Gender Roles In Alice In Wonderland
In Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Alice starts off as a “bad girl,” but eventually becomes a “good girl” via her actions. Thus, the narrative arc of the story is that she will conform to traditional gender roles; Disney states that a woman will only be able to thrive in society if she conforms to her prescribed gender roles. A “bad girl” is characterized as being violent, aggressive, worldly, and often monstrous; whereas, traditional gender roles favor a “good girl” who is identified as gentle, submissive, virginal, and angelic. In the opening scene, Alice is deemed the “bad girl” because she is confident, curious, educated, which does not fit into traditional gender roles for females. She does not want to pay attention in her lesson, and she
wants to explore, which society tells her she should do. Once the story reaches the point of crisis when Alice has to overcome obstacles to get to the white rabbit, Alice transitions from a “bad girl” to a “good girl.” For example, every time she eats or drinks something to make herself grow or shrink she demonstrates this transition; however, the first time she does this with the doorknob is especially demonstrative of her passive femininity at this point in the narrative arc. She abandons her place of curiosity and denies her education and logic of eating unknown food in an unknown place, listening to the doorknob and eating the tarts, represents her only way to progress through Wonderland and get to what she wants the white rabbit because it is the only way she can pass through the door. She has to adapt to what that life requires to get to what she wants; she demonstrates this every time she eats or drinks something and denies her own knowledge. However, by the end of the story once Alice is back in Wonderland, she represents the “good girl.” When she comes back to reality, she immediately and willingly recites her lesson. She realizes that logic and reason exist for a purpose. Thus, the way she has to act in society is there for a certain reason. Unconsciously, be realizing she has to act in a certain way that society prescribes for her, she realizes that in a patriarchal society, she has to transform from a “bad girl” to a good girl in order to “make it.”
wants to explore, which society tells her she should do. Once the story reaches the point of crisis when Alice has to overcome obstacles to get to the white rabbit, Alice transitions from a “bad girl” to a “good girl.” For example, every time she eats or drinks something to make herself grow or shrink she demonstrates this transition; however, the first time she does this with the doorknob is especially demonstrative of her passive femininity at this point in the narrative arc. She abandons her place of curiosity and denies her education and logic of eating unknown food in an unknown place, listening to the doorknob and eating the tarts, represents her only way to progress through Wonderland and get to what she wants the white rabbit because it is the only way she can pass through the door. She has to adapt to what that life requires to get to what she wants; she demonstrates this every time she eats or drinks something and denies her own knowledge. However, by the end of the story once Alice is back in Wonderland, she represents the “good girl.” When she comes back to reality, she immediately and willingly recites her lesson. She realizes that logic and reason exist for a purpose. Thus, the way she has to act in society is there for a certain reason. Unconsciously, be realizing she has to act in a certain way that society prescribes for her, she realizes that in a patriarchal society, she has to transform from a “bad girl” to a good girl in order to “make it.”