Original artwork, not a still
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland • 1865
“Would you tell me please,” asked Alice, “where I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” replied the Cat. “I don’t much care where–,” she replied. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the book's neatest argument for knowing what you want: a direction means nothing without a destination. The Cat is being flippant, but the point is practical, and Alice, who has no answer, discovers that Wonderland logic can be perfectly sound. The exchange is quoted constantly in talks about goals and strategy, and the Cat's grin is as famous as its advice.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Alice's Adventures in WonderlandShow the scene
The exchange comes in chapter 6, "Pig and Pepper", of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alice has just left the Duchess's house, where the baby she was handed turned into a pig, and she is lost in the wood when she sees the Cheshire Cat grinning in a tree. Rather timidly she asks which way she ought to go. The Cat's answer is the one above. It then points her to a Hatter in one direction and a March Hare in the other, and tells her they are all mad here.
Sources (1)
- Project Gutenberg: Alice's Adventures in WonderlandChapter VI, Pig and Pepper, the Cheshire Cat sceneReference checked
Context reviewed
