Maybe I’ve seen the Wizard of Oz too many times, but while reading Alice and Wonderland I kept thinking about how the outside world influenced her dream or if any characters from “real” life appeared in any form in her dream? Since Alice’s sister is the only character the audience is privy to meet at the end (Dinah is mentioned while Alice is in Wonderland but never appears outside of it) I was thinking about if Alice’s sister had to be a character, who would she be?
To my knowledge, Alice never mentions that she has a sister (or a family for that matter) to anyone in Wonderland. However, from how they are described, it seems like the Duchess could be a commentary on Alice’s sister. While her sister certainly does not look for a moral in everything, she certainly reflects upon Alice’s time in Wonderland fondly and how much her sister will take from and look back nostalgically on this experience, especially now that she has woken up and returned to “dull reality” (110). While this is not exactly like the Duchess, who asserts that “everything has got a moral, if only you can find it” (78) and her assertion that “tis love, tis love, tis love that makes the world go round,” The Duchess's attitude is optimistic here, even if it is meant to be criticized and come off as nonsensical.
The Duchess and the sister are also positioned very similarly. In regards to the question of politeness, “Alice did not like to be rude,” so she let the Duchess rest her chin on her shoulder even if it was an “uncomfortably sharp chin" (78). Since Alice is laying on her sister’s lap as she dreams, the position could be one of extreme discomfort, much like that of the Duchess.
When Alice’s sister returns to Wonderland, she thoroughly enjoys it even if Alice did not enjoy the dream as it was occurring or even if she later believes that “it was a wonderful dream.” This reflection seems a little forced on Carol’s part, and very much moral-like. You can extract good out of a seemingly curious and bad/weird situation. Are we supposed to take Alice's newfound opinion on Wonderland as a development? As personal growth? As a sign that she is no longer a child? The sister attempts to establish a relationship between Alice and herself and seems to genuinely care for her sister, but displays kindness that comes off as very motherly or all-knowing. Finding a moral in things seems like advice an older sister would give. Alice’s sister’s return to Wonderland also marks the novel as one not just intended for children, and challenges Alice’s initial assertion that her sister seems to only appreciate “grown-up” books.
However, although the sisters now look upon their experiences in Wonderland fondly, their nostalgia seems to be problematic. Even if they are appreciate interacting with nature and animals, there are moments in Wonderland that don’t seem so wonderful in regard to how they interact with animals. For instance, in croquet, Alice uses the less anthropomorphized animals (the flamingo and hedgehog) to play croquet. No one at the Queen’s palace is bothered by the fact that the mallets are alive. In the case of Alice specifically , "the flamingo" was trying in a helpless sort of way to fly up the tree to escape” but Alice captures it (76). While it is certainly more imaginative to have hedgehogs as croquet balls and flamingos as mallets, this decision problematizes the relationship between humans and animals in Wonderland. How real is Wonderland meant to be? When should we appreciate imagination for imagination's sake, even if it means unnecessary harm to animals, a point which the novel seems to criticize?
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