Worlds of Wonder English 505 Dr. Roggenkamp

Mid-Nineteenth-Century British Social Conditions 19 th century change— industrialization, urbanization, imperialism, class change, population growth, wars, etc. Prosperity in 1850s/60s, then economic and class problems in following decades Family as enclave against changing world Queen Victoria, reign — icon of nuclear family Image: Queen Victoria & Prince Albert Edward, 1844

Victorian Attitudes Toward Children A culture obsessed with middle/upper-class children On one hand, Romantic view: children as epitome of innocence and goodness, with an inherent spirituality On other hand, Puritanical view: children as tainted by Original Sin, requiring strictness, firmness, even severity in upbringing In literature: perfect children modeling good behavior, or evil children suitably published Class-based issue: e.g. 80% of cotton mill workers were children in early 1800s

Cult of Childhood Romance with (middle/upper class) childhood seen everywhere—art, manners, decorating, clothing design, leisure culture, literature, etc. Deep adult longing for what childhood represented—innocence, innate spirituality, progress and promise, hope Way for adults to work out their own fears and doubts about changing, uncertain world Search for an Arcadia, an idyllic place, a secret garden

Publishing Trends for Children Children’s books among most profitable segment of publishing industry Advances in printing technology—exploding print marketplace From 1860s on: two basic streams in Victorian children’s literature “Realism”—stories set firmly in “real world” (e.g. didactic fiction, school stories, domestic tales, most adventure novels) “Fantastic”—stories involving some impossible thing (e.g. talking animals or toys, magical events, nonsense poems and stories) Upsurge in fantastic in England during late-19 th century; entrenchment in realistic in America during same period

Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) Even so, Alice books almost utterly unprecedented—opens the “Golden Age” Mathematics teacher, amateur photographer (little girls) “[A]n intense, buttoned-up loner whom a repressive society pushed into real eccentricity. Fantasy was his escape,... a chance to reduce to chaos some of the establishment values which publicly he upheld” (Jackie Wullschläger)

Alice’s Reception Generally hailed as a true path-breaker, even genius Not universally acclaimed at first: Book “too extravagantly absurd to produce more diversion than disappointment and irritation” (Illustrated Times). But generally revered by time Through the Looking Glass published (1872) Image: Alice Liddell as photographed by Dodgson