Alice's Adventures in Wonderland · Character
Red King
- Supporting
- First seen · Book 2 · Ch. 1
He has the solemn air of a monarch even in repose, his bright red cap and tassel lending ceremony to an otherwise absurdly sleepy figure. There is something dreamlike about him—a king whose authority seems to soften into a snore.
- Gender
- male
- Age
- adult
- First appears
- Book 2 · Ch. 1
- Books
- 1
The Red King first appears as a chess piece in Alice’s curious world, and later lies asleep beneath a tree, his tall red night-cap and tassel marking him as unmistakably royal. His loud snoring becomes part of the strange question of whether Alice is dreaming him, or whether he is dreaming her. By the end, he remains a figure at the edge of the dream, remembered as the King whose wife was Kitty.
Description
A small, solid red chess king with the compact, upright shape of a carved game piece. His surface is bright and toy-like, with a simple kingly form rather than lifelike human features. A tall red night-cap crowns him, its tassel hanging conspicuously from the top. He carries a ceremonious but faintly ridiculous presence, as though sleep has overtaken his royal dignity. A compact, carved chess-piece king with a squat, toy-like build and a solemn, simplified face. Ashes dust his figure from head to foot, paling the surface beneath his vivid red nightcap. The cap rises tall above him and ends in a dangling tassel; when he is still, his posture looks slumped and sulky. His presence is small but strangely weighty, like a game piece carrying the authority of a king.
Connections
Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals
Red Queenhusband and wife
The Red King and Red Queen are the paired monarchs on the opposing side of the chessboard.
- K
Kittyconflicting source relationships
Alice tells Kitty that Kitty was the Red King’s wife in the dream, and asks whether the Red King was the dreamer.
Aliceconflicting source relationships
Tweedledee and Tweedledum claim Alice exists only in the Red King’s dream and would vanish if he woke. Alice rejects their claim; the text does not establish it as fact.
Tweedledeesubjects or attendants to the sleeping king
Tweedledee identifies the loud snoring as the Red King and presents him to Alice.
Tweedledumsubjects or attendants to the sleeping king
Tweedledum treats the Red King as a familiar figure and invites Alice to look at him while he sleeps.
White Kingopposing monarchs in the chess world
They represent opposing sides of the chessboard’s royal world; in this excerpt, the White King is active while the Red King is asleep.
Story so far
BOOK 2Through The Looking Glass
Key events
Gallery
Book 2: Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There
Appearances
Meet Red King in Bookworm
Meet Red King in your EPUB — spoiler-safe to the book you're on.