"Alice, the (Un)Perfect Victorian Child"

The figure of Alice is one of the most controversial and discussed ones. Many writers and scholars have tried to analyse it, paying particular attention to the symbols and elements this figure and the books related to her could hide behind the surface, to the role she plays in the society and the age she refers to, which is the Victorian Age, and to the impact she has in the English society of the nineteenth century. I will focus my thesis on these works and analysis, to try and find the most relevant aspects about this figure in the two works written by Lewis Carroll "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) and "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" (1871). Starting from a general consideration about children’s literature, I will then move on speaking about the context in which the two novels take place, which is Great Britain during the Victorian Age. Finally, I will have a closer look at the figure of Alice and I will demonstrate whether she can be considered the perfect Victorian child and symbol of the Victorian Age.