in almost every other children's book where the main heroine is swept away to a land of whimsy she's shown having a lovely time; braving dangers occasionally, trying to find her way home, sure, but ultimately delighting in the magic around her. meanwhile alice spends her entire time in wonderland like
look, hereâs the thing: alice in wonderlandâs enduring fucking charm is that it perfectly captures the vibe of being a very tired and annoyed child who is nonetheless required to play along with adult nonsense.
alice is dragged from place to place without warning, forced to play stupid games with no good prizes, grilled over her schooling and manners and recitation and dress, scolded, judged, insulted to her face, sent away, given gifts she didnât ask for and doesnât like, corrected incorrectly, been subject to shifting and arbitrary rules, and then when she gets snappish with all this bullshit everyone acts like a little girlâs temper is the end of the fucking world.
alice in wonderland isnât a drug trip or a nightmare or a metaphor, thatâs just what being ten years old is LIKE. thatâs why kids love it so much. even if they canât quite articulate how, they recognize themselves in it.




















