| Wonderland | |
| Image2 Size: | 100px |
| Source: | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
| Alt Name: | Underland |
| Creator: | Lewis Carroll |
| Ruler: | Queen of Hearts |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Type: | Monarchy |
| Locations: | Rabbit hole, March Hare's house, Queen's Croquet Ground |
| People: | White Rabbit, Duchess, Cheshire Cat, the Hatter, March Hare, Mock Turtle, Queen of Hearts |
| First: | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
Wonderland is the setting for Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Wonderland, the surreal and whimsical setting of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, is a place where conventional geography and logic are turned upside down. Alice enters this bizarre world through a rabbit hole, leading her to a hall of doors, each offering passage to different, unpredictable parts of Wonderland. This dreamlike landscape includes a beautiful but initially inaccessible garden, a pool formed by Alice's own tears, and a magical mushroom with the power to alter her size. The geography further unravels with scenes like the Mad Hatter's perpetual tea party, set at an endlessly long table outdoors, and the Queen of Hearts’ croquet ground, where flamingos serve as mallets and hedgehogs as balls. The courtroom, where Alice witnesses an absurd trial, encapsulates the chaotic and arbitrary nature of Wonderland. Throughout her journey, Alice navigates a constantly shifting environment that mirrors her inner experiences, emphasizing themes of transformation, disorientation, and the challenges of growing up in a world where nothing is as it seems.
In the story, Wonderland is accessed by an underground passage, and Alice reaches it by travelling down a rabbit hole.[1] While the location is apparently somewhere beneath Oxfordshire, Carroll does not specify how far down it is, and he has Alice speculate whether it is near the center of the Earth or even at the Antipodes.[2]
The land is heavily wooded and grows mushrooms. There are well-kept gardens and substantial houses, such as those of the Duchess and the White Rabbit. Wonderland has a seacoast, where the Mock Turtle lives.
The land is nominally ruled by the Queen of Hearts, whose whimsical decrees of capital punishment are routinely nullified by the King of Hearts. Other kings and queens are mentioned as their guests, and are implied to be the kings and queens of the other card suits. There is at least one Duchess.
The main population consists of animated playing cards: the royal family (hearts), courtiers (diamonds), soldiers (clubs), and servants (spades). In addition, there are many talking animals.
Among the characters Alice meets are:
Wonderland is featured in many of its adaptions:
Wonderland is featured in Once Upon a Time and its spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. In this series, there are two iterations of Wonderland.
