header

 

Fun Fact:
The first mentioning of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the Western medicinal literature appeared in the London Medical and Physical Journal in 1799: a man had served Psilocybe semilanceata mushrooms that he had picked for breakfast to his family. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother refrain him."
-Wikipedia

 

 

Where am I?
Home -> Footnotes -> Chapter 5 -> The Mushroom

Mushroom ImageThe Mushroom

"One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter." 
"One side of what? The other side of what?" thought Alice to herself. 
"Of the mushroom," said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud…”

 

Introduction

Interestingly, in Carroll’s original Alice’s Adventures Underground, the Caterpillar told Alice the top would make her grow taller and the stalk would make her grow shorter.  It seems that Carroll made the Caterpillar’s words more ambiguous in his second version so that Alice could ponder the mathematical conundrum of what the two sides of a circle might be.
Many species of mushroom are well known for their hallucinogenic and psychedelic properties.  Like the Caterpillar’s hookah, many readers and critics have pointed to Alice’s ordeal with the mushroom as proof of the psychedelic nature of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  “Magic Mushrooms,” it has been pointed out, often cause hallucinations concerning size and distance, which corresponds with Alice’s resulting abrupt changes in size (Gardner 73).  However, while it is conceivable that Carroll knew and meant to imply a psychedelic effect in his employment of the mushroom, it is by no means certain. 

 

Media

Many music artists since the 1960s have highlighted the supposed "drug references" in Alice, often incorporating the mushroom into either the lyrics or the music video. Below are two music videos of Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers' "Don't Come Around Here No More," and Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit." Additionally there is a "trippy" musical number from the musical Alice at the Palace.

 
Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers
"Don't Come Around Here No More" (1985)

 

 
Jefferson Airplane
"White Rabbit" (1967)

 

 
Alice at the Palace (1981)
"Eating Mushrooms"/"Jabberwocky"

 

Back to Chapter 5 Hypertext ->
Back to Chapter 5 Hypertext with Images ->
<Back to Chapter 5 Footnotes Index>

 

Site created and maintained by Lauren Millikan (Lauren.Millikan@alumni.carleton.edu)
Carleton College, class of 2011
Last updated: May 6, 2011

Postings to Carleton's World Wide Web by individuals and student organizations reflect their own thoughts, interests, and activities; they do not implicitly or explicitly represent official positions and policies of Carleton College. Individual page maintainers assume responsibility and liability for the content of their documents.
To read more about Carleton's web policy, click here.

Please address all comments and other feedback to the owner of the pages, Lauren Millikan, Lauren.Millikan@alumni.carleton.edu. For further assistance, contact webmaster@carleton.edu.