Victorian works of both fiction and nonfiction suggest that the
last century was a time of self-reflection and of seeking order in the
world. Victorian doubt in God complicated this seemingly futile search
for the self. Carlyle's "Characteristics" expresses this common problem:
We, the whole species of Mankind, and our whole existence and history, are but a floating speck in the illimitable ocean of the All...borne this way and that by its [the ocean] deep-swelling tides and grand ocean currents; of which what faintest chance is there that we should ever exhaust the significance ascertain the goings and comings? A region of Doubt, therefore, hovers forever in the background: in Action alone can we have certainty (Norton Anthology, 957-958).This passage reaches the core of Alice's identity crisis in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Certain aspects of religion come into play throughout this young girl's journey, a journey symbolic of universal growth and self-discovery. As Alice learns a great deal about herself with each new encounter in Wonderland, she begins to realize that these experiences weaken and even distort her previously stable self-image. Accepted norms now seem foreign to Alice, and in many ways she becomes an outcast.
The caterpillar is one character who cannot accept Alice's lack of self awareness, or at least what he considers self-awareness to indicate. When he asks Alice to divulge her identity, Alice cannot respond with confidence and suffers the caterpillar's reprimand. Alice explains her predicament by saying, "I--I hardly know, Sir, just at present--at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then" (Norton Critical Edition 53). Alice can only explain her current state of existence; how and why she grows or shrinks seem impossible to explain. Alice here reflects a characteristic Victorian irony: Trying to clarify one's identify or explain oneself generates confusion, significantly reduces the effectiveness of religion, and creates a more disorganized world view.