Revisiting Childhood in the Victorian Era: A Study of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

The Victorian Age, with its sweeping societal changes and burgeoning middle class, ushered in a remarkable transformation in the landscape of children’s literature. Before this era, children’s stories were primarily didactic and moralistic, designed to impart lessons and virtues in a straightforward manner. However, the Victorian era marked a profound shift in the structure and perception of children’s literature. Stories became vehicles through which the values and virtues intrinsic to the Victorian middle class could be subtly woven into narratives. It was a departure from preaching morals to inviting readers on journeys where they could organically discover these values for themselves. In this regard, Lewis Carroll, the brilliant mind behind the enchanting tales of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1862), stands as a literary luminary who not only forged a whimsical realm and philosophical approach that transcends generations but also played a pivotal role in kindling the flames of a new version of children’s literature. These tales unfurled a realm of boundless fantasy created for the sheer delight of children and marked a radical departure from the staid and didactic narratives that reigned in the preceding era. The present paper examines the concept of childhood in the Victorian era, and in doing so, this study explores the transformative role played by Carroll’s narratives in reshaping the perception and experience of childhood in 19th-century England. Through a comprehensive analysis of the characters, settings, and themes in these literary masterpieces, this study will examine how Carroll’s writing both reflects and challenges the prevailing Victorian notions of childhood, innocence, and imagination. By exploring the juxtaposition of the fantastical worlds of Wonderland and the Looking-Glass with the rigid societal expectations of the time, this paper seeks to shed light on the complex and multifaceted nature of childhood in the 19th century.