Original artwork, not a still
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland · 1865
Curiouser and curiouser!
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The grammar is wrong on purpose: Alice is so far past surprise that her English breaks, and Carroll lets the narrator say so. The phrase has become an everyday way to say a situation is getting stranger by the minute, and it often stands in for the whole rabbit-hole experience, although it first marks a moment when Alice's own body is the thing going wrong.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Alice's Adventures in WonderlandShow the scene
Alice cries this at the opening of Chapter II, "The Pool of Tears", in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Having just finished off a cake in the hall below the rabbit-hole, she finds herself stretching taller and taller, "opening out" like the largest telescope. She is so surprised that for the moment she forgets how to speak good English, as the narrator tells us in a parenthesis. She then looks down at her far-off feet, says goodbye to them, and wonders who will put on their shoes and stockings.
Sources (1)
- Project Gutenberg: Alice's Adventures in WonderlandChapter II and Chapter VIReference checked
Context reviewed
