Through the Looking-Glass · Concepts
Concepts
Ideas that structure Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll — linked to characters, chapters, and questions.
Identity and Self
Alice constantly questions her own reality and identity, as when Tweedledee and Tweedledum suggest she is merely a figment of the Red King's dream, and Humpty Dumpty mocks her name as 'stupid' and meaningless.
Language and Meaning
The book explores the arbitrary nature of language through Humpty Dumpty's assertion that words mean whatever he chooses them to mean, and through nonsense poems like 'Jabberwocky' that challenge conventional logic.
Growth and Maturation
Alice's journey from a pawn to a queen mirrors the process of growing up, with Humpty Dumpty telling her she should have 'left off at seven' and the Queens subjecting her to absurd examinations.
Reality and Dreams
The boundary between waking and dreaming is blurred throughout, as Alice wonders if she is part of the Red King's dream, and the epigraph frames the entire story as a dreamlike fairy tale.
Power and Authority
The chess game structure and the arbitrary commands of the Red Queen and White Queen highlight the capricious nature of authority, with rules like 'jam tomorrow and jam yesterday—but never jam today'.
Logic and Nonsense
The book constantly subverts logical expectations, such as the Red Queen's claim that one can remember things 'the week after next' and the White Knight's absurd inventions that defy practicality.
Time and Reversal
Living backwards, as the White Queen describes, and the looking-glass world's inversion of normal rules emphasize the theme of time flowing in reverse and the relativity of experience.
Social Roles and Etiquette
Alice navigates a world of rigid social expectations, from the Red Queen's demand for curtseys and proper speech to the absurd formalities of the dinner party where she becomes Queen.
