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