Through the Looking Glass, Down the Rabbit Hole, both?

After Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland was published, he wrote a "sequel," Through the Looking Glass. Although Alice remained the protagonist, other main characters varied from the first fantasy. If you need to refresh your memory about the story and what the characters are like, follow this link. These are the main characters (other than Alice) listed from Looking Glass:

this is a three dimensional chess board

Photo by J. Harrington

• The Red Queen


• The White Queen


• The Red King


• The White King


• The White Knight


• Humpty Dumpty


• Tweedledee and Tweedledum(?)


• Others?

this is a dormouse

Photo by J. Harrington

Even though Looking Glass is based on sort of backwards logic, the metaphor of a chess game seems too logical to fit today's political context anywhere near as well as the lack of logic in Wonderland. At least that's my impression, although there may be enough overlap between the two books that a combination might work well. I do find it more challenging to try to match politicians or pundits involved in the impeachment effort to Looking Glass characters, but that may be a flaw in my perspective. Are there any thoughts any of you are willing to share in the comments?

If additional inspiration might help, try this. The more we let our politics and governance be fed by fantasy and illogic, the more we let politicians and bureaucrats mess up real lives, including our own.

Through the Looking Glass

By Veronica Forrest-Thomson

Mirror, mirror on the wall

show me in succession all

my faces, that I may view

and choose which I would like as true.

Teach me skill to disguise

what’s not pleasing to the eyes,

with faith, that life obeys the rules,

in man or God or football pools.

Always keep me well content

to decorate attitude and event

so that somehow behind the scene

I may believe my actions mean;

that one can exercise control

in playing out a chosen role;

rub clouded glass and then,

at will, write self on it again.

But if, in some unlucky glance,

I should glimpse naked circumstance

in all its nowhere-going-to,

may you crack before I do.

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