Was Lewis Carroll a pedophile?

Question

I have always loved Alice in Wonderland. Recently someone told me Lewis Carroll was abusing Alice, the real girl he wrote the book for. Has anyone heard that?

Answer 1

Consensus seems to be that he wasn't. According to the Boston Globe article linked below, although he took "cheesecake" photos of young girls, it was an academic joke gone awry that started the rumours of him being a pedophile - in 1933, A.M.E. Goldschmidt wrote an essay called "'Alice in Wonderland' Psycho-Analysed", which claimed to find all sorts of sexual symbolism in "Alice", but which was meant as a parody of Freudian literary analysis.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Nobody knows for certain whether Lewis Carroll was a pedophile or not. Sme of the photos of him with Alice look incriminating, and documents he left behind are somewhat incriminating, but it's still not exactly hard proof. Particularly the diary... Because there are no living witnesses it's hard to say whether he actually performed what he describes or if he just wrote down his fantasies as if they were reality. And there's no way of knowing how in appropriate his relationship with the Liddell sisters really was... Whether it stopped at photos and comments (still in appropriate) or rape. We'll never how much of Wonderland was inspired by sex, hallucinogenic drugs, or otherwise. As great of games as American McGee's Alice and Madness Returns are, they take a lot of liberties with history for the sake of fantasy. The real Alice Liddell was never incarcerated at an asylum, and went on to live a fairly normal life along with her sister.

Answer 3

Apparently Lewis Carroll was a reserved child with a stammer who became a adult with a hesitiation in his manner resulting from the stammer. He still coped fairly well in society.

He was known to be close to all members of Alice's family and to have a fondness for children and although there has been a lot of speculation on this subject, the truth is these rumours are based on just a few biographies that have made innocent statements that in later decades have seemed suspect. However, we have no proof and no reason to supect him of being a pedophile.

Answer 4

I've heard that before but it can never be proven. he enjoyed spending time with young girls and photographed them in a way that Victorian society might have raise a brow at, but in the end, he didn't' DO anything. this topic has been written about extensively and the latest biography of Carroll's life revealed several love letters that seem to counter any notions of pedophilia.

I've always felt these rumors endured because people are somewhat uncomfortable with the closeness between an adult and a child just blooming sexually. the stories (Alice and through looking glass) are rife with metaphors for this--but they're also (and i might add more importantly) filled with biting social and political satire.

Answer 5

I doubt it. Lewis Carrol was a decent dood (better way of spelling the word, dont'cha think?) and wrote two good stories.

Answer 6

I dont believe that for a minute who told you that ? you cannot believe everything you hear I highly doubt that . Just enjoy alice in wonderland .

Answer 7

While it's true that he took photos of little girls in their slips, there's no evidence that he molested them.

Answer 8

i've never heard that rumor before.