As Above So Below? Madness and Nonsense in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

This chapter studies the nonsensical nature of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but diverges from the bulk of nonsense theory in its inclusion of madness into our postulations on nonsense and meaning-making practices within the text. We begin by exploring the ways in which Western hegemonic societal discourses have defined nonsense and madness. We use this knowledge as a foundation from which to consider our primary thread of inquiry, which is the nature of interpretation. Interrogating binaric trends of normative hermeneutic practices offers insight into the ways in which madness and nonsense function as two dynamic phenomena. We end this chapter with a consideration of auto-theory as a respectful methodology of reading.