Types of Focalization in Tenniel’s Illustrations

The illustrator is the narrator in the context of a book illustration. In illustrating Alice’s Adventures, John Tenniel sometimes depicts a scene from the point of view in accordance to that of its corresponding text, but sometimes does not. In order to describe the various points of view, Tenniel applies to his illustrations of Alice’s Adventures, Genette‘s tripartite typology of focalization will be used in the following analysis.

Among the forty-two illustrations (frontispiece included) of the book, thirty-three apply external focalization, three can be connected with the principle of the fixed internal focalization, one with multiple focalization, whereas the other five represent the scenes of two nonsense verses recited by Alice.²¹⁷ For example, the illustration of Father William Standing with His Head (fig. 53) depicts the scene described by the verses:

216 Chatman (as note 203), p. 156.

217 There are four scenes about the nonsense verse ―You are old, Father William‖ and one scene about

―‘Tis the voice of the sluggard.‖ Carroll (as note 11), pp. 63–66, 157.

65

―You are old, Father William,‖ the young man said,

―And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head – Do you think, at your age, it is right?‖

Since these verses are recited by Alice, Father William and the young man exist only in the verse. They do not belong to the story world of Wonderland. That is to say, these characters in the verses cannot be seen by any characters in Wonderland.

Neither can they be focalized by any focalizers, either that of inside or outside one.

Theoretically, this kind of scene should not have been depicted in the first place. For this reason, the five anomalies mentioned above are not included in the following discussion.

7.2.1. External Focalization

In cases such as Alice with Long Neck, Alice Swimming in the Pool of Tears, Alice in the Duchess’s Kitchen, Alice Watching the White Rabbit Running Away (figs. 5, 7, 16, 49), the text does not elucidate if the characters are witnessing what is happening in the respective scene. Consequently, these scenes could only be focalized by an external focalization, namely by an implied painterly narrator. In the scene of Fish Footman and Frog Footman (fig. 15), for instance, in which a fish in servant‘s attire is handing over a big envelope to a frog who is also dressed like a domestic, the analysis of focalization is problematic. According to the text, ―both footmen, Alice noticed, had powdered hair that curled all over their head,‖²¹⁸ which seems to indicate that Alice is witnessing the scene. In the following line, however, ―[s]he felt very curious to know what it was about, and crept a little way out of the wood to listen.‖²¹⁹ In this context, the word ―listen‖ has to be closely scrutinized; it suggests that Alice hides herself ―a little way out of the wood‖ in order not to be noticed by the

218 Carroll (as note 11), p. 76.

219 Carroll (as note 11), pp. 77–78.

66

two frogs so that she is able to ―know what it was all about‖ through eavesdropping.

This means that the scene depicted is not the fixed internal focalization through Alice, especially when considering the scene is depicted from a short distance where Alice cannot hide herself without being discovered, but a scene of external focalization through again the implied painterly narrator.

Occasionally, in some scenes not only references from the text of the respective episode but also clues, which appear in other scenes, are needed in order to define the focalization. In The Mad Hatter Singing a Song, for instance, the text explains that the figure is singing a song during a conversation with Alice, while only the singing Hatter and the sleeping Dormouse are shown in the picture (fig. 9).²²⁰ Therefore, it can be assumed that the scene is focalized by Alice, namely if we apply the principle of fixed internal focalization. Closer scrutiny reveals that the scene is depicted from a position opposite to the Hatter, at the other side of the table. It is already known from the previous scene of Alice Joining the Tea-Party (fig. 51) that Alice is sitting at the short side of the table to the Mad Hatter‘s right; from this position, however, Alice would not be able to perceive the scene of The Mad Hatter singing a song. Once more, the principle of external focalization was applied. In composing the scene, Tenniel must have been fully aware of the reciprocal relationship between Alice and the Mad Hatter. That is why the Mad Hatter is depicted as facing to the place where Alice is located.

7.2.2. Fixed Internal Focalization

The three scenes, in which a fixed internal focalization was applied, can easily be identified. The first example is the opening illustration of chapter 1, The White Rabbit

220 Carroll (as note 11), p. 103.

67

Looking at a Watch (fig. 24).²²¹ Represented in profile, a Rabbit wearing a waist-coat with an umbrella tucked under one arm is concentrated on reading his watch. The figure is evidently focalized through Alice as the text says that ―she [Alice] had never before seen a rabbit with either a waist-coat-pocket or a watch to take out of it.‖²²² The scene of March Hare and Mad Hatter Putting the Dormouse in the Teapot (fig.

29), the second example, shows exactly what its corresponding text says that ―the last time she [Alice] saw them [that is, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare], they were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.‖²²³ The depiction of the scene and the description from the text both confirm the same origin of focalization, namely the fixed internal focalization through Alice. The third example is the scene of The Cheshire Cat Overlooking the Quarreling King, Queen and Executioner (fig. 54).²²⁴ In the upper part of the picture plane, the isolated head of a big cat with grinning features is rendered en face overlooking a quarrel between the executioner, the King, and the Queen below and in front of a compact line of courtiers. The first text passage mentioning the quarrel scene reads as follows: ―When she [Alice] got back to the Cheshire Cat, she was surprised to find quite a large crowd collected round it: there was a dispute going on between the executioner, the King, and the Queen, who were all talking at once, while all the rest were quite silent, and looked very

uncomfortable.‖²²⁵ From the beginning of the dispute to its end, that is two pages later,²²⁶ Alice is carefully watching—or ―focalizing‖—the development of the situation, including the moment illustrated in the quarrel scene described above.

Hence, a fixed internal focalization forms the basis of this scene.

68

7.2.3. Multiple-Internal Focalization

Among the 42 illustrations in the entire book, the only scene that follows the principle of a multiple-internal focalization is The Sleeping Gryphon (fig. 42).²²⁷ The picture is based on what we are told from the corresponding text directly below: ―They [the Queen and Alice] very soon came upon a Gryphon, lying fast asleep in the sun.‖²²⁸ Both the Queen and Alice are witnesses to the scene. The scene shows only the gryphon crouching on the ground with a rough sketch of the surrounding landscape;

figures are not included, which indicates that the Queen and Alice are not the focalized but the focalizers. There should be considerable nuances in what the two people see, no matter how close their view points are. That we read a multiple-internal focalization in the scene of the sleeping Gryphon does not mean that natural law is violated; it is due to the fact that the very same scene is focalized either by the Queen or by Alice.

7.3. Discrepancies between Text and Illustrations with Regard to Focalization