Lewis Carroll and the Victorian Era: The Historical Context of Alice in Wonderland
BY: SACHEN PILLAY Welcome!
• Central Ideas
• The Non-binary
• Celebrating self-acceptance and self-discovery
• How do these ideas inform Carroll's works and our script?
• Purpose
• To provide for the students
• Follow in Carroll's footsteps: embracing the absurd The World of the Production
• What is the Victorian Era? • The 60-year reign of Queen Victoria 1837-1901 • Is the height of the British Imperial era • Victorian society and culture • Industrialization of the western world • The colonization of the global south and east • The rise of modern writing cultures • Changes to western understandings of gender and sexuality • The liberalization of the western world • Lewis Carroll • Carroll’s works and his obsession with the absurd • The discourse surrounding his personal life The Context and Wider History
• Karl Marx helps us understand the Victorian era • Marx explains that history flows in different stages • Ancient, Feudal, and Industrial • The Victorian era is significant because it makes Britain's transition from the feudal to the industrial stage i.e capitalism • The development of capitalism is evident in Victorian era social changes • Such changes are: • British political power shifting to the emergent capitalist class • The separate spheres of gender • Scientific challenges to old ways of thinking Victorian Society and Culture
• Evolution of Gender roles and sexuality
• Victorian era viewed Gender as binary • Men: Public Sphere, strong, independent, sex for
pleasure • Women: Private Sphere, weak, dependent, sex
for reproduction
• Victorian Culture
• London the English-speaking capital of the world
• Mass printing creates printing culture • Rise in modern reporting and novels that all
classes enjoy
• These changes come from capitalism
• New classes: Lower, Middle, and Upper classes
Lewis Carroll and His Works
• Early life • Born as Lewis Dodgson in 1832 • Carroll grew up raising/entertaining his 11 siblings • His background nurtured his talent for storytelling • Education • In 1852 Carroll attended Oxford University to become a priest • He met and befriended the Liddell children while at Oxford • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland • Carroll’s first book was originally a story he made with Alice Liddell • Book was published in 1865 at the behest of the Liddells and saw gradual success • Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There was published in 1871 and 72 The Discourse on Carroll’s Personal Life
• Carroll has been scrutinized since the 1930s • Some biographers accuse him of having ill intentions for the Liddell children
• Evidence includes his personal shortcomings and nude photographs
• These accusations are sensationalized
• Critics take photographs out of historical context
• Accusations stem from A.M.E Goldschmidt- a sensationalist tabloid writer
• Primary evidence contradicts accusations
• Carroll’s personal letters
• Letters between Lorina and Alice Liddle The Fascination with the Absurd
• Carroll’s works are rooted in the absurd • The absurd is a tool for self discovery and self acceptance • Carroll’s status as a shy bachelor influenced his work • Telling children stories was an outlet to express himself • Relation to animals • Animals with human qualities was a way to represent himself and how he viewed the world • Animals were an outlet for self-discovery • Modern day comparison- the furry fandom • Influences productions representation of animals The Production’s Relation to the Non-binary
• Production is a celebration of Non-conforming identities • Alice’s story is a microcosm for self-acceptance and self-celebration • We aim to celebrate all identities and the absurdity of art • The Non-Binary exists outside of mainstream rigidity • To celebrate this is to embrace the escapism the self acceptance that Carroll intended to provide with the original story Works Cited
► Slides 3-4: ► “An Introduction To Victorian England (1837-1901).” English Heritage, https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/victorian/. Accessed 12 December 2020. ► Slides 5-6: ► “Victorian Era.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Victorian-era. Accessed 12 December 2020. ► Slide 7: ► “Lewis Carroll.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lewis-Carroll. Accessed 12 December 2020. ► Slide 8: ► “Lewis Carroll’s Shifting Reputation.” Smithsonian Magazine https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/lewis-carrolls-shifting-reputatio n-9432378/. Accessed 12 December 2020.