Alice has been brought up knowing that one day she will marry a Lord and be a mother, and that will be her life's purpose. Her mother is strict when she needs to be but her father encourages her, even whilst her mother stands next to him and tell her that cats cannot smile and flowers have never talked.

Her father calls her mad, barmy.

She quite likes being mad. There is an odd kind of logic to it, only understood by those equally mad.

It's because of that she never really fits in. No one sees the world the way she does, they're all parties and engagements and stockings.

Then she finds herself in Underland and suddenly, she has people who understand her in a way she's not felt since her father died.

(It's why she thinks it's a dream at first. She's never felt this well connected to anyone in her life.)