Adult Realm v. Childhood: A Critical Examination of the Victorian Reader's Ideal Young Adult

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

The main points of this article include:

Alice in Wonderland represents a cultural shift in Victorian approach to childhood. Alice is allowed to have unstructured fun. She questions things and yet is allowed to just be a child instead of a 'little adult' that Victorian children were seen as.

Up to that book children's books of that time had strong moral endings. Alice in Wonderland did not have a moral ending to it and that started off a new form of children's story books.

There was a high mortality rate among children at that time and this (could) have caused many adults to distance themselves from their own children, knowing that there was a high probability that at least one, if not more, would not live very long.

A good example of parental attitude of the time, albeit in parody form, is the song the Duchess sings about beating her baby.

Alice sees herself as superior to the inhabitants of Wonderland.

She also considers herself as the most logical and sensible being there.

The form of schooling in Victorian England is made fun of by the Mock Turtle.

Alice is from the middle-class and looks down upon doing certain tasks herself.

Wonderland tests Alice's ability for 'self-assessment, independence' and patience.

There's also a list of references at the end of the article.