Normally these posts are somewhat pre-meditated, in the sense that the topic has crossed my mind on more than one occasion, and I have had time to consider what I would say here on the internet concerning that topic.
Today is different.
But upon switching tabs to Facebook just barely, my mind has picked up the topic of Alice in Wonderland. This is a story written by Lewis Carroll, also known as Charles Dodgson. Under his alias of "Charles Dodgson", Lewis Carroll did math. He actually made some very influential discoveries in the fields of geometry, matrices, and logic. But that has little to do with meta-writing, despite how interesting it is.
What does have to do with writing is Alice in Wonderland and the Jabberwocky. These are pieces of writing. I have read Jabberwocky many a time, and I've even sung it. It's a lovely arrangement. Listen to it now. (Pay attention to the drum on the offbeats. I love it.) I've seen the Alice movies (both Disney versions) but unfortunately have not read the book. This is something that I desire to do, however I have not managed to find a good version of it yet. The public library only had abridged versions of it in the children's section. Oh, public library...how could you fail me? Perhaps I should renew my search...one day...when I have a surplus of time... :P
Anyway. Wonderland is an intriguing topic. Alice gets there accidentally, and it's a wonderful place with cats and hatters and red roses. Then the cartoon version and the more recent version kindof diverge...The remake was less of an Alice in Wonderland and more of a Lewis Carroll's WonderMind to me...which is perhaps why I loved it so thoroughly. Either way, Alice ends up leaving Wonderland for some reason or another. And this is unfortunate. But it's not uncommon. The Pevensies leave Narnia, Dorothy leaves Oz...no matter who you are, when you accidentally find yourself in a fantasic realm, you want to go home. Silly, silly...
But I think this ties in to the concept of Utopia. Which in addition to being a concept is also a book. I'll have to add that one to my reading list as well...
Anyway. The word "utopia" is a fascinating one to me. I don't know why, but I love etymology. So here's some for you: Although the phrase was originally coined in a book written in Latin, "utopia" is a Greek word, literally meaning "no place". It has adopted a double meaning, however, due to the word "eu", meaning "good" (euphemism, anyone?), which sounds very much like "oú", the original greek work meaning "not". Because of the similarity in pronunciation, the word has taken on both meanings: "good place" and "no place".
And certainly the fantastic realms of Oz and Narnia and Wonderland are far from utopic, with evil queens and witches...but it still seems to me that each of them is far more ideal and exciting than any of the worlds the children left. So why do they always come home? Perhaps because they are children and need a place of safety and comfort, away from responsibility and confusion.
But I think there is also some sort of aversion to wonderful places. Because we all know that Utopia doesn't actually exist. Even when we're children, we know that it's too good to be true and we have to go home and address the sorrows we left there. Even after we've vanquished the queen of hearts, the white witch, and the wicked witch of the west, we still leave the world that we fixed to return to a world which we have not yet fixed. Which in a way, accomplishes nothing. Yet we still do it. No matter how much we should want to live in a utopia, home is still where we want to belong.
And In reality, I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this post, but it has been quite enlightening.
Thank you.
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