Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideasexplored in a literary work.
Chess as Metaphor for Fate
Alice’s journey through Looking-Glass World is guidedby a set of rigidly constructed rules that guide her along her pathto a preordained conclusion. Within the framework of the chess game,Alice has little control over the trajectory of her life, and outsideforces influence her choices and actions. Just as Alice exerts littlecontrol of her movement toward becoming a queen, she has no powerover her inevitable maturation and acceptance of womanhood. At thebeginning of the game, Alice acts as a pawn with limited perspectiveof the world around her. She has limited power to influence outcomesand does not fully understand the rules of the game, so an unseenhand guides her along her journey, constructing different situationsand encounters that push her along toward her goal. Though she wants tobecome a queen, she must follow the predetermined rules of the chessgame, and she frequently discovers that every step she takes towardher goal occurs because of outside forces acting upon her, suchas the mysterious train ride and her rescue by the White Knight. Byusing the chess game as the guiding principle of the narrative, Carrollsuggest that a larger force guides individuals through life andthat all events are preordained. In this deterministic concept of life,free will is an illusion and individual choices are bound by rigidlydetermined rules and guided by an overarching, unseen force.
Language as a Means to Order the World
In Through the Looking-Glass, languagehas the capacity to anticipate and even cause events to happen.Alice recites nursery rhymes on several occasions, which causesTweedledum and Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty, and the Lion and the Unicornto perform the actions that she describes in her rhymes. Ratherthan recording and describing events that have already happened,words give rise to actions simply by being spoken. Tweedledum andTweedledee’s quarrel begins only after Alice recites the rhyme aboutthe broken rattle. Similarly, Humpty Dumpty’s fall does not happenuntil Alice describes the events in the classic nursery rhyme. Languagecovers actions in Looking-Glass World, rather than simply describing them.The flowers reinforce this principle by explaining that a tree canscare enemies away with its “bark.” In our language, there is no relationshipbetween the bark of a dog and the bark of a tree, but in Looking-GlassWorld, this linguistic similarity results in a functional commonground. Trees that have bark are thus able to “bark” just as fiercelyas dogs.
The Loneliness of Growing Up
Throughout her adventures, Alice feels an inescapablesense of loneliness from which she can find no relief. Before sheenters Looking-Glass World, her only companions are her cats, towhom she attributes human qualities to keep her company. Once sheenters Looking-Glass World, she seeks compassion and understanding fromthe individuals that she meets, but she is frequently disappointed.The flowers and Humpty Dumpty treat her rudely, the Red Queen isbrusque, and the Fawn flees from her once it realizes that she isa human. She receives little compassion from others and often becomessad. The one character who shows her compassion is the White Knight,who must leave her when she reaches the eighth square and must takeon her role of Queen. Alice’s dreams deal with the anxieties ofgrowing up and becoming a young woman. Since Alice believes thatloneliness is an inherent part of growing up, even in her dreamsshe must face the transition into womanhood alone.
