The Looking Glass Wars

The primary powers in conflict in Wonderland are Black Imagination and White Imagination, which symbolize forces of destruction and creation, respectively. While both Imaginations are tools of conjuring, Black Imagination is a negative, harmful force, “not what anyone wants at all, oh no” (20), according to Bibwit Harte. White Imagination, on the other hand, is associated with peace and harmony (20) and positive forces of creation. Redd, the antagonist, is a believer in Black Imagination, while Alyss, the hero, adheres to White Imagination—and so the Imaginations also represent the ideological divide between protagonist and antagonist.

Throughout the book, the use of imagination is tied to control over one’s emotional state. In the beginning of the book, Queen Genevieve and Bibwit Harte are concerned that Alyss might become susceptible to the allure of Black Imagination, because they see her use her imagination for mere amusement, often at the others’ expense. To Bibwit and Genevieve, this is a sign that the young Alyss is undisciplined in her impulses and aware of her impact on others. During her party, while she is missing her father, Alyss causes mischief and ends with a final display of making her father’s boots dance, indicating her agitation at his absence; her imaginings reflect her mental and emotional state. Similarly, throughout the narrative, the things the characters imagine are informed by and imbued with their emotional experiences, which ties the forces of creation and destruction themselves to the emotional state of the conjurer. When Redd creates monsters like the seekers for the purpose of surveillance, they are “bred out of her distrust and paranoia” (278); Given that distrust and paranoia are negative emotions, it thus signals that Redd was creating out of the destructive ideals of Black Imagination. This shows that Black Imagination can also be a creative force—but one that is borne of negative emotional experiences and therefore warps itself into a tool of destruction. The divide between the Imaginations, then, becomes likewise a divide between positive and negative emotional experiences, and between those experiences the conjurer allows to influence them.

The Imaginations also reflect the ethic of Wonderland: White Imagination is wholly good, and Black Imagination is wholly bad. This simplistic moral schema is common to both the young adult genre and the fairy tale genre; but in the book, Beddor uses it to convey the importance of balance and integration. Although Alyss is the primary figure representing White Imagination, she has not been without trials and temptations. Alyss suffers trauma at Redd’s hands, as well as betrayals and disappointments on Earth. Alyss harbors deep pain and rage towards Redd, and she is tempted more than once to yield to her emotions and exact revenge. She gives in to this temptation in the Looking Glass Maze, and in that moment, giving in to her negative emotions, She momentarily harnesses the power of Black Imagination to manifest her impulses and kill the vision of Redd in the Maze. As a result, Alyss turns to see that her reflection has morphed into Redd, signaling that her commitment to White Imagination—and to not letting negative emotions hold sway over her—is the only thing separating Alyss from her enemy. To create from the destructive force of Black Imagination is to become just like Redd. This indicates two things: the simultaneous polarity between the Imaginations and the very fine line that separates them. From this moment, Alyss learns the importance of adhering to White Imaginative values, but, in the end, it is her ability to balance her emotions that gives her victory over Redd.

In the final battle between Alyss and Redd, the forces of creation and destruction are at play, as well as the forces of each character’s complex emotional history. When Alyss confronts Redd, Alyss is “momentarily paralyzed, unexpectedly affected by the sight of Redd” (339), and she resolves not to let her anger get the best of her like it did in the Maze. She is nearly overwhelmed by the emotions brought on by recollecting all she has lost; “the heat of her temper was rising, the old feelings of abandonment after her parents’ deaths, the unfairness of just about everything” (339). This mirrors the scene earlier when Redd first enters Heart Palace and recalls her own formative familial experiences, and “all the hurt and resentment she’d tried to keep in check for so many years started to boil over” (55). Alyss and Redd bring these emotions to the battle, and these emotions drive each character in their conflict with the other.

Ultimately, Alyss realizes that it’s not about shutting out the emotions entirely, it’s only a “matter of degree” (345). This realization allows Alyss to transform her destructive emotions into an equilibrium that better harnesses her imagination. This moment culminates the thematic arc of emotional balance in relation to Imagination, signifying that the true power is in creating a balanced state that goes to neither extreme; it is possible to acknowledge negative emotions and to still follow the principles of White Imagination.