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The Red Queen
The egg-shaped individual from the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty." He sits high on a wall when Alice meets him. Humpty Dumpty is rude, imperious, and self-important. He insists that he can make words mean whatever he wants them to (though he pays them more for extra work) and he reprimands Alice for not being properly polite. Helpfully, he does agree to decode the first verse of the poem "Jabberwocky" for Alice, though more than anything, this is an opportunity for Humpty Dumpty to lord his knowledge and expertise over Alice. Humpty Dumpty takes major issue with the fact that Alice didn't stop growing up at age seven and allowed herself to age six months. He offers her riddles when Alice insists that she can't stop growing. As in the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty falls off his wall after Alice leaves him, while the White King sends all his horses and men except two to help him.
Humpty Dumpty Quotes in Through the Looking-Glass
The Through the Looking-Glass quotes below are all either spoken by Humpty Dumpty or refer to Humpty Dumpty. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 6: Humpty Dumpty Quotes
"My name is Alice, but—"
"It's a stupid name enough!" Humpty Dumpty interrupted impatiently. "What does it mean?"
"Must a name mean something?" Alice asked doubtfully.
"Of course it must," Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh: "my name means the shape I am—a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost."
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"Seven years and six months!" Humpty Dumpty repeated thoughtfully. "An uncomfortable sort of age. Now if you'd asked my advice, I'd have said 'Leave off at seven'—but it's too late now."
"I never ask advice about growing," Alice said indignantly.
"Too proud?" the other enquired.
Alice felt even more indignant at this suggestion. "I mean," she said, "that one ca'n't help growing older."
"One ca'n't, perhaps," said Humpty Dumpty; "but two can. With proper assistance, you might have left off at seven."
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"But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a knock-down argument,'" Alice objected.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."
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"As to poetry, you know," said Humpty Dumpty, stretching out one of his great hands, "I can repeat poetry as well as other folk, if it comes to that—"
"Oh, it needn't come to that!" Alice hastily said, hoping to keep him from beginning.
"The piece I'm going to repeat," he went on without noticing her remark, "was written entirely for your amusement."
Alice felt that in that case she really ought to listen to it; so she sat down, and said "Thank you" rather sadly.
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Humpty Dumpty Character Timeline in Through the Looking-Glass
The timeline below shows where the character Humpty Dumpty appears in Through the Looking-Glass. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: Humpty Dumpty
As Alice approaches the egg, it gets bigger until she realizes that it's actually Humpty Dumpty sitting high on a wall. When she gets close, Alice remarks out loud that he...
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Alice offers her name but before she can say anything else, Humpty Dumpty says her name is stupid and asks what it means. Alice asks if it has...
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Alice says that she read it in a book and Humpty Dumpty responds that a book is a "History of England." Humpty Dumpty offers to shake hands...
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Alice decides that it's her turn to choose a subject, so she compliments Humpty Dumpty 's belt. She deliberates out loud as to whether it's actually a belt or a...
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Alice asks what Humpty Dumpty means by "glory." He says that he means it's a good argument and, when Alice...
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Alice asks Humpty Dumpty if he could decode "Jabberwocky" for her. She recites the first verse and he begins...
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Humpty Dumpty intones that he's telling Alice his poem in winter; in summer, she might understand; and...
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Alice cheerfully bids Humpty Dumpty goodbye and extends her hand. He disdainfully offers her a single finger to shake and...
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Chapters 9-10: Queen Alice; Shaking
The White Queen says that Humpty Dumpty saw "it" when he showed up with a corkscrew looking for a hippo. The White...
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Chapters 11-12: Waking; Which Dreamed It?
...her dream because Snowdrop was getting a bath. Alice asks Dinah if she turned into Humpty Dumpty . She then tells Kitty that she heard lots of poetry about fish and asks...
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