Through the Looking-Glass · Question
How does Through the Looking-Glass develop the theme of Identity and Self?
Answer
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll develops Identity and Self across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
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.
Alice's loss of her name in the wood and the Fawn's sudden recognition of its own identity highlight the theme of self-knowledge and the role of names in defining who we are.
Alice's struggle to assert her own reality against the twins' claims highlights themes of self-perception and identity.
Alice is called 'the Monster' and questions her own identity when the Unicorn and Lion ask what she is.
Evidence in the book
- Looking-Glass Insects
Alice's loss of her name in the wood and the Fawn's sudden recognition of its own identity highlight the theme of self-knowledge and the role of names in defining who we are.
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Alice's struggle to assert her own reality against the twins' claims highlights themes of self-perception and identity.
- The Lion and the Unicorn
Alice is called 'the Monster' and questions her own identity when the Unicorn and Lion ask what she is.
- VIII: “It’s My Own Invention”
Alice's desire to become a Queen and her concern about belonging to another person's dream reflect her struggle with identity.
- XI: Waking
Alice's identity is intertwined with her dream, and she ponders who dreamed whom.
- Which Dreamed It?
Alice's playful identification of her kittens as characters from her dream explores the fluidity of identity and the self.
