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The Duchess is a very ugly relation of the Queen. One minute furious, the next affectionate, the Duchess is a chaotic character and keeps a chaotic household, with a violent cook and a baby that looks very much like a pig, all presided over by the Cheshire Cat. The Duchess is sentenced to death by the Queen and is herself very fond of moralizing and justice, but always manages to escape with her head intact.
The Duchess Quotes in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The Alice's Adventures in Wonderland quotes below are all either spoken by The Duchess or refer to The Duchess. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 6 Quotes
'If everybody minded their own business,' the Duchess said in a hoarse growl, 'the world would go round a deal faster than it does.'
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Explanation and Analysis:
The Duchess delivers this piece of nonsensical advice amidst a chaotic scene. Plates fly around her kitchen, hitting the Duchess and her pig-baby, and an overly-peppery soup causes all the inhabitants to sneeze excessively. It’s worth looking at the logic of the sentence, for Carroll, as we know by now, pays a lot of attention to differences between effective and ineffective language. First, the world can neither “go round” faster nor slower, for it maintains a constant speed despite what people do; second, everyone dealing with their own affairs is precisely and ironically what has caused the scene of mayhem; Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est.
Chapter 9 Quotes
'Tut, tut, child!' said the Duchess. 'Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.' And she squeezed herself up closer to Alice's side as she spoke.
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The Duchess speaks to Alice after being fetched to offer the King and Queen counsel on the state of the Cheshire Cat. As the two walk together, the Duchess grows fond of Alice, but also chastises her and offers gratuitous advice when she does not pay attention. Carroll here presents the Duchess as a parody of the moralizing adult, a character with which children like Alice would certainly be familiar. Yet by this point in the tale, Alice and the reader have both grown skeptical of the Duchess’ character—as well as with any Wonderland figure who tends to deal in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto vol
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The Duchess Character Timeline in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The timeline below shows where the character The Duchess appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2 - The Pool of Tears
...of white gloves. The rabbit is still worrying about being late – he says the Duchess will be very mad to be kept waiting.
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Chapter 4 - The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill
...looking for his fan and gloves. He is very worried about being late, thinking the Duchess will have him executed. Alice tries to find his things but the room has changed...
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Chapter 6 - Pig and Pepper
...are exchanging invitations. The Fish footman hands the Frog one from the Queen to the Duchess to play croquet and the Frog delivers the same invitation in reverse. Then the footmen...
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...coming straight away into a kitchen, where a cook is stirring a cauldron and the Duchess is sitting, nursing a baby.
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...the hearth, smiling. Alice asks the group nervously why the cat is smiling, and the Duchess merely explains that it is a “Cheshire” cat and then shouts “Pig!” at her baby....
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Alice shouts at the cook to stop and the Duchess says angrily that the world would go round faster if people stopped interfering. The Duchess...
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Then the Duchess throws the baby to Alice to nurse while she gets ready for the croquet match....
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Chapter 8 - The Queen's Croquet-Ground
...procession. Alice walks beside the White Rabbit and asks him if he has seen the Duchess. The Rabbit swiftly shushes Alice – the Duchess has been sentenced to execution for boxing...
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...need a head. The Queen, meanwhile, would like to behead everybody. Alice suggests getting the Duchess, since she owns the Cheshire Cat, but by the time the Duchess is fetched, the...
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Chapter 9 - The Mock-Turtle's Story
The Duchess is very happy to see Alice – her mood is quite changed from earlier –...
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The Duchess says that is weary of putting her arm around Alice’s waist because of her flamingo’s...
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The Duchess runs off and they continue with the game, but there is so much cause for...
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