August W Booth = The White Knight aka Lewis Carroll

[possum snoodle]

I had a thought:
August W Booth = The White Knight aka Lewis Carroll. So much has been emphasized on OUAT about names as clues to the Alternate persona of the characters. It’s as if The Caterpillar’s saying, “Who are you?” is one of the central themes. So, applying this to August W Booth, I get this possibility:

Name meanings: August (noble) Wayne (cartwright) Booth (carol;carrel)

Now, put it all together:

Noble: such as a King or his noble Knight.
Cartwright: an artist or craftsman that makes and repairs carts; one who repairs or sets things right.
Carol/Carrel: a booth-like desk and study space often found in libraries; and possibly, CARROLL, as in Lewis Carroll.

So, perhaps:
The White Knight is The White King’s Knight, from, Carroll’s, Through The Looking Glass
Interestingly, Snow White’s father was a King and that could tie together Wonderland and Fairy Tale Land, again, like the Queen of Hearts and Evil Queen/Snow White story.

Other clues pointing to this possibility:

A knight protects and/or “set things (w)right.” A knight rides a horse and uses a sword. The White Knight was also an inventor – a craftsman – and he showed Alice one of his many inventions – an odd box that opened from the bottom.

It has been said, Lewis Carroll interjected himself into Wonderland as The White Knight. Carroll was a Writer/”Wrighter,” – craftsman. A writer uses a pen – or a typewriter. A typewriter case/box often opens from the bottom (not sure August’s did but I’m looking into it).

August rides a motorcycle (his horse?) and uses a pen – or typewriter as his writing/wrighting sword, which, he could also use to edit/alter/kill words, lines, plots – and characters – thus righting – or re-writing – a wrong. This would give him a greater magic than Mr. Gold’s.

But wouldn’t the White Knight dress in white? August does seem to wear lots of black but perhaps, this is to throw us off his true identity. Still, the purple neckerchief may refer to royalty.

The White Knight may end up being something nebulous, like, the Protector/Defender of the Written Word or a Matrix-like Architect Master Librarian that archives and repairs all the stories ever told so they may never die.

Whooooo knows? It’s an interesting mystery, though.

[the wiz]

@Possum Snoodle wrote:

I had a thought:
August W Booth = The White Knight aka Lewis Carroll.
August rides a motorcycle (his horse?) and uses a pen – or typewriter as his writing/wrighting sword, which, he could also use to edit/alter/kill words, lines, plots – and characters – thus righting – or re-writing – a wrong. This would give him a greater magic than Mr. Gold’s.

My intuition has been baiting me with this same possibility: that August’s magic could transform more than Mr. Gold’s or Rumple’s ever will. The writers of OUAT seem to have amazing magical powers when it comes to enchanting audiences as well as their cast & crew of the show. It seems appropriate that the writers would insert a character into the show that represented themselves and revealed some of their magical powers.

My recollection of the White Knight is of a “goofball” with a very different personality from August W. Booth. Here’s a synopsis I found online at http://www.shmoop.com/alice-in-wonderland-looking-glass/white-knight.html

The White Knight
Character Analysis
Character in: Looking-Glass World
The White Knight is Alice’s escort through the second-to-last square. As Lewis Carroll’s own self-depiction in the book, the White Knight is a daydreaming inventor, a foolish and awkward man who is highly sentimental. His cleverness is entirely impractical, but it still moves us to adoration. When he must leave Alice to her next journey – across the final brook to become a queen – the White Knight can’t follow. We sense that this is how Carroll himself feels about the real-life Alice Liddell growing up: he can’t follow her into puberty, and is left with only his memories of his child-friend.

[charming]

A knight is bound by chivalry, so by him saying he doesn’t lie epsecially to a lady such as Emma, who is a Princess. Her mother Snow White daughter of King Leopold and Prince Charming “adopted” son of King George. He is protective of the book and does appear to have restored it, perhaps those missing pages.

[possum snoodle]

@wiz
Ahh, yes, the character analysis of White Knight doesn’t seem to mesh with the characteristics of August. I’m not giving up the whole theory yet.

Then, there’s that bit in the analysis about the White Knight not being able to go with Alice across the final brook(e) to her next journey as a Queen…and August does seem to have some issues with water. Perhaps, it has something to do with seeing his reflection in the looking glass surface of the water.

thanks for your input, wiz!

OH, btw, the dialogue that came up as your signature phrase,
“If you need evidence for everything Emma, you’re going to find yourself stuck in one place for a long time” – AW Booth, Ep 13,
I believe, is an Alice reference. I’m hunting Alice dialogue. I seem to recall Alice worried about being stuck in age, size, location, and such. Hmm.

[the wiz]

You’re welcome PS! I suspect the White Knight could not advance with Alice because of the metaphor of a chess board in that story. Most pieces in chess have limited moves, unlike Queens and Kings. I have yet to see August experience limited movement – so that seems to me another disparity between the White Knight and August.

The “water” issues August has revealed so far deal with how magical water can be, how good it tastes to him and how he asks for a glass at Granny’s over anything else on the menu.

[charming]

@the wiz wrote:

You’re welcome PS! I suspect the White Knight could not advance with Alice because of the metaphor of a chess board in that story. Most pieces in chess have limited moves, unlike Queens and Kings. I have yet to see August experience limited movement – so that seems to me another disparity between the White Knight and August.

The “water” issues August has revealed so far deal with how magical water can be, how good it tastes to him and how he asks for a glass at Granny’s over anything else on the menu.

Yes I agree the knight on a chess board has one of the most limiting moves or any piece. He is free to come and go from SB. He did cross the toll bridge with Emma on the back of the motorcycle. Water seems not to be the issue for him. I’ll go with royal writer. August Wayne. that makes sense. Booth to Lewis Carroll is a harder case to make, his real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (01/27/1832 to 01/14/1898) he was mathmatician, logician and Anglican deacon. If one can find a connection that fits I can agree because 2 of the 3 does fit and the third I do not see too clearly. Thoughts???

[the wiz]

@Possum Snoodle
You wrote:

I’m hunting Alice dialogue. I seem to recall Alice worried about being stuck in age, size, location, and such. Hmm.

There are several other features of Wonderland that were stuck: the Mad Tea Party, the Red Queen’s obsessions and the White Rabbit’s chronic lateness – for instance. It’s possible that Lewis Carroll was commenting on what happens when our use of logic precludes self reflection (going into a looking glass). If we cannot consider the “3 fingers pointing back at ourselves” when we point fingers at others, our own story grounds to a halt. Getting unstuck calls for seeing what we’re doing to ourselves when we do things to others and how we create our own limitations by being unimaginative.

@charming
You wrote:

Booth to Lewis Carroll is a harder case to make, his real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (01/27/1832 to 01/14/1898) he was mathmatician, logician and Anglican deacon. If one can find a connection that fits I can agree because 2 of the 3 does fit and the third I do not see too clearly. Thoughts???

I’m thinking the connection of Booth to Lewis Carroll is too logical and literal, just like Emma was being with Jefferson discussing what is “the real world”. Instead of what is, let’s play with what-if questions:
1. What if August Booth is merely a self-referential character for the writers of OUAT, like the White Knight was for Lewis Carroll.
2. What if Jefferson’s dialogue is an homage to Lewis Carroll’s approach to the intersection of logic and imagination?
3. What if that room with the big window and sea of hats is symbolic of how Charles Dodgson abandoned the Anglican Church’s dictates about Hell and Eternal Damnation?
4. What if Jefferson’s getting stuck in Wonderland in FTL and that abandoned church sanctuary somewhere — are the result of being unimaginative?
5. What if Jefferson created his living hell by “hating Wonderland” and “hating the curse” that kept him apart from his daughter in SB?
6. What if he will discover he has magic himself when he can abandon either/or logic and embrace both/and paradoxes?
7. What if his beheading in Wonderland shows him his logical split between his mind & body, head & heart, or thinking & feeling?
8. What if the writers of OUAT realize that Lewis Carroll could have written the show because he was both logical and imaginative, not exclusively one or the other? 😀

[mujie]

Next someone will say he’s the one who assassinated JFK. He had 3 names and his surname was Booth as well.

[the wiz]

John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. JFK took a bullet from Lee Harvey Oswald. Close, but no cigar. 😀

[possum snoodle]

Awesome responses! Thank You, All! Some time to ponder is in order.

[Author]

Posts