The Frog Footman delivers the invitation — Illustration by John Tenniel for Alice in Wonderland

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The Frog Footman delivers the invitation

Sir John Tenniel

1865

Wood-engraving by Dalziel

Illustration for the sixth chapter of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

[See commentary below]

Student assistants from the University Scholars Program, National University of Singapore, scanned this image under the supervision of George P. Landow in 2000.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the site and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Commentary by Leighton Carter

Chapter VI begins with the figures of the Frog- and Fish-Footmen whose anthropomorphic bodies remind the reader of the White Rabbit. Carroll, however, here changes the behavior of the anthropomorphic animal from the White Rabbit's all-too-human worry about tardiness to the Frog-Footman's nonsensical rudeness. Tenniel first intimates this difference in his illustration of the Frog-Footman. Unlike the White Rabbit, the footman is completely clothed from top to bottom — the only expressly frog-like characteristic is the head since the feet, body and hands are all humanoid. The two footmen also depart from the more naturalistic fantasy of the White Rabbit by means of their grotesque features: their bow-ties are exaggerated to a ridiculous degree, their feet form a perfect third position in ballet and their bodies rigidly adhere to formal meeting positions. Tenniel visually encapsulates the Frog-Footman's discourteous air by drawing his head lifted upwards with disdain and therefore emphasizing the downward curve of his mouth (which ordinarily occurs on a frog, but here is exaggerated due to the low angle at which the viewer sees him). Tenniel here demonstrates an effective strategy of fantastic illustration:

Essentially, fantastic subjects, like anthropomorphic renderings of objects and animals, are devices of transformation, and both art and literature possess the capacity to use many such devices, the most powerful of which change our usual means of perception. [Landow 31]

A person would likely not identify the emotion on an ordinary frog's face as arrogant rudeness, but Tenniel creates this sensation by means of fantastical exaggeration and perspective. [complete essay: ""Which way? Which way?": The Fantastical Inversions of Alice in Wonderland"]

Last modified 24 December 2007