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The Gryphon
Gryphon

Real Name

Gryphon

First Appearance

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)

Original Publisher

Macmillan

Created by

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (as "Lewis Carroll")

Origin[]

The Gryphon appears to be somewhat overbearing and dismissive of the obsessions and dismays of other characters, such as the Mock Turtle's sorrow and the Queen of Hearts' executions, neither of which (according to the Gryphon) have any basis in fact. He speaks with a slightly ungrammatical Cockney-like accent and makes demands of the Mock Turtle, which are obeyed despite the latter creature's implicit objections. In addition, he is prone to making cough-like sounds written as "Hjckrrh!", which seem to have little meaning and may be involuntary.

In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Gryphon features with the Mock Turtle in Chapter 9, "The Mock Turtle's Story", Chapter 10, "The Lobster Quadrille", and briefly at the start of Chapter 11, "Who Stole the Tarts?". The Gryphon was ordered by the Queen to take Alice to meet the Mock Turtle; this he did, and stayed with them for a long time, demanding that the Mock Turtle tell its history, as well as several poems. The two creatures go on to explain certain features of their world which are apparently nonsense to Alice, before Alice and the Gryphon are summoned to a criminal trial, leaving the Mock Turtle behind.

Public Domain Appearances[]

Book:

  • Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
  • The Nursery "Alice"
  • A New Alice in the Old Wonderland

Film:

  • Alice in Wonderland (1915)

Notes[]

While the original character is in public domain, the version of the character used by Disney and other later adaptations published after 1923 are NOT in the public domain.

See Also[]

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