Dinah

   

Dinah
Biographical information
Provenance	Oxford
Physical description
Gender	Female
Skin color	Black
Skin type	Fur
Personal information
Allies	The Liddell family
Image gallery (3)

Dinah was a black cat and pet of Alice Liddell. She was believed to be the cause of the house fire that led to the deaths of Alice's family.

History

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Dinah had not been physically present, although Alice talked about her many times, and frequently mentioned her to Wonderland residents. When Alice described Dinah's hunting skills to the animals in the Caucus Race, they became very uncomfortable.

Through the Looking-Glass

Dinah was mentioned in the first and final chapters, with her offspring Snowdrop and Kitty.

American McGee's Alice

Dinah was believed to be the only cause of the fire. She was seen in Alice's home close to the fireplace when she stretched and gently bumped a stack of books. Her action caused the books to tumble. The books seemed to collide with several other objects including a lamp which broke, although it is possible the books never actually collided with the lamp. The lamp oil spilled into the fire, causing the blaze to move from its current position and burn the home.

When Alice was transferred to Rutledge Asylum, Heironymous Q. Wilson noted that a cat had "stood atop Alice as if claiming territorial right" and still continued to watch her even after it was threatened by an orderly with a stick. Whether or not it was Dinah was not confirmed, as Wilson stated that were numerous feral cats around the area. Years later, Wilson saw a mangy cat lick Alice's cheek, who hissed at him and then left through a windowsill's grate when it saw the doctor. The cat's identity was also not confirmed.

During Alice's release from Rutledge Asylum, a black cat was seen leaving with her. Whether or not the cat was Dinah a decade older, or simply a feral cat Alice befriended in the asylum and chose to adopt, was not revealed.

Alice: Madness Returns

It was revealed the house fire had been started by Alice's psychiatrist, Dr. Angus Bumby, a rapist who killed Alice's sister Elizabeth Liddell before starting the fire.

Alice remembers Dinah saved her life by showing her the only safe way to escape the house was to leap out the window.

Trivia

The books Dinah knocks over are not actually seen knocking the lamp.

• At first, Madness Returns seems to contradict the opening of American McGee's Alice. However, it is possible that both Bumby and Dinah were two causes of the fire in different areas of the house, or that the introduction from American McGee Alice's is merely from Alice's imagination. Another explanation is that the intro of American McGee's Alice has been retconned as Dinah knocking over the lamp is not explicitly seen. The chain of events would likely be that Bumby entered the room which woke up Dinah, threw the lamp, and Dinah toppled books that did not knock off the lamp.
• In Through the Looking-Glass, Dinah also has a second kitten, a black kitten named "Kitty". It is unknown if Kitty exists in the American McGee's Alice canon. Given that that the games are unauthorized sequels, she probably does, but is never mentioned.
• It is unknown what happened to Dinah after the fire. Dinah's absence in Alice: Madness Returns implies that she might have died or simply been adopted by another family.
• In Alice: Madness Returns, Dinah's name is misspelled "Dynah" in the subtitles only. Everywhere else, including the Extra Content, it is spelled Dinah.
• In the Italian version of the game (and Disney's cartoon), Dinah's name is changed to "Oreste," and she is a male cat.
• According to the Extra Content, Dinah had a rambunctious white kitten named Snowdrop. Alice comments, "I try not to think about her. She'd be an old lady now – if she's alive." It is unknown if Alice is referring to Dinah or Snowdrop.

External links

• Dinah on Alice in Wonderland Wikia