Complete Alice in Wonderland - L. Carroll [96]
I hope you find these notes and observations toward Through the Looking-Glass entertaining. They were difficult to write, but the secrets revealed here are just as surprising as those for Wonderland, if not more so!
The Chess Problem
Clarifying the Conundrum: Due to the limitations of the Kindle regarding modifiable text and the challenge of a dual-column display on a narrow screen, the format of the original move summary has been changed slightly to show the correctly alternating moves between White and Red. Further, Carroll’s intentionally cryptic acronyms following strict Victorian chess notation (“W.Q. to Q. B’s 4th,” etc.) have been spelled out to improve the reader’s understanding. This is one of the exceedingly few passages where I truly feel that direct de-codification actually enriches Carroll’s text!
The Nature of the Game: In the same manner that Wonderland is ruled by game pieces (cards), Looking-Glass Land is ruled by the game of chess. The land itself is laid out like a chessboard, reflecting the “squared-off” nature of the English countryside with various fields bordered by fences, hedges and streams. In the Victorian age, chess pieces were often red and white, as opposed to the black and white known today. The additional complexity and maturity of the game of chess (as opposed to aimless cards and croquet) is a telling sign that Alice is growing up, and becoming cleverer all the time. This motif also reflects the nature of the powers of Wonderland, with the red and white roses, and the importance of those colors in the War of the Roses of England’s history.
The Journey Across the Board: In chess, moves alternate per side, and each square is controlled by a single piece. Throughout the story, Alice comes into conflict with characters (pieces) for various reasons. She plays the part of a White Pawn, which is restricted in moving forward (“north”) across the board in the hopes of becoming a White Queen at the very end. A quick study of the board and its key will give the reader many hints of the nature of Alice’s coming adventures in Looking-Glass Land.
The Preface
Looking-Glass Chess: While the chess motif is brilliant and deftly explored, the needs of the story outweigh the needs of the game. In other words, the chessboard as shown gives an extremely unlikely game in progress, with nonsensical moves by the various pieces. But what else is to be expected in a land governed by madness? The game in Looking-Glass Land has its own rules, which make sense only to the participants themselves.
Castling Queens: This move, in “real” chess, involves the fortification of the King by positioning the Rooks in the backmost rank. In Looking-Glass Chess, castling refers to three Queens being present at the same time in the final rank. This is demonstrated in the story by Alice entering the palace, and the beginning of the great feast.
The Prefatory Poem
A Song of Autumn: This poem, written in perhaps 1871, is clearly written by Carroll to Alice Liddell directly. By “half a life asunder,” Carroll is referring to the fact that Alice would then be 19 years old, and Carroll himself 39. The poem also introduces one of the major themes in Through the Looking-Glass, the passing of time and changing of people’s hearts, as reflected by the seasons. The time of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is here regarded as summer, and Through the Looking-Glass represents autumn.
Darker, Colder Tidings: The verse beginning “Come, hearken then” is a strong symbolic passage concerning the coming of death (for those, such as Alice and Carroll, who believe themselves to be far too young at heart to fully die. Indeed, they remain immortal in literature.)
Pleasance: The last line, of course, has a double meaning. It implies that the story will be too enjoyable to be spoiled by grim tidings; but it is also a word-play on Alice Liddell’s middle name.
Chapter I
A Tale of Three Cats: From the very first, Carroll