Lewis Carroll Biography

Biography


(Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , Daresbury , UK, 1832 , Guildford , id. , 1898 ) Logical , mathematical, British photographer and novelist . After graduating at Christ Church ( 1854 ) , he began working as a teacher and collaborate on comics and literary journals , adopting the pseudonym by which would be universally known . In 1857 he obtained a position as a math teacher , and four years later he was ordained a deacon . 

In 1862 , during one of his regular walks with little Alice Liddell and her two sisters , daughters of the Dean of Christ Church, told them a fantastic story , " Alice 's Adventures Underground ". The book was published in 1865 , with the title of Alice in Wonderland , he financed the edition, which was a bestseller and received unanimous critical praise , factors that prompted Carroll to write a sequel , entitled through the Looking Glass and what Alice Found there ( 1871 ) .

The peculiar combination of fantasy , nonsense and absurdity , with incisive logic and mathematical paradoxes , works allowed both to become classics of children's literature and moral satires intelligent , full of philosophical and logical notes , though of course for a adult audience and attentive.

He also wrote poetry , a field in which production stands in the narrative poem The Hunting of the Snark , also plagued fantastic elements . Besides various mathematical texts , was the author of works devoted to symbolic logic , with the explicit purpose to popularize , in which points his penchant for exploring the limits and contradictions of the accepted principles .

Note : In Oxford was diagnosed with epilepsy , which by then was a considerable social stigma . However, recently John R. Hughes , director of the University of Illinois (Chicago ) , has suggested that there may have been an error of diagnosis.


Carroll and photography

In 1856 , Dodgson discovered a new art form of photography, first under the influence of his uncle Skeffington Lutwidge , and later his Oxford friend Reginald Southey and pioneer of photographic art Rejlander Oscar Gustav .
Dodgson soon reached excellence in this art, which became an expression of its staff inside philosophy : the belief in the divinity of what he called beauty, he meant a state of moral perfection , aesthetic or physical . Through photography, Carroll tried to combine the ideals of freedom and beauty with Edenic innocence , where the human body and human contact could be enjoyed without guilt. In middle age , this vision became the pursuit of beauty as a state of grace , a means to recover lost innocence .

The definitive work on its activity as a photographer ( Lewis Carroll , Photographer by Roger Taylor (2002 ) ) , thoroughly documented each of Lewis Carroll 's photographs have been preserved . Taylor estimated that more than half of his work preserved is dedicated to portraying girls. However, it should be borne in mind that less than one third of its entire work has been preserved. The girl who most times served as a model was Alexandra Kitchin (" Xie ") , daughter of the Dean of Winchester Cathedral , which was photographed fifty times since I was four years until he was . In 1880 he tried to photograph her in a bathing suit , but was not allowed . It is assumed that destroyed or returned Dodgson nude photographs to families of girls he photographed . He thought he had lost , but six found naked , of which four have been published and two barely known . Photographs and sketches of nudes encouraged Dodgson assumption realized he had pedophile tendencies .

His work was recognized posthumously , along with that of Julia Margaret Cameron , thanks to his claim by the photographers of pictorialism , and the support of the Bloomsbury group , which was Virginia Woolf. At present , it is considered one of the most important Victorian photographers , and certainly the most influential in contemporary art photography .

Literary career


Also in 1856 , a new Dean , Henry Liddell , arrived at Christ Church , bringing with him his young wife and his daughters, who have an important role in Dodgson 's life . He became close friends with the mother and children, especially with the three daughters , Lorina , Alice and Edith . It appears that it became a tradition for Dodgson girls carry picnic the river at Godstow or Nuneham .

It was on one of these excursions , specifically , in his day , on July 4, 1862 , when Dodgson invented the storyline which later became his first and largest commercial success. He and his friend , the Reverend Robinson Duckworth, took the three Liddell sisters ( Lorina , thirteen, Alice , ten , and Edith , eight ) to boating on the Thames . According to the stories of one Dodgson and Alice Liddell Duckworth , author improvised narrative, that excited girls, especially Alice. After the tour , Alice asked him to write the story. Dodgson spent the night writing the manuscript, and gave it to Alice Liddell at Christmas next . The manuscript was titled Alice 's Adventures Underground ( Alice 's Adventures Under Ground ) , and was illustrated with drawings by the author . It is speculated that the heroine of the play is based on Alice Liddell , but Dodgson denied that the character was based on any real person .
Three years later , Dodgson , moved by the great interest that the manuscript had aroused among its readers , took the book , suitably revised Macmillan the publisher , who liked it immediately. After shuffling the titles Alice Among the Fairies and Alice's Golden Hour , the work was finally published in 1865 as The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland ( Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland ) , and signed by Lewis Carroll. The illustrations in this first edition were the work of Sir John Tenniel.
The massive success of the book led the author to write and publish a sequel , Alice Through the Looking Glass (Through the Looking -Glass and what Alice Found There) .


Carroll and mathematics


Although most of his attention was devoted to the geometry Carroll also wrote about many other mathematical topics : the squaring of the circle , message encryption (reaching invent some methods ) , algebra , arithmetic electoral votes and and on logic.
In the last years of his life not only paid attention to recreational mathematics ( calculation games as ten knots of his book A tangled tale ) or the study of the paradoxes ( discussed the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise , and developed a own , the barbershop ), but also devoted to finding ways of systematic exposure , for example , the theory of the syllogism . Moreover, drew pictures , specifications and diagrams of the type introduced Venn and logical trees .
In terms of geometry, published numerous notes by way of clarification of the reference work of its time , Euclid's Elements , and a book in confronting this with other contemporary authors , Euclid and his Modern Rivals ( 1879 ) .


Notes:

There has been plenty of speculation about the possibility that Dodgson made ​​use of psychoactive drugs, although there is no evidence to support this theory. However, most historians consider it likely that the author occasionally utilizase laudanum , an analgesic consumption quite common at the time, and that would help with the pain of his arthritis. Note that the substance derived from the opium , and can produce psychotropic effects when used in doses large enough . Nevertheless, there is no evidence that could lead to think that Dodgson abusing narcotics, or that they had any influence on their work. On the other hand, some have believed to see in hallucinations suffered by his character , Alicia , a reference to psychedelic substances . For example, in the case of Amanita muscaria and micropsia macropsia produced , we see an analogy size variations suffering Alice to ingest pieces of mushroom.


Priesthood


Dodgson was destined to end up as a priest , given its status as a resident at Christ Church . However, begin to reject this idea, delaying the moment of becoming deacon until December 1861. When a year later, but came to the next step to become a priest , appealed to Liddell for not continuing . That attitude was not compatible with the rules , and told Liddell himself would probably have to quit his job if he renounced the priesthood , but would consult with the governing body of the institution , which undoubtedly would have brought expulsion. For unknown reasons, Liddell changed his mind and allowed Dodgson ever came to stay and not to the priesthood .
No permit any conclusive clue to figure out why Dodgson avoided becoming a priest . Some have suggested that stuttering may influence the decision , so that would have been afraid to give sermons. But Dodgson did not stop speaking in public , nor had any problems with performances such as storytelling , or offer magic shows. Moreover, in its final stage, would preach , despite not hold the status of priest .


Notes:

Suspicion that Lewis Carroll was Jack the Ripper

Although always considered it a harmless dreamer , in 1896 the author Richard Wallace did not hesitate to accuse him of being the man who was hiding under the alias of Jack the Ripper. The alleged evidence allegedly accused were cryptic phrases contained in his books nineteen years before the fall of 1888 massacre . According to this interpretation , the unbalanced and writer , he left clues that he planned anticipating commit crimes .