The White Knight’s “Inventions”: Creativity and “Invention” in Through the Looking-Glass
The White Knight’s “Inventions”: Creativity and “Invention” in Through the Looking-Glass

Summary/Abstract: The figure of the White Knight in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass has often been read as part of a tradition of “nonsense literature”. While this is true, I wish to extend that argument and locate the figure of the White Knight in the context of the debates around the Patent Law of 1852. While defining and recognising the role of mechanical labour, the role and function of artistic labour also featured in these debates. The White Knight’s “inventions” are deeply resonant with these debates and prompt us to ask: what is the role of the artist in an industrial society? How can art retain its autonomy and justify itself when confronted with the pervasive discourse of utilitarianism? This paper argues that the anxiety around the role of the artist is palpable in the figure of the White Knight, and through him Carroll enunciates what may be read as his intervention in this debate.

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