Alice's mistake about the cravat is very understandable—but Humpty Dumpty's offense shows that even when a mistake is understandable, that doesn't mean that it's not benign. With this, the novel suggests that Alice will have to pay closer attention and do whatever she can to stay on top of whatever etiquette rules she comes across in the moment. It's not enough, Humpty Dumpty suggests, to do her best and try to be nice. Instead, Alice needs to somehow know how to properly behave in order to be in the clear—something that's impossible to do, setting Alice up to fail even more.