Downal Wyth Bluddy Clichés: Prompt 3

[manniness]

Guess what?  Yup, another Thursday.

If you were thinking about writing something for one of the previous prompts, please feel free to do so!  There's no expiration date on these!

Right, so what's the next cliché?

Alice wants to be a businesswoman.

Or some similar variations: 
Alice eagerly accepts Lord Ascot's job offer.
Alice wants to go to China.

Many fics show Alice as a competent businesswoman (my own included) but I wonder if there might be more to that story.

Copy and paste the relevant fields below in your comment on this post if you have a contribution.  Let's have fun with this one!

Title: I think this is pretty self-explanatory.
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Summary/Notes:  Tell us a little more about your contribution or recommendation!
Link to story: Link to the author's homepage or story.
Comments: Why are you recommending this to others?  Or your general impressions of it are fine, too.

More recommendations and contributions may be posted HERE at the alice_tarrant community.

An introduction to Downal Wyth Bluddy Clichés and a list of links to previous clichés can be found HERE.

Comments

[prismdropz.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent point. Movie-wise there's not enough material between the party and the boat to explain her motivations. It makes it all up the air to interpretation, and I can definitely see why you feel like they tacked it on what with the abrupt change between scenes. Stylistically though, if they had inserted more exposition after Ascot offers the apprenticeship, it probably would have messed with the flow of the movie itself. People tend to like routine in stories. Things start, they build up, you have complications, things get worse, there's a big reveal/climax/decisive moment, and things resolve and wrap up so that you've still go the high of excitement going on when the story ends. Not the way real life works, but the masses probably would have complained about the ending being dragged out if there was more included at the end.

((Also, I just looked in my copy of the novelization of the movie. It goes straight from Ascot's study to the ship as well. It also makes it clear that she forgot what happened in Underland as soon as she left the rabbit hole with a memory breaking through when she saw Absolem. *That* was not clear in the movie and I have promptly decided to ignore it as being far too depressing. Regardless of the possiblity of more memories coming back, I'm not a fan of the fae-thing where visitors forget the experience when they leave. I like my happy endings unfettered by amnesia, thank you.))

As for the childish thing, I included a bit more in my response to manniness earlier. However, I think part of the reason that most people don't find it childish is because it sort of wasn't. It takes a hell of a lot of personal courage to confront people when you know they'll disagree with what you're saying. At least it does when your not too pissed off to think straight or too young to realize your going to offend them. So I think that what she did was verging on adult behavior, she just... put forth her opinions in a slightly immature manner.

I definitely agree with you about Imogene though. That was just plain tactless. Read the first story in websandwhiskers "Choosing Wonderland" series (http://websandwhiskers.livejournal.com/62422.html) if you want to see the best response by Imogene that I've ever read. It was a truly great idea.

And her response to Hamish... well the first part of it I saw coming and approved of. The second with "that bit about your digestion" was unnecessary and tactless in a public setting. I think it was possibly the most childish and petty thing she did in the entire movie.

[just-a-dram.livejournal.com]

I'm familiar with websandwhiskers's take. That's the sort of thing I was *expecting* to be honest. Oh! Aunt Imogene wasn't crazy after all! Alice and her father believe in the impossible, but Aunt Imogene actually is crazy? Hmmm... Not fair.

I will have to part ways with you about her delivery not making her actions childish. I think hurting people's feelings unnecessarily is never an adult thing to do and childish people are as capable of confrontation (often done poorly) as mature people. It makes me think she is not ready for Adult Type Romantic Relationships if that is how she conducts herself. Doesn't make me like her any less necessarily, I just think she's 19.

Hamish's humiliation, comeuppance, or whatever seems way out of line to me unfortunately. Seems to me that he's merely being 'dutiful' in asking Alice to marry him, as we're given little indication that the match was any more his making than hers. Alice might be rejecting 'duty' or expectations or what have you after her return, but it doesn't mean he was part of a conspiracy against her that makes him deserving of public humiliation. But then, I always feel for the person left holding the bag. She's going to sail and he's going to have to walk around London with people whispering behind his back. It might be good for him, but I don't think it makes it excusable.

[prismdropz.livejournal.com]

No, Imogene being crazy really didn't seem fair, did it.

Hmm, you do have a very good point. I suppose I just find it hard to decide whether it was *completely* childish. Maybe because I'm around that age range myself. Her being 19 though really does explain it quite well. And I think I agree that she's probably to young mentally to have a Adult Type Romance quite yet. At least not without making some stupid mistakes along the way when it comes to emotional issues. But then again that's how it works for most first relationships regardless of age, isn't it?

And no, from the sound of it, the whole marriage thing looked to be arranged primarily by Hamish's mother. Poor guy just drew the short straw trying to properly propose to a very improper girl. Although, I actually felt worse for him during the "she left me standing there without an answer" moment than I did during the "digestive" comment that Alice made. After all, it must have been pretty humiliating to have everyone watching you when the girl runs off and not even getting to leave yourself because she didn't give you a response. At least her last comment probably wasn't heard by many people in comparison.

As for the rumors... do you think society at that time would actually think lower of Hamish or of Alice for the failed proposal? On one hand, Hamish is a lord(to be) that was rejected by a girl who was lower in status(?). On the other hand, Alice is the one who said no, which must seem pretty stupid from an outsider's perspective.

Would there be a bias? There usually is one based on class or gender, but I can't figure out who it would favor in this situation. Alice might get to leave and avoid the whispering (like you said) but wouldn't leaving make her an even bigger aberration in society's eyes. Hmm...

[just-a-dram.livejournal.com]

Oh, she's completely done in society, I think. There would be no coming back from that display. I just figure that's what Alice wants anyway, and she avoids any of the unpleasantness she would have experienced by setting sail (even though I don't think that's her motivation in leaving).

Who doesn't avoid it? Her mother, her sister...those are the people that have to live with it, because in that society the sins of one of the women in the family are born by all.

As for Hamish, I can't recall it, but there was a cruel phrase that was applied to men who had been rejected in their marriage suits. This scene wouldn't affect Hamish's standing in society, but it would certainly cause him to be the focus of unkind speculation, which I imagine would take no small amount of time to die down.

[prismdropz.livejournal.com]

Oh ouch. I didn't even really consider that. It's definitely not going to be a good time for her poor mother and sister. It'll probably be compounded by everyone's perceptions of Imogene as well. Those nasty rumors would probably mention something like there being two generations of craziness in the family.

Alice did NOT think that through did she. When we list the consequences of what she did like this, it definitely makes the childish aspect stand out. Nasty repercussions all around.

[manniness.livejournal.com]

So, here's a thought:

The Jabberwocky is meant to equate to involuntary social conformity. So, Alice's fight with it carries over into London/Above because if she doesn't "fight back" she will, in essence, be surrendering herself to societal norms that are embodied by Lady Ascot (thereby connecting all of this back to the Red Queen)?

IF this isn't complete nonsense (and I wouldn't be surprised if it is because the idea is not 100% clear to me yet), then we could say that Alice's announcement Above was itself an attack on the Upland Jabberwocky - Expectations. But, since she's still riding her "high" from victory this causes kind of a whiplash effect. She has been forced to keep her opinions to herself for so long that when she finally has the gumption to take a stand, she can't restrain herself and it all comes pouring out.

So, essentially, the Jabberwocky is the physical manifestation of all that we really can't fight, hand-to-hand, in our lives. Our Jabberwockies take the form of social pressures, not monsters.

I guess that could be another possibility...

[prismdropz.livejournal.com]

Oh! I like that interpretation! That makes a lot of sense, and the idea of equating Lady Ascot to the Jabberwocky made me crack up laughing.

The idea that it all came pouring out also makes a lot of sense. Adrenaline and excitement make it humiliatingly easy to say stupid things without realizing it. I've got a few moments in my past where I would have loved to duck tape my mouth shut if possible. It seems like whenever I get too excited my brain-to-mouth filter starts malfunctioning.

It's why I like typing and hate telephones. It's easier to catch myself making mistakes.