books. He particularly makes fun of Victorian attitude towards morals and several customs. One of the numerous rules which governed a proper Victorian ladys behavior was against cutting. Alice encounters this rule at the feast given for her when she becomes a queen in Through the Looking Glass4. Clearly, Carroll is poking fun at etiquette here both through the punning of the term to cut as well as the ridiculous bowing of the leg of mutton. The Lobster Quadrille that Alice encounters in Alices Adventures in Wonderland is a parody of the quadrille, a dance that was used to open nearly every fashionable ball at the time that the book was written and published. The Mock Turtle and Gryphons mad romp can hardly be associated to the politeness the original dance had5. Thus, again Carroll points out the stupidity of a social protocol. Another point Carroll makes is that Victorian children were expected to behave at all times. When Alice is at the trial of the Knave of Hearts, Carroll parodies this sort of rule and the expected behavior by having Alice talk back to the King6. Merely allowing Alice to question the authority of the King and point out the stupidity of his rules he is pointing out the stupidity of contemporary standards set by the time, otherwise symbolized as the King. These scenarios perhaps symbolize the authors hopeless struggle in his own quest to fight between the simplicity of childhood and the stage in adulthood in which one realizes the actual chaotic and ridiculous standard of living (Chang 1). More so, the absurdity of the Victorian Era is comparable to that of Wonderland. Alices Adventures in Wonderland is one of the worlds most translated books, and Carroll ranks among one of the most quoted authors. The characters he created have lived in the imaginations of his audience. Lewis Carroll has often times been described as the master of nonsense. Although this is true, Carrolls sense of humor has been prov...
