Through the Looking-Glass, Chapter 1 summary

What happens

1. Alice scolds the black kitten for tangling her yarn and talks about snow, punishment, chess, and pretending.
2. She imagines entering the reflected house, and the mirror softens enough for her to pass through.
3. Alice discovers living chess pieces and carries the White Queen to her crying daughter, Lily.
4. She lifts and cleans the White King, frightens him, and takes control of his pencil as he tries to write.
5. Alice uses a mirror to read a reversed poem about a boy killing the Jabberwock, though much of its language puzzles her.
6. Wanting to explore, Alice floats downstairs and through the hall, then catches the doorpost and resumes walking.

In this chapter

What to notice

Alice’s game of pretending immediately becomes an actual crossing. The line connects her imaginative talk with the chapter’s central change.

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