4 July 1862 - a day that was described as cloudy in the journal of the British Royal Meteorological Society. However, for Charles Dodgson and his little girlfriends: Laurina, Edith and Alice Lidell - he became one of the sunniest in life. Carroll suggested that the girls go to the Thames for a boat trip.
Alice Lidell, who was sitting on the steering wheel, got bored and demanded that Dodgson immediately tell the tale, and there should be as many nonsense as possible in it. Charles could not refuse his favorite, and in a desperate attempt to invent a new plot, he decided to send the heroine on a journey down an endless rabbit hole. Thus, one of the greatest fairy tales in the world was born, which both children and adults all over the world reread with bated breath. However, the biography of Lewis Carroll is no less interesting than his works. This article is dedicated to her.
Charles Dodgson: The Early Years
Charles Dodgson was born in the countyCheshire, in the village of Daresbury, in 1832. The parents of the future mathematician and writer were the clergyman Charles Jodgson and Francis Lutwidge.
Charles adopted a pseudonym in honor of the names of both parents. In Latin, Charles Lutwidge sounds like Carlus Ludovicus. If these words are reversed and translated back into English, it will be Lewis Carroll, a name that everyone knows these days.
From childhood, Charlie was fascinated by mathematics. When it came time to choose a speci alty, there were no doubts: only the mathematics department of Oxford. After graduating, Dodgson remained at the university as a teacher.
Oxford Landmark
Having received a new status, Dodgson settled in a cozy house with towers. The young teacher quickly became one of the Oxford sights, because his appearance was distinguished by its originality: a slightly asymmetrical face, one corner of the lips raised, the other lowered. In addition, he stuttered quite a lot. Maybe that's why the professor was so lonely: he tried to avoid acquaintances and walked for hours on end around Oxford.
Dodgson's lectures were considered boring by students: he read the necessary material in a dry, lifeless voice, without trying to make the lesson more interesting.
Passion for photography
The biography of Lewis Carroll could have turned out quite differently. In his youth, Dodgson dreamed of becoming an artist: he drew well and illustrated his short stories himself. Once Dodgson evensent his illustrations to Time magazine. True, the editors did not consider them professional enough for publication.
Charles' main passion was photography. In the 19th century, amateur photographers had to make a lot of effort in order to get pictures: photographs were taken on special glass plates coated with a colloidal solution. However, these difficulties did not stop Dodgson: he was able to make wonderful photographic portraits of Huxley, Tennyson, Faraday. True, critics believe that Dodgson dedicated his best works to Alice Lidell, the daughter of the rector of Oxford University.
Alice Lidell
In April 1856, Dodgson met the charming daughters of the rector of Oxford. And thanks to this meeting, the biography of Lewis Carroll took a sharp turn. Alice Lidell has become a real muse of a reclusive mathematician: it was to her that he dedicated a book that is one of the most read, published and quoted in the world. Numerous photographic portraits of Alice Lidell have survived to this day: critics note their undoubted artistic value. However, the friendship only lasted a few years.
Parting with the muse
When Alice was 12, Charles Dodgson became a rare guest at the house of the rector of Oxford. Biographers are still arguing what is the reason for this alienation. Rumor has it that Dodgson was in love with Alice and even proposed to her. Some argue that the mathematician has crossed the line of decency in communicating with the girl. The latter is hardly true: all meetingsJodgson and the Lidell sisters took place in the presence of adults. However, the pages of Carroll's diary, telling about this time period, are torn out and destroyed. Therefore, many do not believe that Lewis Carroll, whose biography in English attracts a huge amount of attention, had only a friendly interest in girls. In addition, Alice's mother destroyed most of the photographs of her daughter taken by Dodgson, and also burned letters addressed to the girl.
However, be that as it may, Dodgson managed to give Alice Lidell immortality: even on her gravestone is written "Alice from a fairy tale by Lewis Carroll."
Eternal child
They say that Lewis Carroll (a brief biography is given in this article) managed to keep his childhood in himself for the rest of his life. Perhaps this explains why all the mathematician's friends were much younger than him. In the children's company, Dodgson stopped stuttering, his speech became alive, he seemed to turn into a different person. However, as his friends grew older, Dodgson gradually lost interest in them. Children inspired him to work: it is worth reading the letters that the mathematician wrote to his little friends, they are no less interesting than Carroll's main work.
The secret of popularity
It's hard to say what made Carroll's tale so popular. Perhaps the whole point is in numerous experiments with language: only small children can handle speech so freely. It is possible that a fairy tale helps to find answers to subtle philosophical andlogical questions: after all, this story is adored not only by children, but also by adults. In addition, the biography of Lewis Carroll for children proves that this man was able to combine things that seem opposite: humor and logic, mathematics and a good fairy tale.
By the way, many believe that Carroll is the founder of paradoxical literature, whose characters violate logic at every turn. However, it is not. Oddly enough, the heroes of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass always follow logic, however, they bring it to the point of absurdity. That is why Lewis Carroll, whose short biography in English is very interesting to anyone, was able to receive the status of one of the greatest storytellers of mankind.
Two sides of genius
Charles Dodgson not only created one of the world's greatest fairy tales, he seemed to embody all the archetypal features of the Victorian eccentric scientist. The unsociable and taciturn mathematician always wore a high top hat and gloves. He rarely had fun and led an almost ascetic life. His writings on logic are considered mathematical classics.
But this personality also had a sunny side. The biography of Lewis Carroll says that he could make any child laugh, composed good fairy tales and letters, enthusiastically drew and wrote humorous stories. Who knows, maybe genius is the ability to unite the incompatible? If so, then Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, can be called one of the greatest geniuses.humanity.
Lewis Carroll, whose short biography for children seems amazing, left behind a lot of works on mathematics, letters and stories. However, two books dedicated to Alice Lidell brought him fame. Everyone should read "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass": there are very few such kind, bright and amazing books.
