Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, was an Anglican Deacon and mathematics professor at Oxford University during the mid-nineteenth century. Before publishing Alice in Wonderland in 1865, he was already well known as a photographer and illustrator. Between 1856 and 1880, he created over 3000 negatives and prints of his favorite celebrities and acquaintances he displayed in England. He was a pioneer in advancing the art of photography from the former daguerreotype format closer to the 35 mm one we know of today. He had a studio where he developed, printed, framed, and then displayed his photos and drawings. We can now find 106 of these are preserved by searching for Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodson’s photos and illustrations at www://nationalgaleries.org/art-and artists/110019
We would certainly not know Dodgson as a photographer or clergyman, but we do now under his pen name of Lewis Carroll, as the author of Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Alice Through the Looking Glass (1871). These are two of the most notable books in both children’s and adult literature. Perhaps these 2 books have such a wide appeal because they appear to be fantasy children’s books while also disguising themselves as a serious critique and satire of existing Victorian values in education, child raising, education, social order, judicial, and political hypocrisy. Children and many adults can breeze right through the Alice books, the Disney films, or other adaptations and consider them as light-hearted fantasies. However, a more serious consideration of the stories and characters will reveal that they disguise some serious issues that Carroll observed about Victorian Society. I shall discuss some of those topics and teachings in future columns here. I am currently teaching Alice in Wonderland through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Richmond (VA), and plan to teach Alice Through the Looking Glass there in the Fall.
Probably the most notable and memorable feature of Carroll is that he illustrated the original handwritten manuscript of Alice in Wonderland, inspired by drawings and photos he made of a 6 to 8-year-old girl, Alice Liddell. She was the daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church at Oxford, and Dodgson’s boss. Dean Liddell and his wife were very busy with their social and scholarly duties and didn’t mind allowing their three young girls and one son to put on plays, create art, take photographs, and of their children under Dodgson’s supervision. This topic is sometimes considered controversial, and I will address it in a future column. A photo Carroll took of Alice Lidell (below) is of her as the Queen of May. This was a part she assumed in a play that the Lidell children put on under Carroll’s guidance. Another very famous Carroll photo shows Alice as a beggar. Lidell’s dual nature of humility and royalty in Carroll’s mind was among the main themes in his Alice books. He based them on her inspiration and fond memories. On a picnic and boat ride on the Thames River on July 4, 1865, Dodgson told the Lidell children the stories of Alice in Wonderland. After the boat ride, Alice ardenatly asked Dodgson to write them down and give her a copy.
Alice Liddell at age 6 as a Beggar, photographed by Lewis Carroll
As the subsequent author-narrator in Alice in Wonderland, Carroll states that he hopes that Alice Liddell will treasure this book and these tales for her entire life. I will discuss more of the dynamics, life associations, and some unresolved issues about Carroll, Alice Liddell, and her family in my next Litchatte.com post. He starts off the book with a nostalgic poem:
All in a golden afternoon, full leisurely we glide
For both our oars, with little skill
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make a vain pretense
Our wanderings to guide…
Alice! A childish story take and with a gentle hand
Lay it where Childhood’s dreams are twined
In Memory’s mystic band,
Like pilgrims’ withered wreath of flowers
Pluck’d in a far-off land.
I will explore the lives of Liddell and Lewis Carroll in a future blog.
Please feel encouraged to leave a comment on this blog or email me at ellisonm2@alumni.vcu.edu
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