| Abstract |
The enigma is the extreme divergence between the life and opinions of Dodgson and those of his creations: The mystery
its cause. Here this is attributed to the conflicts between the author's liberal and authoritarian attitudes to religion and sexuality.
It is suggested that these could have been reconciled by adopting the belief system set out in the Kabbalah, mystical tradition of Judaism. An example of its relevance is the number 42 whose frequent appearance in the two Alice books and the Hunting of the Snark has attracted much attention but no explanation. In the Kabbalah this number refers to the Name of God which unites the conflicting aspects of the Divinity which preoccupied Dodgson.
The absence of any direct evidence linking Dodgson with this esoteric aspect
of mysticism and other arguments against accepting this hypothesis are noted.
Nevertheless its presentation is justified from the example of a book pointing out the similarity between Kabbalistic and Freudian understanding of human sexuality whose publication gave rise to direct evidence confirming the reality of this linkage.
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