly predominating from the dawn of puberty.”, (Gideon Milligen, 169). Since Alice is a young girl, probably around 11 years of age, it is safe to say she is going through the early stages of puberty and entering womanhood. During Victorian times, women known to be going through puberty, rested on their hormones, or acted out emotionally because of what was happening to them internally. 

Furthermore, this result of her puberty occurring, causes Alice to unhinge her hormones and act out in an emotional way, clouding her brain to think clearly. This onset of hormones can also cause a girl to become depressed in mind and spirit, and through the novel, “she felt very lonely and low-spirited”, (Carroll, 23). Although Alice exhibited the emotion of sadness rather quickly, she was also aggressive at times to those of superior authority, for example the Queen. When the queen presented herself for the first time, Alice was not as respectful as the others when she approached, and instead questioned the queen and back talked to her, when she was questioned, “How should I know?” said Alice, surprised at her own courage. “It’s no business of mine.” The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, began screaming, “Off with her head! Off with---”, “Nonsense!” said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent.”, (Carroll, 65). The Queen was stunned and Alice was even more stunned by her tone and emotional outburst, once again signifying her defining moment into womanhood. For Alice was just a child, and the Queen a woman of superior authority. This clearly depicts Alice’s internal reproductive organs at work, rather than her brain. Not only does Alice defy the Queen, but she defies the King as well when she is being interrogated. The King thinks he can overtake Alice, because she appears to be a young girl, who would never defy the King, but he is mistaken, “Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.”, Everybody looked at Alice. “I’m not a mile high,” said Alice. “You are,” said the King. “Nearly two miles high,” added the Queen., (Carroll, 98). She begins to argue with both of the members of superior authority, not even thinking that she could be condemned or prosecuted. This is another moment in wonderland, where Alice confronts authority with her emotions.

Embedded Source 2:

Gideon Millingen, John. Defining Womanhood: The Passions; Or Mind and Matter. London J. and D. Darling, 1848.

Section on Nervous Diseases of Women: The effects of Alice’s education and her outward signs of defying the female norm

Alice has a multitude of traits thus far, although she seems to be emotional most of the time, she is also intelligent, and believes herself to be wise and highly educated. Before curiosity overcame her in the beginning of the novel, she did think wise at first. She noticed a bottle, and “It was all very well to say “Drink me,” but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. “No, I’ll look first,” she said, “and see whether it’s marked ‘poison’ or not”; for she had read several nice little stories,”, (Carroll, 6). Alice was well versed in different stories about children who got into mischief and the consequences of making the choices. While Alice was running errands for the white rabbit, she grew to extreme size, but simply thought about how the house she was in was unsuitable for lessons, and she did not like her lessons. While in the room she considered, “How can you learn lessons in here? Why, there’s hardly room for you and no room at all for lesson books?”, (Carroll, 26). Her first thought should have been about changing her size back to normal, not about learning lessons, or having room for lesson books. This way of thought sets forth that Alice is, “imbecile in mind, habits and pursuits; prone to hysteric paroxysms upon any unusual mental excitement,”, (Laycock, 189). Her ever changing size, and her strange encounters could make for the unusual mental excitement, making her think off topic.

Alice’s mental state is questioned throughout the novel, by a delusion she formed in the air, the Cheshire Cat. Because of Alice’s education, she is far more intelligent than believed for a child, and “The anxiety to render a young lady accomplished, at all hazards, has originated a system of forced mental training, which greatly increases the ability of the brain:”, (Laycock, 189). This intense learning that Alice has received has made her brain vulnerable to new stimuli, causing her and others to question her sanity. She must in fact, be mad, if she is seeing a cat in the air, and she questions the cat, “ How do you know I’m mad?”said Alice. “You must be,” said the cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”, (Carroll, 50). Only someone who is not sane would set foot in wonderland, and Alice did, so her sanity is unraveling or already has from the cat's view of her. This struggle continues throughout the novel, between her brain ans her high strung emotions. 

Embedded Source 3:

Laycock, Thomas. A Treasure on the Nervous Diseases of Women:Comprising an Inquiry into the Nature, Causes, and Treatment of Spinal and Hysterical Disorders. London Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans. 1840.