| White King | |
|---|---|
| Alice character | |
 1871 illustration byJohn Tenniel | |
| First appearance | Through the Looking-Glass |
| Created by | Lewis Carroll |
| Portrayed by | Michael Socha (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | King |
| Spouse | White Queen |
| Children | Lily (apawn) |
| Nationality | Looking-glass world |
TheWhite King is a fictional character who appears inLewis Carroll's 1871 fantasy novelThrough the Looking-Glass. Aside fromAlice herself, he is one of the earliestchesspieces that are introduced into the story. Although he does not interact with Alice as much as theWhite Queen does, because Alice becomes apawn on his side of the Chess-game, he is, on some levels, the most important character within the story at least as far as the game is concerned. He is not to be confused with theKing of Hearts fromAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.
When Alice first sees the White King, having passed through the eponymouslooking glass, he is a chesspiece of normal size, but animate, and, for whatever reason, cannot hear or see Alice at this stage. Alice, not realising this, picks both him and theWhite Queen off the floor and places them on a table, leading them to believe that some unseenvolcano blew them up there. Afterwards, however, she has some mischievous fun by manipulating the King's handwriting from behind while he writes so that he comes out with nonsense in hismemorandum book ("theWhite Knight is sliding down thepoker. He balances very badly"). She soon leaves him alone, however, when she sees thepoetry-book in which "Jabberwocky" is written.
When Alice sees the White King next, in a later chapter, he is, along with many other characters in the story, the size of a normal adult.Humpty Dumpty, as a chesspiece, is "taken" (symbolised by his notorious fall from where he sits) and the White King appears with his soldiers, presumably in hopes of putting him back together. He and Alice begin characteristic Wonderland/Looking-Glass banter, as well as the usual Carrollianword play ("I only wish I had such eyes...to be able to see Nobody").[1] His imperial status as a king, as well as his tendency to take things literally, is reflected in such statements as "it isn't respectable to beg" when Alice simply says "I beg your pardon" and he also remarks that he needs his two messengersHatta andHaigha: "one to come and one to go... one to fetch and one to carry". When Haigha arrives he claims, in all seriousness, that there is "nothing like eatinghay when you're feeling faint", and having eaten twohamsandwiches consumes some hay just as casually. He expresses mixed feelings about two other characters,the Lion and the Unicorn: amusement at the fact that they are "fighting for the crown" even though it is his own crown they are fighting over, but at the same time nervousness when the "two great creatures" stand on either side of him. However, given that they, as chesspieces, are protecting him from danger from the red side, there is, as Carroll tells us, "nothing to be done about it".
His identity as aking in a game of Chess is revealed all the more when he admits that he can never quite catch up with his spouse, because, like allchess-queens, she moves too fast and for too many squares ahead of him for him to overtake her. Indeed, a more extreme version of this relationship can be seen on the opposite side of the game, in which theRed King remains asleep throughout the whole story, and theRed Queen runs herfamous race.
Although we do not see the White King again, he is placed intocheck by the Red Knight before the clumsy soldier is defeated by the even-clumsierWhite Knight.Gardner, inThe Annotated Alice has observed that he is also later put into check by the Red Queen, without either side showing any acknowledgment of it. The White Queen, with characteristic stupidity, performs a completely pointless move on her turn. After Alice "takes" the Red Queen andcheckmates the inanimate Red King, any potential danger is removed and the game, as well as her dream, comes to an end.
