Hello,

I was told that one possible way the expression `Cheshire Cat' could have come is from a picture of a grinning cat drawn in front of cheese-packets made in Cheshire, and that there are many other explanations for that term. Any idea what they are?

Manoj

Bangalore India
12°58' N, 77°39' E

http://www.geocities.com/kummini/index.html

This may just confuse you more, but here's what inselpeter, of Troy and others had to say:

http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=22499&page=&view=&sb=&vc=1#Post22499

Alternatively, you could read 'Alice in Wonderland' (Carroll) and try to explain to us what you believe the grinning cat to be.

belligerentyouth wrote:
Alternatively, you could read 'Alice in Wonderland' (Carroll) and try to explain to us what you believe the grinning cat to be.

I got this doubt when I was reading Carroll. After `Alice in W'land' I moved on to `Through the Looking Glass', when I felt that there must have been reference to the grinning of C. Cat even before his time. Most of his characters are `reincarnations' popular rhyme characters. I felt that the actual Alice, to whom Carroll was telling the story probably had some funny idea of C. Cat, which Carroll `exploited' in the story.

I would hate to believe that C. Cat could not grin, and that Carroll meant that nothing at all remained of it when it disappeared except for its grin, as was suggestedd in the prev. thread on this topic.

Regards,
Manoj.

Bangalore India
12°58' N, 77°39' E

http://www.geocities.com/kummini/index.html

> there must have been reference to the grinning of C. Cat even before his time

Indeed there was .. see the end of the linked thead
I thought it was summed up quite well in the thread, kummini.
We now know that Mr. Carroll's use of the infamous cat could be due to anything from some Irish cheese's shape, to a childhood memory; perhaps a carefully crafted and profound meta isis, or a mixture of all of the above...
His cat character has certainly long mystified readers, I guess ideally leaving them as perplexed as the sweet little protagonist. Be harmoniously confused, I know I am.