Public post in the reader discussion for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
What, in you guys opinions, is the meaning of Alice in Wonderland
By writesharbor
Just finished *Alice in Wonderland* and I can’t stop thinking about how everything feels linked together, but each part is weirdly different. I’d love to hear what other people think the book is actually about. My own take is that it’s kind of a quiet dig at adult life back then. Like, Alice has to deal with strict guards and there’s all that bias with the Mouse that hates cats. Then there’s the whole courtroom thing that’s so obviously unfair, plus how everyone keeps following these rigid roles—White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, all that. And then there’s the idea that you’re basically expected to change yourself just to fit in (and for Alice it’s not even subtle). The whole “nonsense” part feels like it’s there to point out how dumb those rules and cultural expectations are, and also that a lot of people are still acting childish once you strip away the fancy language. Also, I tried to clean up my grammar and spelling and somehow I spelled a word wrong—apparently “beholden” doesn’t need a (t) so I guess I’ll have to look elsewhere to borrow a kettle.