Alice's Adventures and the Mad Hatter

The book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" written by the English writer

, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (usually known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll) has long been a beloved book for generations. It's hard to believe that he ever considered that his little book about Alice and her companions in Wonderland would still fascinate and entertain after almost 150 years. But such is the power of books that bring out your imagination with such wonderfully vivid and imaginative characters and situations. The story of a young girl Alice falling down the rabbit hole into a land of illusions populated by rather unusual creatures has an enduring appeal. How few of the little children who have read this story have not imagined visiting Wonderland and its magical characters, regardless of whether just for a day!

Perhaps the most recognizable (human) character in the book is "The Hatter," frequently referred to as the "Mad Hatter," he is constantly at tea with his friend March Hare because he was once accused of "killing time" in a celebration for the Red Queen and had been sentenced to death! While he evaded execution, he and his friend were then perpetually stuck at 6:00 because Time had stopped himself with respect to the Hatter as revenge for the attempted "murder." The Hatter is called "mad" by the Cheshire Cat, who directs Alice to the "Mad Tea Party," but he's not the only character found in the story so described.

Both "mad as a hatter" and "mad as a march hare" were frequently used phrases in Dodgson's England. While in the case of the Hatter, the phrase referred to an unfortunate condition that many hatmakers suffered: mercury poisoning. At that time, the process used to turn fur into felt used a solution that contained mercury. Mercury from the solution would get into the air while in the hatmaking shops and factories and be breathed in by the hatmakers. The mercury would build up in their bodies over time and cause trembling, memory loss, irritability and anxiety. Even today, mercury poisoning is often called "Mad Hatter Syndrome" by doctors, though hatmakers no longer suffer from it.

Many historians suggest that this Mad Hatter was inspired by a real man known to the author, a furniture seller named Theophilus Carter who owned a shop in Oxford from the early 1850s to the mid 1890s. Mr. Carter was also known as a (rather eccentric) inventor, his most noteworthy creation being an alarm-clock bed that deposited the dreamer onto the floor. Mad, indeed! Dodgson was suspected of modeling many others of his characters after people he knew and worked with at Oxford, to boot.

A mad hatter costume makes a great choice for Halloween. The distinctive appearance of the hatter was created by the original illustrator of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," Sir John Tenniel. He always wears a top-hat complete with the price card still in the band; the price is set at 10/6, which means "10 schillings and 6 pence," or about half a guinea in the old English money system. This was actually a significant sum of money when the the story was written, roughly equivalent to about $500 US today. In addition to this signature hat, he wears a weathered topcoat and an oversized tie. In most of the film productions, the colors of his clothing tend to the gaudy and flamboyant. Particularly with this year's production of "Alice in Wonderland" from Disney pictures, a mad hatter costume will be a terrific choice; everyone who has seen the film will remember Johnny Depp's performance as the Mad Hatter, and recognize you instantly!

Alice's Adventures and the Mad Hatter

By: daniuxdabe

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