Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass: Heterocosm as a Mimetic Device

Abstract

Fantastic fiction, where the referent is evidently a creation of words, facilitates the move beyond meaning to significance, and this marks its difference vis-à-vis realist fiction where the “referential fallacy” often gets in the way of the reader reaching the level of significance. Exploiting this potential, Carroll helps the reader of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass suspend their habit of looking at their self and the world as two unrelated entities. He does this by challenging the assumed plenitude of the Cartesian “I” and the substantiality of the world this “I” seeks to know. From this vantage point, the power relations in the Victorian society that the culture of this society sustains become obvious to the reader. This is Carroll’s innovation on the tradition in fantasy literature. “Carrolludicity,” the use of play to facilitate scrutiny of contemporary knowledge and belief systems, and the unique way in which the food chain becomes a metaphor for contemporary social hierarchy, forcing reflection on the dominant cultural code are instances of this innovation. The Alice books offer their reader the experience of occupying a belief and value neutral space for a few fleeting moments, facilitating reflection on contemporary culture, and herein lies Carroll’s relevance for his post-Victorian reader. Carrroll’s deconstruction of the symbolic system is more apparent to postmodern readers who are familiar with antifoundationalism, the dominant philosophical stance of their time. The Alice books initiate these readers into the process of becoming sojourners through the cultures of the world, including their own culture, and prepare them for a cosmopolitan life.