Lewis Carroll and Alice: The mystery within Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

We live in a time of paranoia. Maybe it has something to do with our society, or our technology, or maybe even pure suspicious human nature – motives are eternally questioned, conspiracies forever assumed. It is unfortunate for those who have passed away who are rabidly popular: everyone likes talking and making speculations about them – and they cannot do anything about it.

The man who went under the name Lewis Carroll and wrote the well-loved book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, died on January 14, 1898 at the age of sixty-five. For around 110 years his life has been subject to much speculation and controversy, which shows no apparent sign of dying away.

Most people believe that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was a mere product of a creative mind about the hyperbolic adventures of a young, imaginative girl; however, most critics believe that Alice’s story was a form of release for Carroll’s suppressed love for the young girl whom was said he wrote the book for – Alice Liddell.

Dodgson’s Wonderland
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born on January 27, 1832. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford and later taught mathematics there. He never married. He liked the company of female children. He loved taking pictures of female children; most of the time, he had these little girls pose for him nude.

On March 1, 1856, Lewis Carroll was born. The inimitable Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was said to be written for the three daughters of Henry Liddell, Dean of the College. The wonderful afternoons Carroll spent with the Liddell girls – Ina, Alice and Edith – were immortalized in the prose and verses of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

A lot of times, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson made ‘playful’ attempts of disowning his other half, Lewis Carroll – in the way that Daniel Handler, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, has been doing in the present. Of course, Dodgson did admit at one occasion that Carroll and he were one and the same.

However, beyond these things about him, a lot remain unknown, conflicting and curious.
Carroll/Dodgson enthusiasts and Carroll/ Dodgson critics alike all wonder the same thing (although the Carroll/Dodgson enthusiasts would probably refuse to admit it): was his love for children some form of suppressed sexual desire? An unmarried man who delighted in the company of prepubescent girls is sure to attract frowns and disapproval from most people. In fact, it is rather unimaginable for us to consider a man with a fondness for little girls without wanting to have him castrated – or put in prison or in a psychotic ward.

Feminist critics have implied that Dodgson was a pedophile. They have declared that his fascination in taking photographs of the prepubescent female body was a perverse means of objectifying them. To them, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland became a book full of pedophilic atrocities. But was he really a pedophile? Imagine a pedophile – do we not think of a lustful, sinister man who has perverse thoughts and intentions towards young girls? According to Katie Roiphe, author of Just Good Friends? (an article that discusses Dodgson’s fascination of female children, particularly Alice Liddell), this image of the lustful, sinister man is not Lewis Carroll nor Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

“His love [for little girls] was more delicate and tortured and elusive; his warmth, his strange, terrified passion, more intricate and complicated than anything encompassed by a single word,” Roiphe stated.

It was said that Dodgson lost interest in girls once they turned fourteen – could it be that these prepubescent girls provided him with company so innocent, so pure, that to him, they seemed to have embodied earth-angels that kept him sane? Were they better company than teenagers, who will soon become adults, who lose the ability to imagine magical worlds, as soon as the world finally envelopes them in its realities?

The Unfounded Theory
The friendships that Dodgson created with children, critics say, always seemed to have romantic inclinations, with a hint of longing, of sadness. Dodgson’s relationship with Alice Liddell was said to be like this.Dodgson and the Liddell family had close ties together. However, in the summer of 1863, both parties mysteriously detached from each other. People assumed this had something to do with the Charles Dodgson-Alice Liddell relationship.

Dodgson died in 1898 of pneumonia and although Dodgson’s diaries were later turned over to the British museum by his relatives, there were lots of missing records. It was said that Dodgson’s diaries consisted of thirteen volumes and yet, only nine were turned over. These nine volumes were “carefully and delicately pruned.” Critics have supposed that the missing pages of these diaries contained the reason of Dodgson’s sudden isolation from the Liddell family. Neither Liddell family nor Dodgson family has shed any light into the cause of the sudden break of Dodgson with the Liddell family.

Morton Cohen, a biographer of Dodgson, suggested that the missing pages may have been testimonies of Dodgson “propos[ing] marriage to his eleven-year-old inamorata [Alice Liddell], thus precipitating the displeasure of [Henry Liddell] and incurring a ban on further contact with the family.”

However, a ‘fragment’ of Dodgson’s diary, found in Guildford Muniment Room, is said to suggest otherwise.

The fragment was a summary of the missing pages, titled “Cut Pages in Diary”, written in the hand of Dodgson’s neice, Violet Dodgson, co-guardian of the diaries along with her sister Menella from the early 1940s to the late 1960s. It read:

‘L.C. [Lewis Carroll] learns from Mrs. Liddell that he is supposed to be using the children as a means of paying court to the governess - he is also supposed [unreadable] to be courting Ina.’

This suggests that Dodgson may have been courting the governess – Miss Pricket, employed by the Liddells to educate their daughters – and courting Ina, the eldest of the Liddell girls at the same time. It may be assumed that the Liddell parents decided to see into the rumor of Dodgson doing such, and decided that it was best for Dodgson to stay away for awhile.

Dodgson had recorded in his diaries that the rumors regarding him and Miss Pricket didn’t bother him at all – ‘groundless a rumor’, he said – so it can be said that the governess wasn’t such a big deal. Ina, however, is a different issue. At that time, Ina was fourteen years old and had been allowed far more time with Dodgson than her younger sisters. Back then, girls were legally marriageable at twelve. It can be assumed that the rumor that Dodgson was courting both the governess and Ina had caused the Liddell parents to withdraw their warm acceptance of Dodgson.

Could it be that the fact that Alice’s name has been immortalized by Dodgson’s books lured us into believing that she was the important Liddell girl when in fact he was courting Ina?
However – being that people are fascinated with conspiracy theories and paranoia – could it be that this summary that Violet Dodgson wrote be of suspicious nature? Could it be a move to throw the people off the Charles Dodgson-Alice Liddell relationship? In one of Cohen’s analyses, he said that “Dodgson's moments of greatest torment and insomnia in his diaries […] correlated to the days on which he saw Alice.” And what about the acrostic poem in Through the Looking-Glass (a facsimile of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), wherein when read downwards, taking in every first letter of each line, spells out Alice’s full name, Alice Pleasance Liddell?

What then, remains for the rest of us to deduce? Is there, in fact, no answering the theories that surround the riddle?

Love Unimaginable
It is imaginable that we may never find out the answers to all the questions surrounding the beloved Lewis Carroll and his muse, Alice. Records have been missing, important figures have refused to talk, and the most important character has been dead for 110 years. Was Dodgson a pedophile? Why the fascination with female children? Whom did he “love”, Ina or Alice? Was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a pure product of imagination, or of something more? These questions, unfortunately, seem to not have answers that will remain, forever, irrefutable.
If he did have repressed feelings of love for Alice and he did write the book for her, I believe that there is something moving about a man who fights one of the hardest fights in the world: his desire – that it takes the form of a book full of talking chess pieces, snotty flowers and knitting sheep, rather than focus on the matter at hand.

A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July –

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear –

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream –
Lingering in the golden gleam –
Life, what is it but a dream?

And looking at the acrostic poem, there it is – a love suppressed, a love unimaginable for other people, a love that took form in one of the most disturbing, yet best children’s stories in the history of literature.

Alice Pleasance Liddell.

Boarding House Dictatorship: Finding the Marcos within You

If you are like me and you are a girl who lives in a boarding house and your housemates are constantly getting in your hair, it might be time to pull your act together and find the inner dictator in you.

And if you don’t happen to be as such, well, we can't do anything about that, now can we?
I grew up under a strict Catholic school, where patience is a virtue and getting along is golden – any form of disobedience is met with punishment in the form of social rejection. About four years ago, I used to be largely tolerant of unsettling behavior; life was a haven of peace and camaraderie. It didn’t last long though. A change of settings practically begged me to be frank and intolerant of behavior I deem to be unsolicited.


Staying in a boardinghouse means a lot of things. It can mean doing your own grocery, cooking for yourself, washing your own clothes, or taking care of yourself when you get sick. And then living on a boardinghouse can also mean dealing with different kinds of people. Sometimes these different kinds of people can mean those who are inconsiderate and messy.

Assertiveness is a trait few people have and those who barely have the ability to assert themselves tend to find themselves in very uncompromising situations. I’ve learned how to be assertive and manipulative throughout the course of my college life and it is necessary that you do too. Dictatorship, I believe has definitive potential in boarding house life. It is easier to master and work for your benefit if you try it within your own boarding house – it, of course, didn’t hurt that I am now a college senior and power tripping is quite… an interesting act that I do from time to time.

1. Understand what dictatorship is. For purposes of intellectual conversations between potential dictators, such as you and me, we will use this definition of dictatorship: a dictator’s power or authority, or the period of time during which a dictator rules. This means that dictatorship remains for so long as the individual can exert his or her authority over a certain group of people.

2. Be reasonable. As potential dictators, we will not succumb to the thought of a dictator as a bossy person. ”Orders” are to be given only and only if there is a logical reason at hand. In fact, these are not to be regarded as “orders” but as “demands.” As a potential dictator, you must recognize dictatorship as an art and not a mere instrument as to get your every whim. As an art, every stroke must be aided with careful deliberation.

3. Instill fear and demand respect instead of asking for love and friendship. Love, unlike fear, is very fleeting. People who surround you who love you more than they fear you tend to more unaware of their behavior. Instilling fear is an effective means of keeping people in line, for as long as they don’t congregate and plan to overthrow you. A little farther down in this article discusses how you can instill fear without worrying that people will overthrow you. Demand respect, instead of asking for friendship, because respect is something far easily maintained instead of friendship. Friendship demands emotional investments, and friends tend to ask favors that will exhaust your resources, or worse, weaken your hold among your subjects. Respect on the other hand is maintained by doing good and commendable acts without the emotional investment. For further information on this, read up on Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince.

4. Learn to be manipulative. Manipulation is an art that goes hand in hand with dictatorship. To be able to master dictatorship, one must be able to manipulate other people without them realizing that they are being manipulated.

Now that I have discussed the basics, let’s get on with the application.

1. House mates, whether we like it or not, will exist for as long as boarding houses exist and for as long as we stay in them. They can either be your friends or your enemies. I suggest that you keep your friends to those house mates who are your roommates and keep the rest, not as enemies, but as subjects.

2. There are times (and there will always be, to my revulsion) when your housemates get to your nerves, such as when they hog the bathroom when everyone else has to take a bath, dump their dirty dishes in the sink and forget about them, make a mess of the stove by cooking God-knows-what, or when their voices are so deafeningly loud when they talk (when in fact they are inches from each other). A good potential dictator doesn’t immediately demand a shorter bath-time, a cleaner sink and stove or tranquil atmosphere in the boarding house. Instead, a good dictator tests the waters and sees for himself or herself how said housemates will react to a gentle request. Keep your tone light and conversational, but be firm about making it clear that the said behavior bothers you.

3. Observe your housemates’ behavior after that interaction and see whether they tend to your little friendly request. If they do, you must have very nice housemates who, by far, are non-existent. If they don’t, then it’s time to take the overtaking of the boarding house government a notch higher.

4. Remember that the kind of dictatorship that may exist within the boarding house is a little different than that of the government. One must be creative and be able to deconstruct its meaning, purpose and operations.

5. Overtaking of the boarding house government must be tacit and unnoticeable. The idea of control should be unspoken, yet felt. This way, they remain unsure of the fact that you control them.

6. Demands are made firmer, without the conversational attitude. Assume a no-nonsense voice and be clear about what you want and how you want it.

7. In order to instill fear, one must be able to get angry and yet be respectable. To do this, one needs good arguments that benefit all and the uncanny ability to look into another’s eyes with your chin up. Develop good arguing skills. Be a lawyer (insert manic laughter). Explain why the bathroom is a public property, why you refuse to live in a pigsty and why you want to avoid chronic hearing ailments.

8. Remember that this kind of dictatorship is tacit and needs careful watching. Demands that are made must be reasonable and beneficial for all, even though they may not realize that at the moment. Maintaining level headedness when making demands makes it more difficult for one’s subjects to find loopholes in your demands and deduce that you are just being mean and stupid; therefore, “overthrowing” you will not be a collective idea. Take for example, the scenario of a late night where you are studying and some of your housemates are causing a racket in the living room. To demand silence at a late time of the night is reasonable and beneficial for the many who may also be studying or to those who happen to be sleeping. Make sure that you are not making demands that merely benefit yourself. If, by some odd chance, said demands only benefit yourself, learn to manipulate your house mates into believing that these all benefit all of you (insert evil grin).

9. Demands must be made in utter professionalism. They will be purely business and it is expected that as soon as you demand them within your boarding house, you will still interact with your subjects as normally as possible.

10. Maintain good rapport with other influential figures within the boarding house. Any idiot would figure this out. By maintaining good rapport with the influential figures within the boarding house government, the dictator is able to gather support and encouragement from those whose opinions matter in one way or another. Then, he or she can keep his subjects in line through other means as to prevent arousing suspicions of dictatorship (insert applause).

Remember that dictatorship must not be about getting what you want (if it is, at least be smart enough to make it seem like it is not about getting what you want). Oddly enough, it requires a certain regard for the beneficial of all. Hopefully, you will be dealing with less slow-bathing housemates, dirty sinks and stoves and voices that sound like screeching banshees.

Breaks from the Rational World

What I need right now is a splash of cold water - maybe I'll stop having daymares.

Daymares have frequently joined me in my daily life, like unwanted "friends" who insist on being your "friends", with the intention of breaking me into a gazillion pieces. Of course, I refuse to yeild. It would be unnatural for me to give in without a fight when it comes to my thoughts.

I need a breath of fresh air to rouse my senses. I seem to be going into realms I don't want to go to, lately. It's like having some sort of knack of predicting things - but they're unreliable, unstable. I sort of "see" things. I may not be good in projecting the future, since paranoia is a whole lot different, but in an angle, they have similarities.

I don't want to crack. Yet. I need to finish a lot of things and these things can't wait. I wonder if I can control it...

I won't crack.

I won't.

Yet.

"Riot" in the Opening of the 22nd BBEAL: Intensely Annoying

There is a question I've been itching to ask about the University of the Philippines Baguio and its hosting of the 22nd Baguio-Bengeut Educational Athletic Games (BBEAL).

Why, for crying out loud, is it held in the University of the Cordilleras (UC)?

Rumors have been circulating around school and it seems that Chancellor refused to fund the whole thing. Ah, Macansantos, why? I heard that Ma'am Claur cried over that. That's just... sad. Must have been such a disappointment for her. Well, at least UC's gymnasium is large.

Anyway, I watched the coverage some time ago and wait... did I just see Macansantos yawn while UP students performed (it was either the UPB Dance Troupe or the Tayaw)? Hmmm. Maybe she had a rough night last night, or maybe she's just disinterested.

The whole coverage was intensely annoying - Sky Channel sucked, period. The camera man obviously didn't know how to hold the camera, much less take good shots. He should be shot. Dead.

The only thing that kept me interested was the performance of the Wushu Varsity Team. And the Taekwondo (they were a little off on choreography - but forgivable).

And then there was the UPB cheering squad.

I won't say anymore.

Breathe In

As I stepped out into the sunlight that I had assumed will burn my skin off - I was, instead, met with a deliciously warm sunlight that mixed with the cool noon air.

I had walked to my destination with suprisingly light steps, taking in the wonderful light of the day. The sun was bright, but the wind was cool and carried a scent that reminded me of flowers in the fields.

Am I imagining things?

It's a nice day today.

Headache

It's so hard to type something down when one's mind is full of random things. My thesis, feature writing, feature articles, puppies, math, books, Derrida, blogging, singing toadstools and dancing candies.

I'm stressed.

I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)

If anyone's looking for wonderful country music, I suggest listening to Sandi Thom. Her songs have a country feel, with a sweet combination of calming and upbeat tunes. I especially love "Castles," "Lonely Girl," "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)," and "Sunset Borderline."

Go ahead and listen to her. She's worth it. And mind you, her songs make so much sense.

Frosty

It is easy to forget about everything when one is numb from literal cold. The freezing feeling, the icy chattering of teeth - it is easy to get lost in the cold and set everything else aside.

It would be comfortable if I were in bed right now, under the covers, surrounded by pillows.

I couldn't get warm...

It's like sticking one's hand in the freezing, without the freedom to take it out once the mood strikes - it's stuck inside.

I wonder if it's possible to freeze to death here in the Philippines. It's cold outside. It's cold inside. It's cold within. I'm feeling rather under the weather. Stress is putting up a good battle and someone like me is bound to lose over stress.

There's something running on my mind right now... A line from South Park...

"Que passo? Que passo? Looking for work? Si? Trabajo?"