Kate Barry 

My Thesis explores the figure of Alice from the Alice in Wonderland books 1865 – 1871, I examine how the main character ‘Alice’ has been sexualised through time, and how the books have been reimagined through different mediums.
The relationship between ‘Lewis Carroll’ and his muse ‘Alice Liddell’ has led to speculation on the nature of the relationship between man and child, corrupting the original intentions of a curious and intelligent child, into an erotic, mentally unstable figure. Ongoing analysis of Lewis Carroll’s persona has altered the fundamental innocence of the Alice Books placing the Alice figure vulnerable to exploitation. This is demonstrated in modern and contemporary art image and other relevant areas. Victorian culture and norms influenced the writings of Lewis Carroll leading to speculation concerning his persona and his relationship with child Alice Liddell. The adult themes, undertones, desire to shock and the exploitation of the Alice figure within art image and other areas show a seven-year-old girl transformed into an erotic femme-enfant through different media. The Alice books and Alice figure have also been used for other inspirational subjects and interests in a positive manner, but I focus on the more common treatment of Alice the figure, issues and concerns. I examine how Alice is portrayed as the adult but is nevertheless, always the child forever captured in the Alice Books. Adult representation of the child character is uncomfortable however disguised within art image and text; I explore how this representation is problematic.