Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898) was born and raised in rural England, part of a minister’s very large family. As Charles Dodgson, he was to grow up to become a great mathematician at Oxford University. Under the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll, he was to become the author of one of literature’s most beloved children’s books. Carroll was an eccentric, quirky fellow who exhibited several traits of Asperger’s Syndrome:
As a child he had speech problems and had an “odd walk.”
As a boy he perseverated on train schedules, time, and riddles.
He was a loner who did not play with other children (he considered snails to be his “intimate friends”).
Like many other AS children, he was a voracious reader who consumed book after book. He also started writing and producing newspapers at an early age.
As an adolescent he was awkward and clumsy and did not mix with other boys socially or in sports. His teachers called him a “genius.”
He was often a target of bullying for his peculiar quirks—high school was “misery” for him.
As an adult was usually the “odd man out” at any gathering, professional or social.
He bored others by lecturing on his special interests including time and word games.
Analysis of Carroll’s writing process reveals much about the influence of autism on imaginative writing. Most significantly, when he wrote the Alice books he employed a writing process that greatly relied on incorporating texts from other authors—in one sense, the novel may be read as a “scrapbook” of his favorite works of literature. The novels contain references, allusions, or parodies of nearly 100 other works of literature, and one almost needs a compendium to make sense of it all. This “collage” or “mosaic” process is an important aspect of Carroll’s writing, as it is for many others on the spectrum (James Joyce, for example). In some ways, this “mimicking” of other texts resembles the “echolalia” that 75% of autistic children who are verbal demonstrate when they are young.
Several other aspects of Carroll’s writing become more interesting when we read them through the lens of neurodiversity, and I would argue that the Alice books are his attempt to understand and mediate the challenges he faced in childhood.
Lack of Plot: Individuals with AS can be impaired in the area of “central coherence,” the ability to formalize a grand over-arching narrative that provides a meaningful framework to otherwise random events. We see this here. Alice’s journey has no overall objective, no special quest. She travels without going anywhere. You could mix up the chapters in almost any order, and the book would be the same. She wanders from place to place, from adventure to adventure, living in the immediacy of small details and a sense of panic. Children on the spectrum often struggle with understanding the “overall plot” of events in their lives.
Setting is unbalanced and disorienting: The physical setting of this book is neither consistent nor predictable. Alice finds herself in the woods, on a riverbank, in a house, at a table, beside a croquet field, in a courtroom—all seemingly without intermediate transportation or travelling. You could almost argue that Alice stays still while the setting whirls around her. This reminds us of the way that some people on the spectrum are often unaware of surroundings, can get lost easily, and panic as they lose their way.
Autistic Characters: The characters that Alice meets on her journey all seem to exhibit traits of ASD. The Duchess has weak social skills, stands too close, does not converse well, and displays what Michael Fitzgerald calls “autistic aggression.” The caterpillar is a “little professor” who does not enter into a conversation with her, but instead lectures at Alice. Humpty Dumpty cannot make eye contact when speaking. The Cheshire Cat is a literal thinker who remains aloof and does not socialize with her. None of them form relationships and none of them attempt to understand or sympathize with Alice. I wonder if Carroll saw himself in any of these characters?
If one reads the Alice books sympathetically, it is possible to see the frustration, confusion, and unhappiness that must have filled Carroll’s life. Growing up is hard enough, but spending one’s adolescence at an all-boy’s boarding school (known for its bullying and violence) while struggling with AS must have been unbearable. He often said he was profoundly unhappy at Rugby School, and called the experience a personal disaster. Alice in Wonderland can be read as an AS child’s bewildering experiments at school.
And yet his childhood was not entirely bleak. By the time he reached Oxford University, he had found a niche that allowed him to just be himself, pursuing his personal interests of math, jokes, riddles, games, and play. As the Alice books reveal to us, his life was also filled with laughter, with jokes, and with fun. In writing these books, he gave himself the opportunity to show off his wit, his intelligence, and his superior handling of language. If the Alice books do reflect the chaotic, confusing issues associated with an AS childhood, they also offer up an antidote: the playground of the mind, complete with intellectual gymnastics, linguistic games, and a good dose of humorous nonsense. Just as these pursuits gave him pleasure in life, they also added richness, vitality, and originality to his two greatest works. Lewis Carroll’s Asperger’s Syndrome was both the illness and the medicine to cure it.