The Male Characters in Alice in Wonderland

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It is amazing that nearly all critics of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland focused solely on the character and adventures of the female protagonist/hero. A somewhat right-wing and didactic critique at Decent Films writes, “Alice embodies the gender feminist narrative of vibrant young girls losing their mojo as they come of age in patriarchal society.” The woman’s magazine, Jezebel, while praising the movie as “refreshingly feminist” seemed to notice only that the hero who fights against the forces of evil is a woman. Jezebel mentions other characters, but does not take the time to catalogue their relationship to feminism. In an Associated Content piece by Adriana Tanese-Nogueria which does, commendably, explore the feminist theme much more richly than many other reviews, still, the main focus is on Alice’s journey of feminist liberation. But Lewis Carroll also takes a look at the men in this story. Men during the Victorian era were known to have the control over the household and have a job. Their lives were around getting the perfect wife and making a lot of money. So when one reads some of the characters in Alice in Wonderland, one can see some difference in how he portrays some of the characters. When thinking about male characters, one would have to also include the male animal characters. During the time Carroll wrote this book, some would say that he bace the character on real people. The animals that portray different men that Lewis Carroll knew in the Victorian era. One could not talk about the men without including every male character . So first let’s start talking about the one character that leads Alice down the rabbit hole in the first place. The white rabbit is the one who gets Alice interested in... ... middle of paper ... ...: ‘Refreshingly Feminist,’ Lacks Heart”. (The Jezebel review also provided a list of other sources for reviews. It was very helpful in preparing this piece.) http://jezebel.com/5486801/alice-in-wonderland-refreshingly-feminist-lacks-heart National Catholic Register. Reprinted at Decent Films. “Alice in Wonderland (2010)”. Steven D. Greydanus. http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/aliceinwonderland2010 Sigler, Carolyn. "Authorizing Alice: Professional Authority, the Literary Marketplace, and Victorian Women's Re-Visions of the Alice Books." The Lion and the Unicorn 22.3 (1998): 351-63. ProQuest. Web. 7 May 2014. Spilka, Mark. "Victorian Childhoods." Michigan Quarterly Review 39.2 (2000): 411-21. ProQuest. Web. 7 May 2014. Woolf, Jenny. “Lewis Carroll's Shifting Reputation.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. April 2010. Web. 6 May 2014.

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