Through the Looking-Glass: A Whimsical Journey Beyond the Mirror
The Chess Game Structure
Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass" is ingeniously structured as a giant chess game, with Alice as a pawn striving to become a queen. This unique framework adds depth and symbolism to the narrative, creating a playful yet complex reading experience.
Note
The chess motif is not just a superficial element; it's intricately woven into the story's fabric, influencing character interactions and plot progression.
Key aspects of the chess structure include:
- Alice's Journey: Alice moves across the chessboard-like landscape, mirroring the movement of a pawn in chess.
- Character Roles: Many characters represent chess pieces, such as the Red and White Queens.
- Predetermined Moves: The story's events often follow a predetermined sequence, much like moves in a chess game.
"I declare it's marked out just like a large chessboard!" Alice said at last. "There ought to be some men moving about somewhere—and so there are!" she added in a tone of delight, and her heart began to beat quick with excitement as she went on. "It's a great huge game of chess that's being played—all over the world—if this is the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun it is! How I wish I was one of them! I wouldn't mind being a Pawn, if only I might join—though of course I should like to be a Queen, best."
This passage beautifully encapsulates Alice's realization of the chess-like nature of her adventure, setting the stage for her journey to queenhood.
Inversions and Reflections
True to its title, "Through the Looking-Glass" is filled with inversions and reflections, creating a topsy-turvy world that challenges logic and perception.
Reversed Logic
Carroll delights in presenting scenarios where conventional logic is turned on its head. For instance:
- The White Queen lives backwards in time, remembering future events and forgetting past ones.
- Running fast keeps you in the same place in the Looking-Glass world.
"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
This quote from the Red Queen exemplifies the inverted logic of the Looking-Glass world, where even movement follows paradoxical rules.
Mirror Imagery
The concept of reflection is central to the story, manifesting in various ways:
- Physical Reflections: The looking-glass itself serves as a portal to an inverted world.
- Linguistic Inversions: Carroll plays with language, creating mirror poems and reversed dialogues.
