Education's role in the Alice books
May Lee - '97 (English 73, 1995)
Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end? "I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?" she said aloud. "I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think --" (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the school-room, and though this was not a very good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) "-- yes, that's about the right distance -- but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I've got to?" (Alice had not the slightest idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but she thought they were nice grand words to say.) [76] Alice in Wonderland (Norton Critical Edition)
ducation plays a large role in the Alice books, contributing both to Carroll's
characterization of Alice and to our perceptions of Victorian England. Throughout the
Alice books, as in this passage, Alice refers to her lessons and her education, usually
very proud of the learning that she has acquired. It seems, however, that the information
that she remembers from her lessons is usually either completely useless or wrong. For
example, although she can remember the how many miles down until the center of the earth,
she mistakenly believes that everything will be upside down when she passes through to the
other side.
The information in the Victorian Web about education indicates that traditional public
schools emphasized Greek and Latin, house systems, school spirit, improving character, and
that the goal of education was to mold the student into a young Christian gentleman. This
approach can be seen in Alice, since her knowledge seems to consist mainly of maxims and
morals about obedience and safety.
Carroll seems to feel amusement at best, and utter
contempt at worst, for this typically Victorian penchant, especially in his satirical
characterization of the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland. "Everything's got a
moral, if only you can find it" (70), says the Duchess. Alice's experience with her,
however, makes the reader laugh at the absurdity of such a character.
Kathy Szoke, in her
discussion of the Victorian audience, explains how authors make their audiences think
about issues relative to their own lives. Carroll certainly made a conscious decision to
make morals and tales of obedience, a large part of Victorian upbringing, nonsensical.
This rejection of typical Victorian manners and education of children supports one of the
themes in his Alice books, the idea that a child's imagination has value.
