While I was reading both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I was intrigued by the use of power that some characters wielded. It was very unclear at times who actually had the authority in certain situations. Alice is the only character that occurs in every scene and the only constant throughout both novels. But she is new to this world, so she cannot have the power, or can she?
The most obvious power holder in Wonderland is The Queen of Hearts. She rules her subjects with an iron fist, constantly shouting “Off with their heads!” at the slightest inconvenience to her. Some aren’t even inconveniences at all. On page 65 after a slightly sassy comment from Alice, the Queen even demands that she lose her head. What is interesting about this is that her declarations are very rarely followed through. Despite this, the citizens do fear her and her presence. On Page 71, after another execution not going the way the queen had hoped, the narrator says “if something wasn’t done about it in less than no time, she’d have everybody executed all round. (It was this last remark that had made the party look so grave and anxious.)” Despite the lack of follow through, everyone still seems to fear her. It is almost as if they are playing along with her rule, not wanting to be there in the moment she does decide to follow through. The other citizens do not critique her rule, as that would make the system fall apart.
Who breaks this chain and does speak up to the queen? Alice. After spending some time in Wonderland, it seems as though she realizes that not one person is holding the world up in a clear and stable way. After her sly remarks to the queen, she really gains her strength in the courtroom, in more ways than one. She starts to grow in size again, and no one in the room is able to ignore her. She calls the king and queen out about making a rule up right on the spot, another critique of the power she is learning is all a sham. Right before she is awakened by her sister, she reaches her full autonomy and says “You’re nothing but a pack of cards!” to the other individuals in the courtroom. No one is able to ignore her physically and in regards to her words. What she says is taken as importance in the courtroom, and her greater size than everyone else intimidates the other jurors more than the queen’s presence ever could.
While there are more people who appear to hold power in Wonderland, the queen is the main one who is challenged by Alice. As the world and people around Alice are unreasonable, she attempts to stay grounded in logic and asserts herself as she becomes more comfortable in her reasoning. This makes me wonder what Carroll’s intentions were when creating the characters of Wonderland. Obviously giving someone the title of Queen gives them inherent power, due to what we associate with the word. But without that title, would we see the Red Queen as a power figure at all? Or just another one of Alice’s encounters ?
I was interested in the idea of power as well! I thought your remark about the Queen’s “off with their heads” seldom being followed through with was interesting. I know in the Disney movie this happens, and I am pretty sure it happened in the book too, but I think the king pardons the people the Queen wants executed behind her back, which I think beings up interesting questions in terms of gender and power.
I like your point about Alice gaining full autonomy only when she grows to the greatest height and tells the courtroom that they are “Nothing but a deck of cards.” I wonder what this line says about what “species” are allowed autonomy in this world. The line implies that the human (Alice) has inherent power over the cards because of their form. However, if they can walk, think, and have human faces, what else qualifies being a human? I think it is interesting that the power heirarchies contradict each other: even if the Queens have status attatched to their titles as you point out, they are still non-human, placing them in limbo.
I really loved reading your take on this theme! When you mentioned the lack of follow-through on the Queen’s threats, it reminded me of Foucault’s theory of the panopticon and self-policing. Even though the Queen doesn’t follow through often, you point out the fear that she will this time, not unlike the constant awareness of authority that the panopticon creates. How do you think the concepts of shame and repression instilled in Victorian society might have influenced the Queen’s character?
I found your analysis of power in “Alice and Wonderland” very interesting! I think that the way Carroll gives power to Alice says a very interesting thing about gender dynamics in the book as well. While the Queen is initially portrayed as the more aggressive, ‘masculine’ character, Carroll kind of subverts gender norms by giving Alice the power in the end. Giving the child who is seen as more weak and feminine the final say and the real authority in the story.
You make a great point about the Queen of Hearts being feared more for the idea of her power than her actual ability to carry out her threats. I found your observation that the entire system relies on everyone “playing along” with her authority particularly interesting, as it acts as a sort of performative power that I don’t feel like I see too often. Maybe the Queen of Hearts is meant to poke at leaders who rule by title alone, not by reason or ability, kind of like Sir Percival Glyde in a way. I wonder if connecting the two can connect to Carroll’s broader implications for systems of power of the Victoria Era and what that means for sexuality.
I really loved your analysis on power and who is wielding it in Wonderland. I especially liked your comment about how Alice stands up for herself and others through her ability to change size. Alice is still perceived as a little girl, but her ability to make herself bigger than she is gives her the ability to intimidate the adults around her. When Alice is bigger than the Queen, she’s able to show how fragile the Queen’s power really is. Great post!
This is a really good idea that I never considered, that the queen’s power does not come from any tangible source, but because of the status quo that the other wonderland creatures uphold. There is no textual reason for her rule, but the characters all respect her authority anyway. When Alice starts to challenge the queen’s power at the end of the story, and gains some power herself, she does so with her imposing size. Alice is not from wonderland, she doesn’t know or respect their status quo. Maybe Carroll is making a critique on monarchy and the idea of being born into rule.