Through the Looking-Glass

by

Lewis Carroll

The Red Queen Character Analysis

A snappy and authoritative queen in Looking-glass World. As a queen, she can move all around the chessboard quickly. Alice greatly admires the Red Queen at first, and tries her best to follow all of her rules regarding conduct and etiquette. The queen is the first to confirm for Alice that in Looking-glass World, things are opposite what they are in Alice's world. For example, one must run quickly to stay in one place. When Alice runs into the Red Queen in the Eighth Square, however, the Red Queen begins to look horribly dismissive and, in some cases, silly. She scolds Alice for not being able to perform math, for example, but the problems she gives are riddles rather than math problems—and in several cases, they don't have a single right answer. At the dinner party, the Red Queen continues to tell Alice how to behave properly and politely, but she does so rudely and makes Alice feel as though she can't do anything right. Alice loses her temper with the Red Queen when she sees the queen's head in a tureen of soup. When Alice wakes up, she decides that her mischievous cat, Kitty, became the Red Queen in her dream.

The Red Queen Quotes in Through the Looking-Glass

The Through the Looking-Glass quotes below are all either spoken by The Red Queen or refer to The Red Queen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Youth, Identity, and Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2: The Garden of Live Flowers Quotes

"They're done up close, like a dahlia," said the Tiger-lily: "not tumbled about, like yours."

"But that's not your fault," the Rose added kindly. "You're beginning to fade, you know—and then one can't help one's petals getting a little untidy."

Related Characters: Tiger-Lily (speaker), The Rose (speaker), Alice, The Red Queen
Page Number: 138
Explanation and Analysis:

"Where do you come from?" said the Red Queen. "And where are you going? Look up, speak nicely, and don't twiddle your fingers all the time."

Alice attended to all of these directions, and explained, as well as she could, that she had lost her way.

"I don't know what you mean by your way," said the Queen: "all the ways about here belong to me—but why did you come out here at all?" she added in a kinder tone. "Curtsey while you're thinking what to say. It saves time."

Related Characters: The Red Queen (speaker), Alice
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:

"Have a biscuit?"

Alice thought it would not be civil to say "No," though it wasn't at all what she wanted. So she took it, and ate it as well as she could: and it was very dry: and she thought she had never been so nearly choked in all her life.

Related Characters: The Red Queen (speaker), Alice
Page Number: 143
Explanation and Analysis:

"—the Sixth belongs to Humpty Dumpty—But you make no remark?"

"I—I didn't know I had to make one—just then," Alice faltered out.

"You should have said," the Queen went on in a tone of grave reproof, "'It's extremely kind of you to tell me this'—however, we'll suppose it said—"

Related Characters: The Red Queen (speaker), Alice
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapters 9-10: Queen Alice; Shaking Quotes

Everything was happening so oddly that she didn't feel a bit surprised at finding the Red Queen and the White Queen sitting close to her, one on each side: she would have liked very much to ask them how they came there, but she feared it would not be quite civil.

Related Characters: Alice, The White Queen, The Red Queen
Related Symbols: Alice's Crown
Page Number: 220
Explanation and Analysis:

"What impertinence!" said the Pudding. "I wonder how you'd like it, if I were to cut a slice out of you, you creature!"

It spoke in a thick, suety sort of voice, and Alice hadn't a word to say in reply: she could only sit and look at it and gasp.

"Make a remark," said the Red Queen: "it's ridiculous to leave all the conversation to the pudding!"

Related Characters: Alice (speaker), The Red Queen (speaker), The Pudding (speaker), The White Queen
Page Number: 230
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Red Queen Quotes in Through the Looking-Glass

The Through the Looking-Glass quotes below are all either spoken by The Red Queen or refer to The Red Queen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Youth, Identity, and Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2: The Garden of Live Flowers Quotes

"They're done up close, like a dahlia," said the Tiger-lily: "not tumbled about, like yours."

"But that's not your fault," the Rose added kindly. "You're beginning to fade, you know—and then one can't help one's petals getting a little untidy."

Related Characters: Tiger-Lily (speaker), The Rose (speaker), Alice, The Red Queen
Page Number: 138
Explanation and Analysis:

"Where do you come from?" said the Red Queen. "And where are you going? Look up, speak nicely, and don't twiddle your fingers all the time."

Alice attended to all of these directions, and explained, as well as she could, that she had lost her way.

"I don't know what you mean by your way," said the Queen: "all the ways about here belong to me—but why did you come out here at all?" she added in a kinder tone. "Curtsey while you're thinking what to say. It saves time."

Related Characters: The Red Queen (speaker), Alice
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:

"Have a biscuit?"

Alice thought it would not be civil to say "No," though it wasn't at all what she wanted. So she took it, and ate it as well as she could: and it was very dry: and she thought she had never been so nearly choked in all her life.

Related Characters: The Red Queen (speaker), Alice
Page Number: 143
Explanation and Analysis:

"—the Sixth belongs to Humpty Dumpty—But you make no remark?"

"I—I didn't know I had to make one—just then," Alice faltered out.

"You should have said," the Queen went on in a tone of grave reproof, "'It's extremely kind of you to tell me this'—however, we'll suppose it said—"

Related Characters: The Red Queen (speaker), Alice
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapters 9-10: Queen Alice; Shaking Quotes

Everything was happening so oddly that she didn't feel a bit surprised at finding the Red Queen and the White Queen sitting close to her, one on each side: she would have liked very much to ask them how they came there, but she feared it would not be quite civil.

Related Characters: Alice, The White Queen, The Red Queen
Related Symbols: Alice's Crown
Page Number: 220
Explanation and Analysis:

"What impertinence!" said the Pudding. "I wonder how you'd like it, if I were to cut a slice out of you, you creature!"

It spoke in a thick, suety sort of voice, and Alice hadn't a word to say in reply: she could only sit and look at it and gasp.

"Make a remark," said the Red Queen: "it's ridiculous to leave all the conversation to the pudding!"

Related Characters: Alice (speaker), The Red Queen (speaker), The Pudding (speaker), The White Queen
Page Number: 230
Explanation and Analysis: