Hi John, thanks for the blog post. I wonder if you have ever read any of the work of the so called "Carroll Myth" authors? This is a group of books that attempt to put the case against the mid 20th century perception of Carroll as a social misfit in love with little girls, and I find their arguments quite persuasive.
Basically the argument is that we've been influenced by our own times and need to look at Carroll through the lens of late Victoria morals. Carroll was unmarried, as Oxford dons of that time had to be, and for an unmarried man to be around groups of children was actually more acceptable than being alone with an adult woman! Of course now it's the opposite and a man alone with children would be a target of suspicion.
There is also the fact that Carroll's first biographer was a member of his family and actually toned down his friendships with adults to make him seem more acceptable! When in reality he did get on with adults and had adult female friends. He even seems to have been in love with someone at one point, and wrote a lot of tormented poems to her - possibly a married woman, hence his shame about his feelings.
As for the nude photos, out of the many pictures he took, only a small fraction are naked or semi-naked. The picture of Alice Liddell commonly used to illustrate that Carroll was attracted to her is actually half of a set, the scantily clad photo being of a 'beggar girl', whose clothes are torn, and the other being 'rich girl' who is dressed finely. Victorians were very keen on 'the cult of the child' where children were a symbol of innocence, and were commonly photographed naked - these photos were even sent as Christmas cards!
Of course, no one can know what went on in someone's head all that time ago, and there were no doubt people who took advantage of the 'cult' to abuse children, but I find the anti Carroll Myth authors' viewpoint very interesting in terms of how our perceptions of social norms changes. I recommend "The Mystery of Lewis Carroll: Understanding the Author of Alice in Wonderland" by Jenny Woolf which is a very comprehensive biography, with lots of sources.
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hope you didn´t get the feeling that I don´t understand you to want to earn some money by yourself.
I wrote to you better not to do anything against the law because otherwise you´ll get into trouble again and I thought you´ve been in there long enough, haven´t you?
Keep your head up. I´m posting a letter to you this morning.
That is beautiful Rechelle. I beleive you will find love because you beleive it and it is possible for everyone to find love and hapiness. I never knew you could be so poetic and I appreciate it and you. My prayers and heart go out to you. I love you very much and you keep dreaming!
RSS
Elizabeth-Anne
Basically the argument is that we've been influenced by our own times and need to look at Carroll through the lens of late Victoria morals. Carroll was unmarried, as Oxford dons of that time had to be, and for an unmarried man to be around groups of children was actually more acceptable than being alone with an adult woman! Of course now it's the opposite and a man alone with children would be a target of suspicion.
There is also the fact that Carroll's first biographer was a member of his family and actually toned down his friendships with adults to make him seem more acceptable! When in reality he did get on with adults and had adult female friends. He even seems to have been in love with someone at one point, and wrote a lot of tormented poems to her - possibly a married woman, hence his shame about his feelings.
As for the nude photos, out of the many pictures he took, only a small fraction are naked or semi-naked. The picture of Alice Liddell commonly used to illustrate that Carroll was attracted to her is actually half of a set, the scantily clad photo being of a 'beggar girl', whose clothes are torn, and the other being 'rich girl' who is dressed finely. Victorians were very keen on 'the cult of the child' where children were a symbol of innocence, and were commonly photographed naked - these photos were even sent as Christmas cards!
Of course, no one can know what went on in someone's head all that time ago, and there were no doubt people who took advantage of the 'cult' to abuse children, but I find the anti Carroll Myth authors' viewpoint very interesting in terms of how our perceptions of social norms changes. I recommend "The Mystery of Lewis Carroll: Understanding the Author of Alice in Wonderland" by Jenny Woolf which is a very comprehensive biography, with lots of sources.
hope you didn´t get the feeling that I don´t understand you to want to earn some money by yourself.
I wrote to you better not to do anything against the law because otherwise you´ll get into trouble again and I thought you´ve been in there long enough, haven´t you?
Keep your head up.
I´m posting a letter to you this morning.
Yours
Schneehase