In The Age of Reform, E.L. Woodward describes the flawed English legal
system of the
nineteenth century :
No attempt was made to simplify the language
of the laws, or to compile a civil
code, and the English Legal System in 1870,
though far less of an anomaly and a
hindrance to a reasonable social order than
it had been in 1815, was still very far
from an ideal code in which rights and remedies
were clearly stated. [454]
The King's utterance to the Hatter reflects this similarly flawed legal
system according to which the
King can execute the Hatter if he fails to prove that he did not steal
his hat. In Great
Expectations, the legal system likewise appears far from perfect. Magwitch
describes his unfair
trial where the court penalizes him for not appearing as gentlemanly
as Compeyson:
At last, me and Compeyson was both committed
for felony...I noticed first of all
what a gentleman Compeyson looked...When the
prosecution opened and the
evidence was put short, aforehand, I noticed
how heavy it all bore on me, and how
light on him...And when we're sentenced, ain't
it him as gets seven year, and me
fourteen, and ain't it him as the Judge is
sorry for, because he might have done so
well, and ain't it me as the Judge perceives
to be a old offender of wiolent passion,
likely to come to worse? (365; ch.42)
Both works mock the British legal system. In Alice in Wonderland, the
law seems not only
arbitrary but also ineffective. Every time the Queen commands an execution,
nothing happens. In
fact, soon after the episode with the Hatter, Alice starts growing,
signaling her frustration with the
event. Great Expectations does not equate the judicial process with
justice. The contrast
between Compeyson's and Magwitch's sentences suggests that the law
favors wealthier and more
elevated members of society. Moreover, the text often depicts Jaggers
in the act of washing his
hands: "My guardian was in his room, washing his hands with his scented
soap" (232; ch.26),
suggesting that law is a dirty business.
