30+ of the best quotes from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a novel about a curious young girl who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantastical world. This bizarre and enchanting land is populated by peculiar and memorable characters, including the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mock Turtle. From a surreal tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare to a topsy-turvy game of croquet with the Queen of Hearts, the story follows Alice as she interacts with outrageous creatures, each of whom adds to the absurdity of this strange realm. There have been many adaptations of this story since it was published in 1865, including Disney's Alice in Wonderland animated film, but the original novel remains unsurpassed. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is beloved for its playful use of language and its commentary on childhood. It is also renowned for its narrative innovation and whimsy, as wel as themes like identity and perception. 

Though Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was written as a children's book, Carroll's story invites readers of all ages to question the world around them. Here are 30+ of its greatest quotes.

The best Alice's Adventures in Wonderland quotes on self-discovery

1. "'And what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversation?'"

2. "'I wish creatures wouldn't be so easily offended!' 'You'll get used to it in time,' said the Caterpillar; and it put the hookah into its mouth and began smoking again."

3. "'Then,' said the cat, 'it really doesn't matter, does it?"

4. "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."

5. "'Why,"' said the Dodo, 'the best way to explain it is to do it.'"

The best Alice's Adventures in Wonderland quotes on absurdity and satire

1. "Birds of a feather flock together."

2. "The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth."

3. "Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'"

4. "'Contrariwise,' continued Tweedledee, 'if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic'."

5. “'Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,' thought Alice; 'but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life!'”

6. "She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it)."

The best Alice's Adventures in Wonderland quotes on curiosity and imagination

1. "Alice thought to herself 'I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin'."

2. "What is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'"

3. "Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, 'What road do I take?'"

4. "Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'"

The best Alice's Adventures in Wonderland quotes on identity and personal growth

1. "I–I hardly know, sir, just at present–at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."

2. "Why, there's hardly enough of me left to make ONE respectable person!"

3. "Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!"

4. "Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible."

5. "'That's the reason they're called lessons,' the Gryphon remarked: 'because they lessen from day to day.'"

6. "'If everybody minded their own business,"'the Duchess said in a hoarse growl, 'the world would go round a deal faster than it does.'"

The best Alice's Adventures in Wonderland quotes on reality and perception

1. "Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way."

2. "I almost wish I hadn't gone down that rabbit-hole—and yet—and yet—it's rather curious, you know, this sort of life!"

3. "Sometimes, I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

4. “Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense.”

5. "A dream is not reality but who's to say which is which?"

6. "How puzzling all these changes are! I'm never sure what I'm going to be, from one minute to another."

7. "We're all mad here."

8. "If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later."

9. "'If you knew Time as well as I do,' said the Hatter, 'you wouldn't talk about wasting it.'"

10. "It would be so nice if something made sense for a change."