Lory

The Lory is one of the many birds and animals that fall into the pool of tears Alice has wept when she was nine feet high. It arrives alongside a Duck, a Dodo, an Eaglet, and several other curious creatures, all of whom swim to the shore together. Once assembled on the bank, the party is a queer-looking sight—the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, all dripping wet, cross, and uncomfortable.

Identity and Introduction

The Lory is introduced as part of the crowd that has tumbled into the pool of tears. It is a bird, and like the others, it is wet and cross after the swim. The Lory quickly establishes itself as a character with strong opinions and a sense of its own importance. When the group holds a consultation about how to get dry, Alice finds herself talking familiarly with them, as if she had known them all her life. She has quite a long argument with the Lory, who at last turns sulky and will only say, "I am older than you, and must know better." Alice will not allow this without knowing how old it is, and as the Lory positively refuses to tell its age, there is no more to be said.

Role in the Caucus-race and Aftermath

During the Mouse's attempt to dry the party by reciting a dry history lesson, the Lory interrupts with a shiver, saying "Ugh!" When the Mouse frowns and politely asks if it spoke, the Lory hastily denies it. Later, after the Caucus-race—in which the Dodo marks out a race-course in a sort of circle, everyone runs when they like and leaves off when they like, and after half an hour the Dodo declares "The race is over!"—the Lory is part of the chorus that asks "But who has won?" and later "But who is to give the prizes?" After the prizes are distributed (comfits from Alice's pocket and a thimble presented solemnly by the Dodo), and after the Mouse storms off when Alice misinterprets its "tale" as a "tail," the Lory sighs, "What a pity it wouldn't stay!" as soon as the Mouse is quite out of sight.

Relationship with Alice and Departure

The Lory is one of the creatures who questions Alice about her cat Dinah. When Alice, addressing nobody in particular, wishes aloud that she had Dinah there, the Lory asks, "And who is Dinah, if I might venture to ask the question?" Alice replies eagerly, explaining that Dinah is her cat and is such a capital one for catching mice and birds. This speech causes a remarkable sensation among the party. Some of the birds hurry off at once: one old Magpie begins wrapping itself up very carefully, remarking that the night-air does not suit its throat, and a Canary calls out in a trembling voice to its children that it is high time they were all in bed. On various pretexts they all move off, and Alice is soon left alone. The Lory is among those who depart, and Alice is left feeling very lonely and low-spirited.

Thematic Significance

The Lory embodies the petty, self-important logic that pervades Wonderland. Its insistence on age as a basis for authority, combined with its refusal to provide the evidence for that authority, mirrors the arbitrary rules and hierarchies Alice encounters throughout her journey. The Lory's quick offense and sulkiness also reflect the fragile egos of the creatures in Wonderland, where a simple question can be taken as an insult. Its departure, along with the other birds, after hearing about Dinah's predatory nature, underscores the constant threat of violence and the precariousness of social bonds in this world. The Lory, like many of the creatures, is a flat character built around a single idea—pedantic seniority—and it serves to illustrate the absurdity of relying on such arbitrary markers of status.