The Muse Of Lewis Carroll. Fairy-tale the life of Alice Liddell
May 4, 1852, was born Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired Lewis Carroll to write the famous tale “Alice in Wonderland”.
Lewis Carroll was very attached to little Alice Liddell, from-for what there was a lot of ridiculous rumors and accusations, discrediting the name of the author. The birthday of the Muse of the famous writer and mathematician Aify recalls the story of her life.
Best friends
Alice Liddell was the fourth child of the Dean of one of the colleges at Oxford, where Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (real name of Lewis Carroll) taught mathematics. It’s funny that lectures the future of the storyteller, the students considered the most boring in the world, and to Carroll, they seemed uninteresting at the time, he was passionate about photography.
In the spring of 1856 Carroll met in the garden of the children of Henry Liddell and asked my parents for permission to capture on pictures cheerful girls. An Amateur photographer and especially liked the 4-year-old Alice, in which there was not a drop of English primness: well-mannered girl was just a child and without hesitation asked any questions. Besides, she didn’t want to become an adult, as a once-and Sam Carroll.
24-year-old boy in a matter of days close friends with Liddell. Childless bachelor who liked to spend time visiting a large family, besides, he from childhood accustomed to dealing with girls (he had 3 brothers and 7 sisters). The Liddell children were also in awe of the young teacher, they frolicked with him in the Park, fooling around and even went boating, what a mathematician once wrote an acrostic (a poem where the first letters of the lines make up the words), included in the book “Alice in Wonderland”:
Andx, what was a bright day!
Lodka, sun, Shine and shadow,
And everywhere bloomed lilacs.
Withsisters listen to the story,
As the river takes us.
That children are not missed, the teacher entertained them with funny stories.
During the summer of 1862, during the regular boat trips on the Thames, he invented a story about Alice, who, chasing the white rabbit, caught in the middle of an incredible adventure. Sisters Alice in history, too, was a place — senior lorina turned to Lory, who was convinced all his seniority and mind, and the younger Edith got the role of a Eaglet ed.
The girls were in awe of tales and constantly demanded its continuation. The very same Alice asked his friend to record on paper all of the little stories about her.
“And let there be any more stupid!” — she insisted.
In the middle of 1864 the writer had completed work on the first version of the tale, called “Alice’s adventures under ground.” Handwritten book bound in leather, on the last page of which was pasted a photograph of Alice, the author sent the Liddell family with the caption “Christmas gift dear child in memory of a summer day.”
The story of the close friendship of Alice and Carroll ended. Some researchers suggest that Carroll took pictures of sisters naked, and responsive the mother was suspected of a young man in dirty intentions. She asked the photographer to stay away from his daughters.
However, no direct evidence of malice Carroll no. The diary of a writer of that period have not survived, but Mrs. Liddell destroyed most of the pictures of girls young teacher, and even burned his letters to Alice.
In defense of Carroll expressed his commentator, famous writer and mathematician Martin Gardner: “…He Carroll thought his friendship with the girls completely innocent; there is no reason to doubt that it was. Besides numerous memoirs, which later has left of him is his little girlfriend, no hint of any violations of decency.”
Fairy-tale life
In 28 years, Alice married one of the students of Carroll kricketot Reginald Hargreaves. Ex-fidget became a housewife and gave birth to three sons since she met up with an old friend a few times.
As we know from the diary of a writer, a date with the Muse has made it a bitter impression: “it Was not easy to collect into one in her mind to a new person and my old memories of her: her current strange appearance that was once so close to and loved “Alice””.
Fortunately, Carol did not know what fate awaits his favorite.
During the First world war, Alice had lost two children, and after her husband’s death was forced to sell the most valuable manuscript of the tales, given by the author.
For “Alice’s adventures under ground” to Sotheby’s Muse writer rescued 15 400 pounds, which enabled her to pay off debts.
Alice lived 82 years and died 36 years after the death of the writer who immortalized her image.
In old age, for others, it was still a Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”, but this glory was for her burden. To her son she wrote:
Oh, my dear! I’m tired of being Alice in Wonderland! It sounds ungrateful but I’m so tired!
But even after her death, she left Alice in the fairy tale, on her gravestone is inscribed: “the Grave of Mrs Reginald Hargreaves, the Alice of “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll”.