“Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!”
— Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
Alice after her size changes. Carroll turns a child's confusion into an existential question — identity is not given but constantly renegotiated.
Author Quotes
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English writer of children's fiction, notably Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. He was noted for his facility with word play, fantasy, and logic.
“It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
— Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
Alice on the impossibility of return. Carroll anticipates process philosophy — the self is not a fixed entity but a moving stream. Yesterday's Alice is gone.
“Begin at the beginning, the King said gravely, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
— Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
The King of Hearts's instructions at the trial. The absurd simplicity of the advice satirizes both judicial procedure and narrative convention.
“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”
— Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (attributed) (1865)
Often attributed to the Cheshire Cat, though the exact phrasing is disputed. The sentiment — that fancy is our defense against a hostile world — runs through all of Carroll's work.