Symbolism in Alice in Wonderland: Mad Hatter to Cheshire Cat

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a much-loved classic novel that has fascinated children and adults alike for more than 150 years. From colorful characters to magical potions and a garden filled with talking plants, the story pulls us into a mind-bendingly surreal world where almost anything seems possible. But more than a whimsical children’s fairytale, the book is also laden with rich layers of symbolism that make reference to the trials and tribulations of the human condition as Alice passes from childhood into adolescence. While Lewis Carroll has largely left the story open to interpretation, over the decades, writers and scholars have tried to identify the symbolic meanings behind many of the characters.

Alice is the central character who goes on a madcap journey, diving down the rabbit hole into a strange and surreal world. As the story draws to a close, we realize the wonderland is entirely of her own imagination, when she awakens to discover it was all a daydream. Thus, the journey Alice goes on is a psychological and emotional one that allows her to discover unseen aspects of her own identity.

Within her own mind, Alice finds a rich treasure trove of unexpected wonders, and she learns how to solve problems and stand up for herself. Many have interpreted Alice’s process of self-discovery as a symbol for the power of imagination, curiosity, and creativity, not just in childhood but as one passes through adolescence into adulthood. Given that the book was written during the strait-laced, rigid Victorian times, it can be understood as a reflection on the need for individuality and an escape from dogmatic rules in order to fully understand one’s potential and to navigate the complexity of the adult world.

The White Rabbit & the Rabbit Hole

The white rabbit character marks a significant starting point for the story, drawing Alice away from the real world, down its winding rabbit hole to a strange and unexpected new place. Thus, the rabbit and the rabbit hole become symbols for curiosity, fantasy, and escape. Even today, the expression “going down the rabbit hole” is in popular use, symbolizing a journey into the unknown with no end in sight.

The white rabbit in Alice’s story became the inspiration for the famed Jefferson Airplane song White Rabbit, released in 1967, which alluded to the psychedelic effects of drug taking. Yet the band claimed that the song was simply about feeding your curiosity. While many have suggested Lewis Carroll also made reference to mind-altering drugs within Alice’s story, there is no concrete evidence to suggest this is actually true. Many have also interpreted the rabbit’s constant time-checking and panicked rushing around as a symbol for the time pressures put upon people in Victorian society, and the resulting anxiety that this caused.

The Cheshire Cat appears several times within Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, known for his bizarre, wide grin and curious ability to appear and disappear on a whim. The Cheshire Cat is a complex and contradictory character who appears to make little sense on the surface, presenting Alice with a series of confusing riddles to solve. But many agree the Cheshire Cat, with its ghostly, apparition-like qualities, represents a wise spirit-guide for Alice, offering her a series of conundrums that push her in the right direction towards the March Hare’s House and the Mad Hatter’s tea party, and offer her Wonderland’s essential secret – that it is completely mad.

Queen of Hearts

In contrast with many of the more ambiguous and unpredictable characters Alice encounters in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts is rigid and dogmatic, leading as a figure of fear and authority. The Queen sentences Alice to death in a dramatic scene near the end of the novel. But in the end, Alice discovers the queen never actually carries out any of the executions she orders, and that she is merely a playing card with no real power.

The Queen of Hearts can be interpreted as a symbol of the seemingly endless rules and punishments dolled out by adults, particularly during Victorian times, which, from a child’s perspective, might appear ruthless and unnecessary. Another popular interpretation is that the Queen of Hearts is a proxy for Queen Victoria, and Wonderland a symbol for England, the place over which a domineering queen leads with tyrannical power.

The Mad Hatter is one of the most unusual and eccentric characters Alice encounters in Wonderland. While he is only ever referred to in the book as “the hatter,” the story alludes to his madness on numerous occasions, most notably in the Cheshire Cat’s conversations with Alice. In Victorian times, the colloquial expression “Mad as a Hatter” was widespread, even if its origins are unclear. Some think the saying draws on the Mercury poisoning that hatters often endured after using mercury to cure pelts. While Carroll’s hatter doesn’t demonstrate mercury poisoning symptoms, there may be an oblique connection in the character’s erratic behavior.

Others have argued that Carroll’s sympathetic treatment of the hatter, described in the book as “insane,” is a call for a more humane and compassionate understanding of the mentally ill, who were treated poorly in Victorian England.

Talking Flowers

While the Talking Flowers may not receive the same character development as the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen of Hearts, it is significant that they are the first fantastical characters that Alice meets on arriving in Wonderland. She is surprised that they can talk, having never met a talking flower before, but they reassure her that all flowers can talk, but for most, their beds are too soft, leaving them too sleepy to talk.

While the flowers initially seem welcoming and friendly, they soon judge Alice for her unusual petals. This seems to carry the message that looks can be deceiving. Also, the flowers project their own understanding of the world onto Alice, assuming that she, too, is a flower. This could be a reference to how we all view the world from a subjective point of view, and our opinions often say more about us than our subject.

The unusual twins seem to be mirror reflections of one another and share a symbiotic relationship. They complement one another perfectly, and even finish one another’s sentences. They clearly represent duality. When they recite the story “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” Alice responds that she prefers the Walrus because he sympathizes with the young oysters. However, Tweedle Dee reminds Alice that he ate more oysters, causing her to change her mind. Tweedle Dum then reminds her that the Carpenter still ate as many oysters as he could.

This scene in the novel seems to symbolize how the world is not black and white. One thing being good doesn’t make another bad, and the perception of morality often depends on where you are standing. They also reflect the limits of logic in understanding the world.