A Very Rough Draft - Applying Psychoanalysis to Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland
Saturday, September 27, 2014I've been asked, surprisingly, by quite a few readers to upload one of my assignments for English Extension onto my blog so they can read the wonders of the subject. I am currently in the middle of an assignment I like to call "My Pathetic Attempt at a psychoanalytic and archetypal approach of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"; and yes, it's just that. I'm currently in the drafting process (which is me sending hundreds of drafts to my teacher in the hope that she will tell me I'm on the right track and this is actually going somewhere) and I thought I would upload what I have written so far. But first, some background into the assessment - the task is basically, choose a text (or two) and apply whatever theories you can to construct a somewhat appealing 2500-3000 word assignment. I initially wanted to delve into the intriguing, yet horrific details (something like this), of the novel and author but was told to tone it down as panel (the people who basically cross check the assignment) would think I am totally, and utterly bonkers (which I am J). So, instead I have taken a few approaches; psychoanalytic, archetypal and feminist are the main ones.
So, here it is:
An application
of psychoanalysis to Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland reveals Lewis Carroll’s construction of women as objects who
are subject to the whims of the morality of the Victorian era.
While reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the
reader immediately associates Wonderland with the subconscious, dream-like
state. This piece seeks to use psychoanalytical theory to further identify aspects
of Alice’s subconscious. This subconscious mind is the “reservoir of feelings,
thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside [Alice’s] conscious awareness,” (Pultorak,
2014, p. 35). As such, the reservoir contains such
things as pain, fear, anxiety and conflict; all of which relate to Alice’s upbringing
in the Victorian era. Furthermore, when applying escapism, a sub-theory of
psychoanalysis, Alice’s battle with conforming to the normality set by Victoria
era teachings emphasises her desire to separate herself from these normalities.
Additionally, when combing escapism with an author-centered reading it becomes evident
that Lewis Carroll had deeper intentions than simply creating a fun-loving
children’s classic.
Alice was an
upper-middle class child and therefore was cared for by a full-time nanny, thus
her care was restricted to the basic physical needs. These necessities,
according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, include such requirements as food,
water, air and sleep, which Alice would have had a sufficient supply of
considering her social class, alongside the feeling of safety and security. Again,
Alice would have had a high feeling of safety and security as she had a
full-time nanny. In the area of affection, however, Alice fails to achieve on
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as her nanny would have been her main parental
figure and she would not have had the love and attention of her parents.
Stemming from the culturally accepted belief that children need to know that
they are loved as well as having a role model of respectful and caring behaviour,
my interpretation of the impact of the hired and paid nanny was based on this
understanding of the hierarchy. Explicitly, this reading of Alice was prompted
by her situation at the beginning of the text; which led to a deeper understanding
of self-actualisation or the ability to express oneself or, as Maslow describes,
do “whatever it is that person was destined to do”, (Maslow, 1971, p. 63). In Alice’s situation, she is not given the opportunity
to “do” as her Victorian era restricts her from being herself and exploring her
own future. As such, through a psychoanalytical and feminist lens, Alice
becomes a feminine archetype within the text.
By applying
archetypal criticism I explored the objectification within the text and the
true nature of Alice’s construction was revealed. The anima, persona, shadow,
archetype and collective unconscious were all explored to further highlight
Carroll’s construction of women throughout Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland. According to Jung, an archetypal character is “a
typical or recurring [character] that has been in the piece of literature from
the beginning and regularly reappears” (1963, p. 68) as Alice does throughout Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice
“can’t go back to yesterday, [she] was a different person then,” (Carroll,
1965, p. 165), which shows that Alice, although in a subconscious/unconscious
state, identifies that since she has entered Wonderland the regularity of her
Victorian society is monotonous. This creates an opportunity for the reader to
associate Maslow’s self-realisation to Alice’s character, as she is limited by
the societal expectations of the Victoria era, thus failing to meet the
requirements of self-realisation. When connecting Alice’s archetypal character
with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Alice becomes the archetypal representation
of the subjective feminine voice as a result of her failure to achieve the
identity constructed.
In order to
explore the text further, an anti-feminist voice within the text led to an application
of feminist theory. According to Freud “male equals subject while female equals
object” (Friedan, 1963, p. 178). Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, while written by a male, follows the
story of a young pre-teen girl on a journey of self-discovery throughout the
progression of the text. This development is highly prominent from the initial
pages as the author’s construction of Alice’s character becomes evident; Alice
thought, “What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?”
(Carroll, 1965, p. 23). It is believed that “gender inequality comes from early
childhood experiences” (Chodorow,
N 1989, p. 173) and thus both Alice and the author of the text become
objectified by interrogation and examination of this theory. This proves that
not only are the characters in the text are adhering to this feminist
perspective, but due to Carroll’s upbringing, also in the Victorian era, he created,
intentionally or unintentionally, the idealistic feminist setting. This setting
forces the reader to experience what we believe is Alice’s journey of
self-discovery however, when a feminist psychoanalytical approach is applied the
story actually creates Alice has an object who is moved by, a combination of,
her and the author’s subconscious.
Such early
quotations make explicit her mentality, suggesting that Alice wanted to break
free from the boring tasks of the Victoria era, which could be seen as the
words throughout a book, and to add pictures and conversations would make it
more fascinating, more enthusing, more astonishing. When combining
psychoanalysis, archetypal criticism and feminist theories we begin to accept the
true depth and understanding of the author’s approach of feminine objectivity
through the invited reading, which is vividly illustrated through use of language
techniques, put forth by Carroll, such as allegory, icons, personification and
a particular perspective. The line, “I’m
afraid I can’t explain myself, sir. Because I am not myself, you see?” (Carroll,
1965, p. 104) is a perfect example of allegory; a first read just seems to be
an excuse for Alice’s inability to explain herself however, once a
psychoanalytical lens is applied it becomes clear that Alice cannot explain
herself for she is maturing into a new person, a person who is trying to
abolish the unnecessary boundaries of the Victorian era.
Furthermore, a
psychoanalytic approach combined with archetypal criticism shows the
“[increased] experience and [the] basis of more reliable knowledge” (Freud, 1900, p. 185) encouraging the reader to relate more to the archetypal
character. Alice is the perfect example of an archetypal character, which is “a
typical [character]… that has been in the piece of literature from the
beginning and regularly reappears” (Jung, 1963, p. 243); this allows the reader to easily
identify with the story line and characters. Anima is the “inner feminine part
of the male personality” (Jung, 1963, p. 245) and, when combined with an author-centered approach to the
text, highlights the true personality of the author, Lewis Carroll. Thus, when
we explore the text deeper, we see that Carroll explained Alice in a childish
and naïve manner as Alice states “and what is the use of
a book, without pictures or conversation?” (Carroll, 1965, p.93) creating Alice as a young and immature
character therefore easily manipulated by Carroll and other characters surrounding
her, this further shows Alice is an object of Carroll’s imagination. When we
combine anima (archetypal criticism) with an author-centered approach it
“denotes recurrent narrative designs, patterns of action, character types,
themes and images” (Abrams & Harpham, 2009, p. 16) which further explains
the invited reading set forth by Carroll; this invited reading only becomes
prevalent when paired with a feminist, psychoanalytic and archetypal approach. As
such, Alice can be seen as the repressed feminine side of the author, subject
to the ideologies of the Victorian Era.
When further
exploring psychoanalysis and combining aspects of the theory with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland we
begin to explore the persona, which highlights the “image we represent to the
world” (Jung, McGuire & Hull, 1978, p. 342) and thus the image Alice represents to
the reader is one of wonderment. When Alice queries, “How long is forever?”
(Carroll, 1965, p. 75) it highlights her naivety and possible immaturity and
therefore distances herself from the reader. The shadow analyses the “darker
[and] sometime hidden elements of a person’s psyche” (Jung, CG, McGuire, W & Hull, R 1978, p. 347) which, when applied to Alice further
explains the reasoning for her recluse nature as she travels through Wonderland;
Carroll depicts Alice as the only “darker” moments throughout the text take
place while Alice is “unconscious” (asleep). “A set of primal memories, common
to the human race, existing below each person’s conscious mind” (Jung, CG, McGuire, W & Hull, R 1978, p. 347) is those in which Alice upholds at the
denouement where the storyline is resolved and Alice awakens and returns to her
‘normal’ life which “[increases] experience on the basis of more reliable
knowledge [and] forms of instinct”(Jung C, 1963, p. 185). The reintroduction,
at the end of the text, of the calm riverbank closes the story in the same
location as it began, therefore isolating Wonderland as a part of Alice’s
subconscious fantasy. This, therefore, proves that this “unconscious” state
that Alice was in when subconsciously dreaming of Wonderland was her own
exploration of her dark nature. Furthermore, introducing the idea that the
author wanted to, despite creating the terrors of Wonderland, begin and end the
text with Alice appearing pristine and only dreaming of breaking the Victoria
era ruling but not actually undertaking it.
Within Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland,
Carroll portrays the protagonist, Alice, in a dream-like state, where
“everything appears in dreams as the ostensible activity of [judgement]” (Freud,
1900, p. 445). Alice is depicted with a dulcet and halcyon nature however, when
applying Freud and Jung’s interpretation of the states of consciousness
alongside the subsection of psychoanalysis known as escapism it is clear that
this is not the case; when referring to escapism fantasy indicates
consciousness and phantasy specifies the unconscious. The Mad Hatter suggests
that Alice, “… would have to be half mad to dream me up” (Carroll, 1965, p. 36),
illustrating Alice’s evanescent insanity as explained by Freud as
“unconsciousness”. This “unconsciousness” is what forces the reader to
associate the characteristics of Alice with the subjectivity of a feminine
voice, as in this state, being one of the only female characters, Alice is left
helpless, leaving her to be subjectified by the author’s writing and therefore
the reader’s interpretation. This “unconsciousness” "cannot
subsist on the scanty satisfaction which they can extort from reality,” (Freud,
1977, p. 419) and thus “these day-dreams are cathected with a large amount of
interest” (Freud, 2003, p. 88). So, when we combine this sense of Alice’s “unconsciousness”
with an author-centered view, we see that Alice, and all of her
characteristics, are in fact a part of Lewis Carroll’s subconscious.
This
unconsciousness is what leads Alice to, in the first chapter of the text, fall
down a very deep rabbithole, further and further away from the ‘normality’ of
her Victorian era upbringing and her interpretation of reality. As Alice falls
down the rabbithole she passes objects that would appear in dreams of people
not in this subconscious state and as she travels further and further down the
rabbithole it is Alice’s conscious subjectifying her desire to escape societal
boundaries put forth by her upbringing. This is where an application of
psychoanalysis, specifically escapism highlights the subjectivity the author
has placed on the character. However, when applying escapism with an
author-centered approach, the author can be seen to "transform
his phantasies into ... the doom of neurosis,” (Freud, 1977, p. 81) and
therefore the author’s neurotic/subconscious conflict becomes prevalent. According
to Gérard Genette, there are three implied author focalizations; the first
being zero focalization, where the author is omniscient throughout the text,
the second being internal focalization where the author is a character in the
text and the third being external focalization where the author talks
objectively throughout the text (Genette, G 1988, p.
172). When applying implied author focalization to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland it
could be seen that Lewis Carroll fits the internal focalization. When
researching others’ interpretations of the text it has becomes evident that
Carroll was fixated on Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration of the text,
and thus the author "is one who succeeds by his efforts in turning his
wishful phantasies into reality," (Freud, 1977, p. 81) by creating the
text Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Just prior to
Alice entering Wonderland she is forced to conform to the specifications of the
doors to fit through into Wonderland. The normal doors represent society,
Alice’s inability to open these doors is Alice’s inability to fit into society
and therefore she will go to extreme lengths to fit into these such as drinking
poison and eating laced cake. This inability to conform to these doors
highlights the objectivity of Alice. Another interpretation of these doors can
also be explained as, the large doors representing adult women and the small
doors representing young girls; Alice’s inability to fit through the doors is
Alice being equidistant between these two life phases, thus Alice is on the
precipice of womanhood and cannot conform to society’s expectation therefore
her fall down the rabbithole away from society is a pivotal moment in the text
as it highlights Alice’s underlying issues and are a consequence of minimal
adherence to Maslow’s self-actualisation. Alice constantly reminds herself that
this is her own dream, she has control of what she thinks, feels and does;
however it becomes evident through the introduction of other characters such as
the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit that this control is quickly lost and thus "these phantasies include a great deal of the true constitutional
essence of [Alice’s] personality" (Freud, 1977, p. 81).
Alice describes Wonderland
as “curiouser and curiouser” (Carroll, 1965, p. 29), which is the first sign to
the reader that this parallel world, despite being part of Alice’s
subconscious, is something she cannot control. Alice’s unconscious mind creates
the other characters, this is known as “Freudian imagery” (Cuddon, 1992, p. 356) and
furthermore is seen as a “symptom of the writer” (Cuddon, 1992, p. 356). Additionally, Alice’s unconscious mind
could be seen as a “psychobiographical approach” (Cuddon, 1992, p. 356) of
Lewis Carroll as an author-centered approach combined with “Freudian imagery”
(Cuddon, 1992, p. 356) as when combined further with the language technique
allegory we find that Carroll use a false pretence. The “psychobiographical
approach” is explained through four stages of methodology, the third stage
being the most applicable to this text; the identification of pregnant (a
metaphor carrying a deeper or hidden meaning) metaphor or image that organises
autobiographical narratives (Safranski, R 2002, p. 52). The Mad Hatter is larger in size compared
to such characters as Alice and the White Rabbit, showing the showing the Mad
Hatter’s control over these characters as he can easily pick up and manipulate
Alice. The White Rabbit, particularly in the tea party scene, is highlighted as
being insane and completely uncontrollable just as Alice’s subconscious is when
contrasted with her trip down the well to Wonderland, furthering instigating
the immaturity of Alice’s character. These characters “are
carefully [chosen] by the subject and usually concealed with a great deal of
sensitivity,” (Freud, 2003, p. 88). When we analyse the subconscious in
combination with psychoanalytical theory we begin to question “...is Wonderland
really a wonder...when you have nowhere to land?” (Gregory,
R 2008, p. 82).
These
unconscious resistances often are results of feelings of guilt and described as
“neurotic conflict” (Jung, 1963, p. 78). These “neurotic conflicts” are the
explained as the “intense resistance the unconscious oppose to the tendencies
of the conscious mind” (Jung, 1963, p. 185). When linked to Alice falling
deeper and deeper into the rabbithole, away from her current Victorian society,
there are numerous similarities this can further be explained by linking subconscious
resistances with ideologies expressed by Lewis Carroll. When linking these
resistances with Lewis Carroll’s subconscious ideologies it becomes evident
that the author has created the characters throughout the text to revolve
around Alice’s thought-provoking subconscious. Alice upholds her opulent
lifestyle throughout her time in Wonderland by somewhat adhering to the
Victorian era morals she was brought up with, however when opposed with other
characters throughout the text, Alice’s sense of justice and morality crumbles.
Alice, despite being the protagonist, is quite an insipid character and as the
text progresses she gains maturity and becomes more self-aware. Alice is aware
the “the world has absolutely no sense” (Carroll, 1965, p. 42) and is
inquisitive as to who would be “stopping [her] from inventing one?” (Carroll,
1965, p. 42). The term “curiouser and curiouser” (Carroll, 1965, p. 29) as
previously explained is Alice’s reaction to the strange world created by her,
or the author’s, subconscious in an attempt to explain and continue reminding
herself that is it just “a dream” (Carroll, 1965, p. 36). This term could also
be used to undermine the Victoria era upbringing that she is faced with. Moreover,
Alice’s maturity is an exploration of Carroll’s desires and stipulates his need
to overcome the “neurotic conflicts” throughout the text.
When combining all of the above theory with an
author-centered approach we begin to understand the impact of the author within
a text. Whilst writing Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland Lewis Carroll was described as "… an obvious child
molester,” (Court's
Correspondent, 2003); however could it not be possible that Carroll “is
simply a lonely, creative oddball who knows his genius can only be ignited by
the company of what in one elegy he has called 'a childish sprite'?”(Court's Correspondent, 2003). My
belief is that an author is the cynosure of the text, without an author the
text does not exist, thus understanding the author is quintessential to an
understanding of the text. Alice subconsciously “pictured herself… as a grown woman…” and “how she would
gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager
with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream on Wonderland of long ago”
(Carroll, 1965, p. 106). This deeper subconscious moment emphasises not only
the thoughts of Alice’s subconscious, but when paired with an author-centered
approach, also highlights the fact that Carroll portrayed Alice how she wanted
to be portrayed therefore constructing himself as having devised a storyline
that "cannot subsist on the scanty satisfaction which
they can extort from reality,” (Freud, 1977, p. 419).
I believe the text Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland could be
explained using Maslow’s argument that:
"You can't "undo" knowledge, you can't really become
innocent again; once you have seen something, you can't undo the seeing.
Knowledge is irreversible, perceiving is irreversible, knowing is irreversible;
in this sense you can't go home again. You can't really regress, not even by
giving up your sanity or strength altogether."
– (1971, p. 89)
– (1971, p. 89)
Due to the fact that
once Alice enters Wonderland she goes deeper and deeper into her subconscious
mind and once she returns to her Victorian era upbringing those moments remain
with her for eternity. Thus, when combing a psychoanalytical lens with an
author-centered approach we are aware that Lewis Carroll’s subconscious is the
main literary device throughout the text as we reveal that Wonderland is a true
exploration of Carroll’s subconscious.
I know, I know, there is still a lot of work to be done but I've had quite a few emails wanting to read my work :)
- Emma xo
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