I’ve always been fascinated by how things are named. It seems so strange that someone named a thing, and everyone agreed with that particular name, and from that point on everyone would call the object that given name. The act itself seems so simple when it’s broken down like that, especially when you consider how much power a name holds. Without a name, there is confusion and frustration because the ability to communicate becomes so much harder. Alice’s adventure through the nameless wood exemplifies the control that a name has over a person. First she experiences the frustration of not being able to name the place where she is, and then the loss of self by not being able to remember her own name. I think everyone has faced a similar moment when they can’t think of word but to imagine a place where you could not recall the name for anything would be maddening.

While words are so important for society to function, there is also a balance that can only be attained when the divisions that are created by a name are dissolved. Alice’s interactions with the Fawn show how without a name they were both in a sense on equal ground. The Fawn did not fear Alice because she could not remember that she is a human child. The Fawn’s fear rested in the name, not Alice herself. As soon as they made it through the wood, the Fawn realizes that she is fawn and Alice is a human child and because of these names and the relationship society has dictated they should have, they must fear each other. Just these two pages have made me question how many relationships we have are determined by the names, and by extension, titles we are given in life.