Duchess (Alice's Adventures In Wonderland)
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The Duchess is a character in
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
's ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'', published in 1865. Carroll does not describe her physically in much detail, although as stated in Chapter 9, "Alice did not much like keeping so close to her: first, because the Duchess was ''very'' ugly; and secondly, because she was exactly the right height to rest her chin upon Alice’s shoulder, and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin." Her hideous appearance and short stature is strongly established in the popular imagination thanks to
John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
's illustrations and from context it is clear that
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
finds her quite unattractive.


Origin

The Duchess is an antagonist of The Queen of Hearts. In her first appearance, the Duchess seems nearly as unpleasant as the Queen herself, but later on treats Alice with friendliness and respect. According to
Martin Gardner Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing magic, scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writin ...
in ''
The Annotated Alice ''The Annotated Alice'' is a 1960 book by Martin Gardner incorporating the text of Lewis Carroll's major tales, ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and ''Through the Looking-Glass'' (1871), as well as the original illustrations by John Te ...
'',
John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
's drawings of the Duchess were inspired by Quentin Matsys's '' The Ugly Duchess'' (c. 1513) in the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
. It has been said that the painting is a portrait of
Margaret, Countess of Tyrol Margaret, nicknamed Maultasch (1318 – 3 October 1369), was the last Countess of Tyrol from the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner''), and an unsuccessful claimant to the Duchy of Carinthia. Upon her death, Tyrol became united with the Austrian h ...
, who had the reputation of being the ugliest woman who ever existed. The painting, however, was done 200 years after her death.


Description

The Duchess lives in Wonderland in a small house just outside the
Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
's forest. She employs a footman, whom Alice thinks resembles a frog, and a Cook, who is addicted to pepper and who throws crockery and kitchen utensils over her shoulder with no concern for those who might be hit. The footman enjoys staring at the sky for days on end, oblivious to most people in or out of the house. The Duchess also has a baby and a cat (the
Cheshire Cat The Cheshire Cat ( ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Chesh ...
). Lewis Carroll is not explicit about her physical attributes, but Tenniel's drawings illustrate an ugly and grotesque woman with an extremely large head. Her character is strongly volatile; at times she even seems to have a double personality. When she first meets Alice in her kitchen, she shows herself to be nervously aggressive. She recites one of the better-known rhymes in the book, when she advocates beating a child for sneezing: ''Speak roughly to your little boy
and beat him when he sneezes
he only does it to annoy
because he knows it teases.
I speak severely to my boy
I beat him when he sneezes
for he can thoroughly enjoy
the pepper when he pleases'' As the Cook has absolutely saturated the kitchen with pepper and the baby sneezes constantly, one can only conclude he has probably suffered quite a bit at his mother's hands. Taking pity on the child, Alice spirits him away, only to find that he has transformed into a pig. It is never explained why this happens, but Alice looks on the bright side, concluding that while the baby wasn't a very attractive baby, it makes for a good-looking pig. Of the Duchess' household, the Cat appears to be by far the most balanced and sensible, although it states that—like everyone else in Wonderland—it is mad. When Alice meets the Duchess for the second time at the Queen's croquet party, the Duchess is much more chatty and pleasant tempered. She repeatedly places her chin firmly on Alice's shoulder, which Alice finds disturbing as well as uncomfortable, as the Duchess has a very sharp, pointy chin. (In
Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...
's novel ''
Breakfast of Champions ''Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday'' is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. His seventh novel, it is set predominantly in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two characters: Dwayne Hoover, a Mid ...
'' he also has a character do this, and Vonnegut breaks the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
to tell readers that it is a direct homage to this famous scene with the Duchess.) Even so, Alice begins to suspect that the Duchess might actually have a pleasant personality after all, and that her earlier ruthlessness was caused by the pepper. The Duchess is often seen as a child's-eye-view of emotionally volatile and mysterious adults, switching back and forth between dark moods and condescending affection at unpredictable times.


The Duchess' Cook

The Duchess' Cook lives in the Duchess' Palace, is obsessed with pepper and throws it all over the place, causing the Baby and Duchess to sneeze constantly. She also smashes plates everywhere with crockery and kitchen utensils. She is called to testify as a witness at the trial later in the book, and when told to give her evidence, she replies "Shan't." After the
White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dea ...
tells the King that he is required to cross examine this witness, the King asks her what tarts are made of, to which she answers "pepper."


Tim Burton

In the 2010 Tim Burton film, Thackery Earwicket (March Hare) shares many of The Cook's characteristics such as enjoying smashing plates and throwing pepper everywhere.


Other media

*
Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including on Broadway. She was hono ...
played the Duchess (and
Imogene Coca Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and pursu ...
the Cook) in the 1985 film ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
''. * The Duchess appeared in the
Sunsoft , is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, video game developer and publisher. They are known for their video games under the brand name Sunsoft. History In April 1971, Sun Electronics Corporation (alternatively called Sun Denshi) was founded i ...
's 2006
mobile game A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...
. She is an enormous and extremely overweight woman who eats non-stop for twelve years and Ariko (the "Alice" of the game) is tasked by her husband, The Duke, to make her stop. * The Duchess appeared in the "
Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...
" episode of ''
The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...
'' (with the episode being the Muppet adaption of "Alice in Wonderland") performed by Kathryn Mullen. A Whatnot puppet was dressed up to play the Duchess. * The Duchess also appears in
John Kendrick Bangs John Kendrick Bangs (May 27, 1862 – January 21, 1922) was an American writer, humorist, editor and satirist. Biography He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father Francis N. Bangs was a lawyer in New York City, as was his brother, Francis S ...
' parody novel '' Alice in Blunderland: An Iridescent Dream''. * The Duchess appears as a minor character played by
Teri Garr Terry Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024), known as Teri Garr, was an American actress. Known for her comedic roles in film and television in the 1970s and 1980s, she often played women struggling to cope with the life-changing ex ...
in the live-action Disney TV series ''
Adventures in Wonderland Adventures in Wonderland may refer to: * ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', 1865 English children's novel by Lewis Carroll * ''Adventures in Wonderland'' (1992 TV series), 1992–1995 American live-action/puppet musical television series based ...
''. * The Duchess is the first boss that Alice faces in ''
American McGee's Alice ''American McGee's Alice'' is a 2000 third-person dark fantasy action-adventure video game developed by Rogue Entertainment under the direction of designer American McGee and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Games banner. The game ...
''. Appearing from the chimney, she is extremely large and ugly, wearing a stained apron and wielding a bizarre sort of pepper shaker, from which she shoots lethal black pepper at Alice—presumably belonging to her Cook, who is described in the book as putting excessive amounts of pepper in her cooking. In this version, she seems to be a
cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecology, ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well ...
, as her first lines indicate that Alice would make a nice light snack. After being defeated, she becomes intoxicated with pepper, and her head explodes. According to Bill the Lizard, the Duchess is hiding from the Queen of Hearts, hinting that they are still enemies. It appears, however, that the pepper has corrupted the Duchess, as it did in the book, but to a greater extent. She returns in the sequel of the game, '' Alice: Madness Returns''. She has since learned manners and adheres to a strict "pork" diet. In this game, she asks Alice to look for snouts throughout the game as a side mission. * The character of the Duchess is drastically different in the SyFy channel's miniseries,
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
. In the SyFy re-imagining, the Duchess is tall, statuesque, blond and stunningly beautiful, dressed in revealing and sensual outfits. She is supposedly a sycophant of the Queen of Hearts, betrothed to Jack Heart, the Queen's son, so that the Queen might keep him under close surveillance due to his "rebellious" nature. When Prince Jack is sentenced to death by his mother for being a member of the Wonderland resistance, the Duchess helps him escape from the Eye Room, where he is being held for the night before his execution. During their escape, the Duchess reveals to Jack that she did only what was necessary to survive in the Queen's Court; she also reveals that she cares for Jack. Her last scene is at Jack's side when the Queen is confronted and forced to surrender after the destruction of the Casino. Her ultimate fate is not revealed. * In the story Are You Alice?, the Duchess is shown to be a little girl with a fair complexion pink short hair and large eyes. On her hair lies a big hat on her right where one portion of her hair is curled as her bangs. She wears a black-and-white stripped dress fit to her small stature and size and big ribbon behind her neck. Underneath her outfit, she wears a pair of white undergarments reaching to her knees. She wears brown knee-high boots with laces of ribbon tied into it. Moreover, rather than being ugly she has a very cute appearance. Her role in this story is to be a replacement for Alice. She was executed by the Queen of Hearts for not fulfilling her role. * In Tim Burton’s film, the Duchess does not appear but the Red Queen has her characteristic of a deformed face. The Red Queen also owns a pig which she abuses and uses as a footstool. * In Marissa Meyer's 2016 novel ''Heartless'', Catherine (the future Queen of Hearts) has a longtime acquaintance named Lady Margaret Mearle. Lady Margaret is described as being extremely ugly and morally righteous. Lady Margaret goes on to marry the Duke of Tuskany, who is in fact a warthog, and becomes the Duchess. Catherine dislikes the Duchess and is jealous of her happy marriage.


References

{{Alice, state=expanded Lewis Carroll characters Fictional dukes and duchesses Literary characters introduced in 1865 Female characters in literature Fictional child abusers