Alice's Adventures in Adaptation: the Evolution of Power In
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ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN ADAPTATION: THE EVOLUTION OF POWER IN CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, SPEECH, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY ALLYSON HIBDON, B.A. DENTON, TEXAS August 2020 Copyright © 2020 by ALLYSON HIBDON DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Kenny and Susan Hibdon, for their unwavering support during the process of writing this thesis. My parents have always believed in my knowledge and capabilities. I would also like to thank them for continued motivation to complete my thesis and the encouragement to continue my education. I will forever be grateful for their unwavering support. This thesis is also dedicated to my best friend, Malena Eaves, for her continued support, encouragement, and accountability during the writing process. At times of frustration and stress, she helped me keep my focus and drive to complete my thesis. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my partner, Andrew Prater, for his support, encouragement, and patience as I worked on this project. Andrew listened to my ideas and became on my biggest cheerleaders. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank both of my committee members. Dr. Gretchen Busl served as my committee chair and without her theoretical knowledge and structural guidance, this thesis would not be possible. Dr. Busl’s weekly encouragement and accountability have proven to be invaluable to me. Secondly, I would like to thank Dr. Genevieve West. Dr. West’s support, suggestions, and theoretical knowledge have helped me shape this thesis into what it is today. I am grateful for them both. iii ABSTRACT ALLYSON HIBDON ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN ADAPTATION: THE EVOLUTION OF POWER IN CHILREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE AUGUST 2020 In this thesis, I have analyzed the evolution of power in Children’s and Young Adult literature through Lewis Carroll’s children’s novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Carroll’s novel is one that has been adapted and retold a multitude of times in varying ways. In this thesis, I compare Carroll’s original work to three different adaptations, Walt Disney’s animation (1951), Tim Burton’s visual film adaptation Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Young Adult trilogy Splintered (2013) written by A.G. Howard. In comparing the three works, I discuss how power plays a role in Wonderland through Alice’s relationships to three key themes: identity, authority, and time. In doing so, it is demonstrated that as Alice gets older with each adaptation, the more power and responsibility she receives. Her purpose and relationship to Wonderland changes as she gets older, as does her power to choose and become a heroine while navigating elements of the fantastic. Though Howard’s adaptation does not focus on Alice, but rather her fifteen-year-old great-niece, Alyssa, the premise remains the same: She is a teenager who must carry a legacy, yet struggles with the power imbalance that comes with being younger than Burton’s Alice but older than Carroll’s. I demonstrate how power and relationships specifically as it relates to children’s and Young Adult literature as Alice iv evolves and gets older, therefore receiving more power to save Wonderland and become a heroine. v Table of Contents DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... iii I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 II. DEFINTIONS ................................................................................................. 13 Young Adult Literature and Why it is Separate From Children’s Literature ................................................................................................... 20 Power and Agency in Young Adult Literature .......................................... 23 III. LEWIS CARROLL AND WALT DISNEY .................................................. 33 The History and Criticism of Walt Disney’s Animation .......................... 33 Identity ..................................................................................................... 38 Authority ................................................................................................... 46 Time .......................................................................................................... 53 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 59 IV. TIM BURTON AND A.G. HOWARD .......................................................... 61 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 81 V. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 84 Prophecy ................................................................................................... 84 Other Directions ........................................................................................ 91 Beyond Wonderland ................................................................................. 92 Works Cited .......................................................................................................... 95 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This thesis aims to analyze and identify the development of power in various adaptations of Lewis Carroll’s children’s novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). These adaptations work to distinguish Children’s literature from Young Adult literature. In order to do so, I have chosen three different adaptations of the original work to demonstrate an evolution of power being transferred to the protagonist, Alice, as she gets older with each retelling. The first adaptation is Walt Disney’s animation Alice in Wonderland (1951), the second is A.G. Howard’s Young Adult fantasy trilogy Splintered (2013), and the third is Tim Burton’s gothic film Alice in Wonderland (2010). Each of these works are evaluated through and expanded upon using the definition of David Rudd, in which the distinction between Children’s literature and Young Adult literature comes down to the power, or the disempowerment of the child portrayed. As Alice gets older in the adaptations of Carroll’s original work, the more power she is granted in Wonderland. In 1865, Charles Dodgson (1832-1895), a skilled English mathematician, poet, and photographer, wrote and published a children’s novel entitled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. The inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland came from the controversial relationship Dodgson had with a ten-year-old girl called Alice Liddell, the daughter of Henry Liddell who was the dean of Christ 1 Church in Oxford, England where Dodgson and the Liddell family met and developed a friendship. Later in July, Dodgson took Alice Liddell and two of her sisters out on a rowing trip from Folly Bridge. During this rowing trip, the three sisters asked Dodgson to tell them a story, and thus the fantastic tale of the infamous Alice was birthed. Alice Liddell was so amazed and delighted with the story that she asked Dodgson to write it down for her, which he obliged to complete with extra chapters and illustrations that he entitled Alice’s Adventures Under Ground. Shortly after the rowing trip, Dodgson gave his story to another author, George Macdonald, who encouraged him to seek out a publisher. Adopting the name Lewis Carroll, he followed Macdonald’s advice, and in 1865, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published with Macmillan Publishers with illustrations drawn by Sir John Tenniel. Shortly after, Carroll published a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland entitled Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There in 1871. These two whimsical, adventurous, and silly novels catapulted Carroll into a household name and became a pillar of children’s literature for those young and old. In this thesis, I explain and summarize the original Lewis Carroll story, as the story remains as a basis for all adaptations, and it will be important to understand due to the adaptogenic nature of the text, referring to the way in which Alice in Wonderland adaptations go through a spectrum of modes and frequencies without losing the essence of the original story. I drew the term adaptogenic from Sissy Helff and Nadia Butt because despite the sheer number of adaptations that have been produced since 1865, that have come since Carroll’s, these works still have recognizable features from Carroll’s 2 novel, such as a girl falling down a rabbit hole and embarking upon a different adventure than she is used to after falling down a rabbit hole (Helff and Butt 113-116). To demonstrate the adaptogenic nature of the text, I have chosen three adaptations to analyze through close-readings: Walt Disney’s animated children’s film, Alice in Wonderland (1951), A.G. Howard’s Young Adult fantasy trilogy Splintered (2013), and Tim Burton’s gothic film Alice in Wonderland (2010). This specific order was chosen intentionally to demonstrate the evolution of Alice’s age and her gain of power as she matures and develops meaningful relationships. She begins her journey at around ten years old, then she is about fifteen, and finally, she is nineteen-years-old on the bridge between childhood