Carroll Through the Looking Glass
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| Photo: maricopa.edu |
No matter your age,
you have most certainly heard of the fantastical book titled "Alice in
Wonderland". The book is chalk full of wacky characters, twisted
plotlines, imaginative life lessons and fun house effects that have fascinated
audiences for ages! However, it seems to have a more sinister underlayer
regarding children, including Alice Liddell- the real-life Alice who served as
an inspiration for Carroll's iconic story, that has escaped many admirers of his work.
Charles Lutwidge
Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, apart from being the author of the world
renowned "Alice in Wonderland", was actually a punctilious
mathematician and a keen photographer.
He was known as someone who kept to himself and preferred the company of
children rather than his peers. Having developed a relationship with Christ
Church in Oxford, Carroll spent most of his life there as a scholar and a
teacher. It was in the deanery next door where Carroll first encountered the
Liddell sisters- Alice, Lorina and Edith, who were often spotted playing in the
garden. His "friendship" with them began by him trying to get them to
sit for pictures. Carroll's diary entry from 26th of April 1856
reads: "The three Liddell girls were in the garden most of the time and we
became excellent friends. We tried to group them in the foreground of the
picture but they were not patient sitters. I mark this day with a white
stone." Carroll spent a lot of time with the sisters; he would tell them
stories and teach them magic tricks. Although, he cared a great deal about all of them, in his mind Alice was
singled out as the special one; she stood out due to her strong personality
clearly evident through her pushy and imperious attitude. She was also the one
who was a predominant subject of his photographs. One particular photograph of Alice
comes to mind in which she is captured leaning on what appears to be a garden
wall, wearing a ragged white dress that exposes her left nipple and has a
devilish look in her eyes… and that is precisely where the trouble began, begging
the question: "Was this photograph simply an innocent product of the time
it was taken or was it hiding something much more bizarre in the background?"
Photo 1.2 Alice Liddell as "The Beggar Maid", 1858 by Lewis Carroll
(Photo credit: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/283092 )
One known fact which
does not work well in Carroll's favor is that he has accumulated hundreds of
child friends over his lifetime; he would meet them on railway journeys and at
the seaside where he would entertain them with puzzles and games. Child friends
supposedly remained at the center of his life (they occupied ¾ of it according
to Carroll). Another clue pointing towards his alleged pedophilic tendencies is a letter
written by Lorina to her sister Alice when they were in their 80s, which reads:
"I said his manner became too affectionate to you as you grew older and
mother spoke to him about it and that offended him so he ceased coming to visit
us again as one had to give some reason for all intercourse ceasing." From
this letter one can plainly distinguish that his behavior was not in alignment
with what was considered proper according to, at the very least, their mother; and mothers are to be trusted because
their intuition hardly ever lies. Furthermore, it is apparent to us that
Carroll also recognized the fault in his ways because Mrs. Liddell's grievances
offended him, whereas if he had done nothing wrong, her words would not have
had such a strong impact and he would have been able to defend his actions and
keep his composure. Additionally, it is important to note that Carroll was 24
years old when he met Alice who was only 4; the age of consent at that time was
12 years old. One final sign that rounds up all the evidence working against
Carroll is the fact that he once asked Alice for a lock of her hair which can be
seen as a love token.
Naturally, one ought
to explore the other side as well. He deserves the benefit of the doubt. It is
only fair. Let us say that his intentions were pure and he had no ill
forethought, what could we say about his relationship with children then? Well,
it can certainly be argued that he felt most comfortable the company of
children due to being a fellow with particular ways of expressing himself.
Children understood him the only way they knew how and never judged him like
adults would. All of us know those types of people that are just fantastic with
children (much better than their peers). Are all of them pedophiles? Of course
not. Everyone has their own preferences and they are not to be demonized for
them, as long as those preferences do not cause suffering to the other
person/people or themselves. The previous impression also goes hand in hand
with our society's tendency to oversexualize most human interactions when there
is absolutely no legitimate reason to do so.
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Ultimately, since
there is no solid proof of what happened between Lewis Carroll, Liddell girls
and other children, we are left alone in our speculations. Perhaps it is best
to let the past be the past, but still take the lessons from it into the
future, because if the worst has indeed happened, we must not under any
circumstance let history repeat itself. Children are precious jewels that
deserve to be protected at all costs.
https://youtu.be/LiRqu4ipTU0
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