I have started to read Alice in Wonderland again, not only is it a Victorian novel but it is also one of my favorite books. Whilst reading the first chapter, I noticed a couple of things. The first is how aware Alice is of her behavior. The character of Alice is around six or seven years old. Whilst falling down the rabbit hole, she suspects she will end up in Australia on the other side of the world.
“Please Ma’am, is this New Zealand? Or Australia?” ( and she tried to curtsey as she spoke- fancy curtseying as you’re falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?) “And what an ignorant little girl they’ll think me for asking!”
At this moment, Alice is falling down a rabbit hole, an extremely bizarre and unnatural thing to happen. Despite this, Alice doesn’t seem particularly unnerved by it and is instead thinking about her manners. This shows how strict Victorian society was as even children of a really young age were taught the importance of manners above everything else.
Alice acts quite old for her age in this way as well as others. Before drinking the bottle of fluid labelled “DRINK ME” she checks the back of the bottle to see if it is poisonous. She does not act impetuously which is a trait common in her age group.
thebuzzybeee 