| Rabbit doll | |
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| Series | * American McGee's Alice |
| “ | Save us, Alice!
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The rabbit doll, or rabbit toy, is a raggedy stuffed toy rabbit made of cloth that previously donned a loose waistcoat. Throughout the years, it needed a few repairs and has been missing an eye, as well as the dark blue vest it once wore.
It is Alice Liddell's dearest possession, as she still wished to keep it even as an adult.[2] It is one of the objects, if not the only object, from the Liddell household that survived the fire, and possesses strong sentimental value. However, the original toy had been lost, presumably during Alice's hospitalization at Littlemore Infirmary or Alice's early years at Rutledge Asylum, and the only copy was in Radcliffe's possession.[3] After his disappearance, the doll's current whereabouts remains unknown.[4]
History
Alice's childhood
Alice sleeping with her rabbit.
It seemed that the rabbit was Alice's favorite toy as a child while possibly being her only toy as no other stuffed toys were ever seen. It might have served as a form of comfort blanket to her as she had it with her every night, and was even seen holding it in the Liddell family portrait.[1]
On the night of the fire, Alice was clutching onto the rabbit when she jumped out the window to escape the blaze, saving herself and the doll from incineration.[1][5]
Littlemore Infirmary
Alice with the rabbit doll in Littlemore.
A newspaper clipping of Alice in Littlemore Infirmary shows she had a rabbit with her. It was not indicated if it was her original toy or a stand-in.
Rutledge Asylum
When Alice was institutionalized in the Rutledge Asylum in 1864, she still had the rabbit in her possession, and Dr. Wilson believed that it would help in her recovery. However, he later commented that it was a "stand-in for the original, which disappeared years ago."
In September 1873, while Alice was taking a nap, Nurse D- took it upon herself to replace the toy's missing eye, but when Alice saw the repair job, she began to sob hysterically and began to speak in cryptic rhyme. She would not stop crying until the new eye was removed, and had only returned to her quiet state after its removal. The event allowed Dr. Wilson to discover that Alice could speak.
Alice in her catatonic state at the Rutledge Asylum with her rabbit.
In November 1873, the Orderlies, who had been mistreating Alice for most of her first year in the asylum, tried ruining the rabbit toy by "feeding" it porridge. This triggered something in Alice and she attacked the Orderlies with a spoon, leaving heavy wounds, before turning it onto her own wrists. After her wrists were attended, Alice returned to her normal state again.
The next month, Dr. Wilson removed the rabbit from Alice's room, causing her to scream uncontrollably. However, after five months, Nurse D- grew tired of the doctor's fruitless shock treatments and repaired the doll before returning it to Alice. The nurse was repaid with a drawing of the White Rabbit made by Alice.[6]
Alice: Madness Returns
Radcliffe in possession of the rabbit.
At some point in time, Alice's lawyer, Wilton J. Radcliffe, gained possession of the rabbit. Alice had seemed to lose track of the toy, and was not sure who had it until Nan Sharpe reminded her that Radcliffe had it.
When Alice arrived at Radcliffe's home, she accused him of stealing her doll, yet he denied the claim, saying that she abandoned the rabbit in Rutledge Asylum. Alice then had some form of a fit, and when she came around, Radcliffe's house was completely empty and there was no sign of her rabbit.[4]
The doll in a hallcuination.
It was briefly mentioned that the original rabbit doll Alice had as a child was nowhere to be found some time after the fire, and that the current rabbit Radcliffe had was the only made copy.[3] When Alice hallucinated being back in Rutledge, the rabbit doll was briefly seen being pushed along on a trolley by the Orderlies.[7]
After Alice had defeated the Dollmaker, Alice was waking up on the bed in a room of the asylum holding the rabbit doll in her left arm.
Gallery
Template:Gallery
Trivia
Alice with the rabbit doll.
- In the main menu of American McGee's Alice, Alice is holding it.
- The Orderlies pushing the trolley with the rabbit doll on it could have been Alice remembering the Orderlies' mistreatment, or when the rabbit was taken away from her.
- It slightly resembles the White Rabbit, leading to the theory that the White Rabbit is Wonderland's incarnation of the doll.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rogue Entertainment (2000-10-06). American McGee's Alice. (Electronic Arts). Scene: Prologue.
- ↑ Throughout Alice: Madness Returns
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Spicy Horse (2011-06-14). Alice: Madness Returns. (Electronic Arts). Scene: Past Matters. Level: Extra Content.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Spicy Horse (2011-06-14). Alice: Madness Returns. (Electronic Arts). Scene: Threadneedle Street. Level: Chapter 3: Oriental Grove.
- ↑ Spicy Horse (2011-06-14). Alice: Madness Returns. (Electronic Arts). Scene: Memories.
- ↑ Rogue Entertainment (2000-10-06). American McGee's Alice. (Electronic Arts). Scene: Wilson's casebook.
- ↑ Spicy Horse (2011-06-14). Alice: Madness Returns. (Electronic Arts). Scene: Rutledge Asylum. Level: Chapter 5: The Dollhouse.
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