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Tramy Phan
Professor Lewis
English 114B
May 11, 2014
The Unconscious Thoughts
A world within ones unconscious could be very simple or complex. In Alices
Adventures in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll, Alices adventures are full of complex ideas
about the unconscious, different ideologies, etiquette and manner codes in Victorian England,
and identity. However, Wonderland is a place that exists within Alices unconscious. Therefore,
Alices fall into Wonderland signifies her fall into the unconscious mind where suppressed
emotions and thoughts are hidden from the surface world.
Wonderland represents Alices unconscious, therefore, when she was talking to different
characters in Wonderland, she was actually conversing with herself within her unconscious.
When Alice was in Wonderland, the animals manners seemed rude and insulting, however, to
them, she was the ill-mannered one. To the Wonderland animals, Alice was rude whenever she
spoke her mind without giving it a second thought. Especially when Alice told the animals about
Dinah, Dinahs our cat. And shes such a capital one for catching mice you cant think! And oh,
I wish you could see her after the birds! Why, shell eat a little bird as soon as look at it! Alice
directed this toward the animals, especially the Lory since it was the Lory who asked Alice about
Dinah. Besides the Lory, there were the Magpie, and several other birds that Alice did not have
the manners to know what the right thing to say was. She only thought of talking about her
beloved cat and scared the animals that were keeping her company, away. After the animals left,
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Alice said to herself, I wish I hadnt mentioned Dinah! Nobody seems to like her, down here,
and Im pretty sure shes the best cat in the world! Alices egocentrism caused her to not
understand that she had struck fear into the animals by saying that Dinah eat a little bird.
(Carroll 12). She did not think that it was her fault, but instead, it was the animals fault for not
liking Dinah. Alice at this point was still an immature child who did not know the consequences
of her thoughtless manner. However, to Alice, the Wonderland animals were also rude because
they treated her like she came from the same social class as them.
When Alice encountered the Rabbit, he had mistaken her for his maid, Mary Ann. Alice
said to herself, He took me for his housemaid, how surprised hell be when he finds out who I
am! (13). Undoubtedly, Alice acted as if he should know who she is and being treated as a maid
was insulting to her. In the real world, Alice grew up an in aristocratic family where manner was
the utmost important. When Alice was falling down the rabbit hole, she was talking to herself,
remembering words that she had heard during her lessons, but did not fully understand the
meanings. The scene where Alice tried to curtsy as she was falling down the well, showed how
she was raised as a young girl. (1). Even when she was talking all by herself, Alice still retained
the manner that she was taught. Therefore, Alice felt insulted when the Rabbit mistook her as his
maid.
Deep within Alices unconscious, she believed that the Victorian manner code was not
truly proper. According to the article Alice in Wonderland: A Curious Child by Nina
Auerbach, Alice herself, prim and earnest in pinafore and pumps, confronting a world out of
control by looking for the rules and murmuring her lessons, stands as one image of the Victorian
middle-class child. The Victorian code deals with the expectations that society has on people,
especially on children. Children were raised to be obedient and be good to their parents and
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elders. However, this social code denies unconscious as well as conscious values, motivations,
instincts, and emotions, Alices expectations conflict both with her own behavior and of those
around her. (Stowell, 1983). The rules of etiquette and mannerism that Alice learned from real
life marked itself into her unconscious. For example, the countless remembrance of her lessons
while falling down the Rabbit hole, as well as her behaviors with the different animals in
Wonderland showed how she was taught as a child. As Alice journeyed deeper into Wonderland,
her Victorian mannerism slowly adapted to Wonderlands environment. For instance, when
Alice first arrived in Wonderland, she spoke her mind with no thoughts of consequences that her
words might cause, however, as her journey progressed, Alice began to think more before
speaking.
Before Alice gave more thoughts to her words, she was still childish with her immature
behavior. The Duchesss son, whom turned into a pig was a representation of Alices childish
and immature side. The pig represents an instinctual creature that can only feed and sleep, and
has no restraint and no sense of proportion. In the beginning of Alices Adventures in
Wonderland, Alice was sitting with her sister doing nothing while her sister was reading a book.
Curious, Alice peeked at the content of the book and it bored her immediately for there were no
pictures nor conversations. Alice then thought to herself, What is the use of a book without
pictures or conversations? (Carroll 1). This proves how Alice was still a child at heart, she only
glanced at it for possibly ten seconds, and she concluded that it was boring. To a young childs
mind, books with no pictures are confusing because the dialogue is harder for their under
developed mind to understand. Being the child that she is, Alices childish side prevents her from
seeing the value of words. Another point to prove Alices no sense of restraint was the countless
moments when she speaks her mind without giving it a second thought, thus, ended up scaring
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the small animals around her. Thoughtlessly, Alice also angered the Caterpillar by saying Well,
I should like to be a little larger, sir, if you wouldnt mind, three inches is such a wretched height
to be. (20). Due to Alices careless comment about her height, she unconsciously insulted the
Caterpillar because he was exactly three inches high. Alices thoughtless words ended up
insulting the Caterpillar. If she had given it a second thought before saying it out loud, she could
have put her words in a more logical and non-offensive way. However, due to her insensitivity,
she has no filters on what is the right thing to say and what is not, resulting in others feeling hurt
because of her thoughtlessness.
Another manifestation of Alices psyche is the Caterpillar, who is a representation of
Alices unconscious thoughts. The Caterpillar is viewed as a Trickster character. According to
Stowell, The Trickster instigates growth and its presence is crucial for change. When the
Caterpillar first asked Alice Who are you? (Carroll 17), Alice has to think of the answer
herself. The Caterpillar constantly asked Alice questions that prompted her to feel that she have
never been so contradicted in her life before (19). By making Alice contradict herself, the
Caterpillar is pushing Alice to think of both the negative and positive sides of ones actions. For
example, when the Caterpillar pointed to the mushroom he did not tell her which side would
make her grow bigger or smaller. By doing so, the Caterpillar gave Alice the means to control
her size. Without the guidance from the Caterpillar on which side of the mushroom could make
her bigger or smaller, Alice had to find the solution herself by experimenting with both sides of
the mushroom. It took Alice several tries until she got to the size that she wanted. In doing so,
Alice did not just control her size, she also learned the act of independence by solving her
problems without guidance from others. The Caterpillars advice to Alice was for her to keep
[her] temper (18). It is wise advice for Alice since she loses her temper often whenever she
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meets a new animal in Wonderland. To Alices young mind, she certainly does not realized that
she was being aggressive by insulting the Caterpillars size, as well as when she scared William
the Conqueror by bringing up her cat Dinah. By advising Alice to keep her temper, the
Caterpillar is teaching her to think before she speaks because a thoughtless word can bring more
harm than good. The Caterpillar represents Alices unconscious and reminds her to remember
her manners that she was taught as a young lady from a high social class family.
Alice also deals with the question of her insanity deep within her unconscious when she
stumbled upon the Cheshire Cat. The Cheshire Cat is another Trickster character whom
represents Alices madness that was hidden deep within her unconscious. He told Alice were
all mad here, Im mad, youre mad. Alice did not understand why she was mad, therefore she
asked him How do you know Im mad? and he respond by saying you must be, or you
wouldnt have come here. (28). The madness which the Cheshire Cat was talking about is the
irrational and crazy emotions and thoughts that people have. (Stowell, 1983). By falling into
Wonderland, which was created by her unconscious, she stepped foot into a mad society which is
the complete opposite of her real world where everything is of proper form. Wonderland
functions completely different from the real world. Talking animals, weird food and drinks that
cause one to change size, a caterpillar who could smoke hookah, and a cat that could grin and
become invisible are a few examples of the abnormalities of Wonderland. Due to the
abnormalities that Alice encountered in Wonderland, Alice wondered whether she was insane to
actually imagined a place like Wonderland, or if she was sane and Wonderland did exist. The
Cheshire Cats significance was not only Alices madness, but also symbolized her sense of self.
When Alice asked Cheshire Cat for the direction,Would you tell me, please, which way
I ought to go from here? That depends on a good deal on where you want to get to, said the
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Cat. I dont care wheresaid Alice. Then it doesnt matter which way you go, said the Cat.
--so long as I get somewhere, Alice added as an explanation. (Carroll 38). Cheshire Cat guided
Alice to not get stuck in one place but to explore the possibilities that there are countless
directions to get to different places. It is Alices sense of self that she decides where she wants to
go and where she wants to be. It was a premonition for Alice to figure out her path and make the
choices by herself without letting anyone else be in command of her decisions.
Alices madness was questioned once again as well as her sense of self when she
encountered the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse. They represent the madness that
was governed by the unconscious. Both the Mad Hatter and March Hare were judging Alices
manner when she sat down at the long table without permission. They also judged Alice when
she kept on interrupting the Dormouse during his story telling. The Mad Hatter and March Hare
expressed their manner in a different way than Alice does. When the Dormouse asked Alice
did you ever see such a thing as a drawing of a munchness? Alice replied I dont thinkand
the Hatter interrupted her by saying Then you shouldnt talk. (36). Alice thought that she was
the smart and well-mannered person out of all of them, however, to the Wonderlanders, Alices
manner was rude and uninvited. While the Mad Hatter and March Hare did not get insulted by
Alice, Alice was constantly getting frustrated and angry at both of them, but she was controlling
her frustrations and anger by continuing to get involved in their conversations. Alice at this
point, was still trying to build a connection with them yet she was constantly insulted. By putting
up with the insults from the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and the Dormouse, Alice was heeding the
Caterpillars advice to keep [her] temper. Alice was proven sane when she decided to get up
and walk away from the Mad Tea Party after the Hatter said that she shouldnt talk. By leaving
the Tea Party, Alices awareness grew in a sense that she would say no and reject those who
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mistreated her and defends her own self rather than putting up with their insults. At this point,
Alice has a stronger sense of self because she learned that if people wronged her, she will not
endure and put up with the ill-treatments. If they cannot value who she is, then she has no reason
to put up with their insulting attitude.
Throughout her adventures in Wonderland, Alice was able to grow in her actions,
thoughts, as well as maturity. With the various help from the different forms of the Trickster that
she met on her adventures, Alice came to see the importance of her sense of self. Now that Alice
know to hold her temper, to always think before she talk, and to defends her own self against the
judgments by the Wonderlanders. With the help of the various Tricksters that she encountered in
her unconscious, Alice matured into a sensitive young lady compared to when she first entered
Wonderland.














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Works Cited
Auerbach, Nina. Alice and Wonderland: A Curious Child. Victorian Studies 17.1 (1973):
31-47. Web. 27 March 2014.
Carroll, Lewis. Alices Adventures in Wonderland HTML Edition. Kindle.
Stowell, Phyllis. Were All Mad Here. Childrens Literature Association Quarterly 8.2 (1983):
5-8. Web. 16 March 2014.