Alice's Sister

Character Analysis

Character in: England

Alice's sister, who is never named, only appears for a moment. She's the only other character we see in England, and she serves as a foil for Alice herself. While Alice is young enough to believe in her adventures, her sister is mature enough to know they are fantasy, but still childlike enough that she can appreciate them. In this way, Alice's sister stands in for the reader, showing us how to appreciate the Alice books even after we're grown. The book also ends from the perspective of Alice's sister – the only moment at which the reader doesn't see things through Alice's eyes. By moving into the mind of the sister, Carroll allows the reader to think about how Alice's adventure might affect her over the long term, and to see how Wonderland was inspired by people and things from the real world.