La problématique identitaire au prisme du fantastique dans Alice au pays des merveilles
The Problematic of Identity through the Prism of Fantasy in Alice in Wonderland

Author(s): Sonia Dosoruth
Subject(s): Studies of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: identity; fantasy; algebraic lessons; strangeness; Underland;
Summary/Abstract: This paper will examine the representation of identity through the prism of fantasy in the book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll in its French version namely Alice au pays des merveilles (the 2010 edition) and the film Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton (2010). We shall depict the background of the Victorian era which might have had a direct influence on the author. That should allow us to portray the intrinsic aspects which characterise the writing of the book. Lewis, being a mathematician, has also slipped into his book a numerous amount of examples related to the realm of mathematics precisely through algebraic lessons. This element surely brings into light the fantasy approach of the book like the strangeness of animals Alice comes to meet. It also sheds light on issues that Alice will have to face, including that which allows her to reflect on her identity. However the lavish interpretation (to be understood in its positive sense here) given to the book has been the film by Tim Burton in 2010. Burton, through specific technical effects like the numerical Dalsa camera which greatly helps to double The Queen of Heart’s head, also uses a green background for most parts of the film with computer-generated imagery (CGI). The technical approach gives a real sense of fantasy to the film and the identity of the then grown-up Alice is awakened. It soars to give her much prowess to come to terms with the Jabberwocky, the enemy she only can kill through the use of the vorpal sword according to the Oraculum, the illustrated scroll that tells the past, present and future in the Underland.

• Details
• Contents