Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland depicts a female protagonist who is subservient and is very much in a patriarchal society. For example, when Alice confronts the caterpillar who tells her to eat the mushroom and also gives her the instruction that “one side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter” (73). This instruction is very ambiguous. She doesn’t know what the food will exactly do to her, but without hesitation or question, she does as she is told. This is the stereotype of the servile woman being fulfilled.
A contemporary depiction of gender expression would be best shown through Leslie Knope on the famous TV show Parks and Recreation. Never before has a woman been so defiantly and clearly been a leader on her own television show, which allows her to follow her own path and make her decisions. The contrast between Knope and Alice is extraordinary; Leslie Knope highlights the infantile and subservient nature of Alice in the book by being herself such a powerful and mature woman character. Alice demonstrates that Leslie is someone whom she could strive to be, but is not there yet. The hope is that Alice can morph into Leslie as soon as possible.
Citation:
Carroll, Lewis. “Advice from a Caterpillar.” Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. New York: Knopf, 1988. 73. Print.
Parks and Recreation
What’s also interesting about the comparison is that both Alice and Leslie are seen as doe-eyed curious blondes, and they are also despite playing in a kind of man’s world rather imperialist themselves They both insist on the rules, and they both try to change the environments according to their understanding of the rules.
Really interesting comparison. I wish you had of elaborated more, but really interesting.