Lewis Carroll’s books are some of the most quoted works of literature in the world. It’s funny that his Hatter character, who is silly most of the time in the original books, has become sort of a Willie Wonka character in popular culture—the eccentric uncle who, despite being really weird, or maybe because of it, somehow manages to say exactly the right thing when you need it. So much so, that he’s been attributed some wonderful quotes he never actually even said in any of the books or movies.
I think that, at least in part, this is because Hatter has become sort of a stand-in for Carroll himself, who was silly and eccentric, but incredibly caring and insightful. I used one of his quotes as the epigraph for my second Wonderland Diaries book.
Those for whom a child’s mind
is a sealed book,
and who see no divinity
in a child’s smile,
would read such words in vain:
while for any one that has
ever loved one true child,
no words are needed.
—Lewis Carroll
One of my biggest fears in writing middle grade spin-offs of Carroll’s work was that, while I will never be the writer he was, I wanted to capture the feel of his writing in my own books. That is a ton of pressure, but it’s also exciting.
In book one, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Hatter because he had been trapped at the tea party, but in book two, his mirror image Hatta is in a large portion of the book, giving me lots of time to flesh out his character. I also got to spend time with characters from Through the Looking Glass including The White Queen, the Tweedles, Humpty Dumpty, and others. Here are some of their quotes.
“Mirrors are prisms of how we see ourselves and the world around us—echo chambers reflecting back our greatest wishes and deepest terrors.” Hatta
“Impossible only means no one has discovered how to do it yet.” White Queen
“Failure is nothing to fear. It is simply one of many possible outcomes of dreams and aspirations. Those who have never failed are those who have never tried.” Hatta
“When a stream becomes bigger, it turns into a river. A tadpole grows into a frog. A seed grows into a turnip—or possibly a castor oil. That’s the way of things. It’s all a part of the logic of growination.” Tweedle Dum
“The key is to understand what you are fighting for. Once you know that, it’s easier to see what you’re fighting against.” Hatta
“Adjectives are friendly little things. They just want attention. It’s the verbs you have to look out for. Some of them have quite a temper.” Humpty Dumpty
“Fashion doesn’t give people anything; it only accentuates what they already possess.” Hatta
“A failebration,” the queen corrected, mussing with her hair and only making it worse. “Each fall is a trip toward greatness. Each tumble a somersault in the choreography of success.” The White Queen
“Food craves attention. Let it think you could eat it all day, and you’ll never get enough. Pretend you’re not allowed to have a morsel, and it will do everything it can to tempt you.” Hatta
“Fear and desire can do terrible things.” The Jabberwock
3 Comments
Ooooooh…can’t wait to read book 2!!!
Question: Will the 4 book be based on the four diaries that went missing?
I hope so!