Red Queen (Through the Looking-Glass) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Red Queen |
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|---|---|
| Alice character | |
The Red Queen lecturing Alice.
Art by John Tenniel. |
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| First appearance | Through the Looking-Glass |
| Created by | Lewis Carroll |
| Portrayed by | Helena Bonham Carter (Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass) Emma Rigby (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Queen |
| Spouse(s) | Red King Will Scarlet (Once Upon a Time only) |
| Nationality | Looking-Glass Land |
The Red Queen is a fictional character from Lewis Carroll's famous fantasy book, Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1871. She is a powerful queen in a world that looks like a giant chess game. Many people often mix her up with the Queen of Hearts from Carroll's earlier book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. However, these two queens are quite different!
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The Red Queen's Role in the Story
In Through the Looking-Glass, the whole story is like a game of chess. The Red Queen is a main character who is on the opposite side of the board from Alice. Even though she's an opponent, she is polite to Alice at first.
She helps Alice understand the rules of this strange chess world. She explains that Alice starts as a pawn and can become a queen if she reaches the other side of the board. Just like a real chess queen, the Red Queen can move very quickly and easily in any direction.
Later in the story, the Red Queen meets Alice again with the White Queen. They ask Alice some confusing questions, typical of the Looking-Glass world. They also celebrate when Alice finally becomes a queen herself.
But the celebration goes wrong, and Alice gets upset with the Red Queen. Alice thinks the Red Queen caused all the trouble. So, Alice shakes the Red Queen until she turns into Alice's pet kitten. This moment helps Alice wake up from her dream. It's like Alice "takes" the Red Queen in the chess game, which helps her win against the Red King.
Red Queen vs. Queen of Hearts
It's very common for people to confuse the Red Queen with the Queen of Hearts. Both are strict queens and are linked to the color red. However, they have very different personalities.
Lewis Carroll himself explained the difference:
I imagined the Queen of Hearts as someone full of uncontrolled anger.
The Red Queen, I saw as angry too, but in a different way. Her anger is cold and calm. She is formal and very strict, but not unkind. She is extremely precise, like the perfect governess (a teacher for children at home)!
Many movies and shows have added to this confusion. For example, in the 1951 Walt Disney animated movie Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts says some lines that actually belong to the Red Queen in the books. One famous line is "all the ways about here belong to me." Both queens say this to show how important they are. But for the Red Queen, it also means she can move in any direction on the chess board.
Some video games, like American McGee's Alice, and Tim Burton's 2010 movie Alice in Wonderland, also combine the two characters. This makes the confusion even more widespread. Even the song "White Rabbit" mentions the "Red Queen's off with her head," which is a famous line from the Queen of Hearts.
The Red Queen in Other Stories
The Red Queen has appeared in many other books, TV shows, and games.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
The Red Queen is a character in the TV show Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She is played by Emma Rigby. In this show, she is different from the Queen of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts was actually her magic teacher! The Red Queen's original name was Anastasia, and she was in love with Will Scarlet, also known as the Knave of Hearts. She was one of the main bad guys in the show.
Pandora Hearts
In the Japanese manga and anime series Pandora Hearts, two characters are based on the Red Queen. These are Alice and Lacie. Lacie is more like the Red Queen, while Alice also has links to the Queen of Hearts.
American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns
In the first video game, American McGee's Alice, the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts are combined into one character. Their names are used interchangeably.
However, in the second game, Alice: Madness Returns, they are separate again. The Queen of Hearts appears in her original form. The Red Queen is seen only in flashbacks at the start of the game. These flashbacks show when the Red Queen ruled Wonderland.
Come Away
In the 2020 movie Come Away, the Red Queen is played by Anna Chancellor. In this movie, the Red Queen is the imaginary version of Eleanor Morrow. Eleanor is Alice's aunt and the sister of Alice's mother, Rose (Angelina Jolie), whose imaginary self is the Queen of Hearts.
The Red Queen in Science
- The Red Queen hypothesis is a scientific idea in evolution. It's named after the Red Queen's race in Through the Looking-Glass. In the story, the Red Queen tells Alice, "it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." This idea is used to explain how species must constantly evolve and adapt just to survive and not go extinct, like running to stay in the same spot.
Images for kids
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The Red Queen lecturing Alice. Art by John Tenniel.
See also
In Spanish: Reina Roja (Alicia en el país de las maravillas) para niños
