The books > The King's cross-examination

[White Night]

Have you ever had one of those times when you realized something, and are excited to share it but then are afraid that you just may be the last one to "get it" and everyone will go "duh"?

Anyway, I just got the joke that in AIWL when the king cross examines the cook:

The King looked anxiously at the White Rabbit, who said in a low voice, `Your Majesty must cross-examine THIS witness.'

`Well, if I must, I must,' the King said, with a melancholy air, and, after folding his arms and frowning at the cook till his eyes were nearly out of sight, he said in a deep voice, `What are tarts made of?'

That his cross examination is by looking "cross" or angry. And that is why later he complains to the queen:

Really, my dar, you must cross-examine the next witness. It quite makes my forehead ache!

I may be slow, but it's better then not getting there at all.

[TrinityLion]

Now that you mention it...I never noticed that before. ROFL! Cross-examination! XD

[F Truelove]

I think I may be accused of thinking too deeply at times about Alice, but I NEVER thought of this!

Wow!

[NeVaR aSk]

I think I may be accused of thinking too deeply at times about Alice, but I NEVER thought of this!

Wow!

same goes here!! LOL!

well... all aboard!... pftaajaja

[TrinityLion]

Haha, you guys know what? We like to pick apart this book and analyze it and whatnot, but then we miss something like this! LOL! XD

[Jess]

I never noticed that before either! ^_^;

Hooray for subtle jokes!

[Owl]

Funny! Thanks. I never noticed that one.

[The Queen of Hearts]

I can't believe I missed that! That's a cool observation.

[°¤Moonlit Masque¤°]

I've never noticed that XD

[madhatter37]

What an interesting finding.

[NeVaR aSk]

ok since this thread is about stuff that one can missed out, i finally know why Alice said "antipathies" when falling down the rabbit hole... i always thought what that have to do with falling down the hole! (perhaps some of you already knew this but is new to me )

"I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth! How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards! The Antipathies, I think. "

its a pun on antipodes... also on how LC links physical movement and linguistics in the fantastic narrative.

antipodes = two places directly opposite each other on the earth.

Alice mispronounces the word as antipathies wich is what antipodes introduce in Wonderland... that is physical antipathies (opposites).

in other words... when Alice by mistake called the antipodes "antipathies" she transfer her physical travel to the opposite side of the world into linguistic/ semantic travel from one word that means "opposite side of the world" to another that means "opposite in character."

am i clear??

[Owl]

It makes sense to me.

[NeVaR aSk]

^ oh thats good ... thought that i wasn't making much sense.

you see my friend... this is one example of how LC plays with the boundary of physical movement and verbal movement... mixing up this elements in the fantastic narrative.

is a worplay/pun using inversion of words and concepts in language and geography (in this case) from aboveground... subjects that Alice have learn in her real life but intermixed in Wonderland.

[Owl]

I wonder whether the "orange" in `ORANGE MARMALADE' could also mean o-range as in "arrange" because Alice puts the jar into another cupboard as she goes down the well.

[White Night]

Great insight NeVaR aSk. Missed that. To further understand your point I looked up Antipathies in the online Webster dictionary and it said:

Main Entry: an·tip·a·thy
Pronunciation: \an-ˈti-pə-thē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural an·tip·a·thies
Etymology: Latin antipathia, from Greek antipatheia, from antipathēs of opposite feelings, from anti- + pathos experience — more at pathos
Date: 1600
1obsolete : opposition in feeling
2: settled aversion or dislike : distaste <his well-known antipathy to taxes>
3: an object of aversion

I love that the obsolete definition means opposite in feeling, so to take your point a little further LC takes us from the physical world to the emotional world. Which is so true of Wonderland!

Very cool.