My daughter asked me the other day what The Mad Hatter’s background was, "Where did he come from Mummy?". A very reasonable question I think. And so I went in search of answers.
To understand who a person is, one can seek to understand what he came from. The interesting thing though is that the reverse is also true. One can understand what a person came from in understanding who he is.
So, who is The Mad Hatter? He loves to dance, has orange hair, wears hats (obviously), loves making hats, wears make-up, as well as a suit. He lives in Wonderland, loves Alice and not The Red Queen. And he goes crazy when his hat is not on his head.
Most essentially, The Mad Hatter is a hat fanatic. His hat fanaticism could be seen as evidence that he seeks to cover his head. But why might he want to cover his head? We know that when his hat is removed from his head, he goes crazy. So maybe he wants to cover his head because he fears his craziness. Maybe he covers his head because he doesn't want to 'lose’ his head. A fear of his which is likely further entrenched with The Red Queen constantly threatening to take everyone's head off all across Wonderland.
And were this true, it would be a good choice of course for Hatter to choose Wonderland to live. Wonderland is a place where one 'can' in fact lose one's head. Many do, at the orders of The Red Queen. There is some social acceptance at least for the possibility of ‘losing one’s head’. So Wonderland might actually be a socially safe environment for a head-losing-fearer like Hatter.
As an aside, maybe The Red Queen isn't so mean after all; perhaps she is merely voicing encouragement for the losing of one's head.
But, back to Hatter. Perhaps Hatter's hat provides him with some extra protection against the risk of losing his head. Hatter also wears make-up. Perhaps his make-up disguises him so that should he lose his hat, and hence his head, he will not be recognized! Thus protecting him additionally from potential social condemnation from having lost his head.
This has all the signs of a case of classic childhood repression. Hatter was simply forced to grow up too soon! Even as he tries to comply by the wearing of the manly adult suit, Hatter is a child living inside a man's body, burdened with his 'crazy' inclinations and his need to protect himself from them. Instead of fully embracing and integrating this expressive, imaginative self, he carries it around as though it is a dangerous weapon that must be sheathed: 'handled with care'. His Hattering serves a twofold purpose: one part defense mechanism to ward off said 'craziness' and, a second part outlet for imaginative expression. Also, his Hattering offers a commonality with which to bond with fear-stimulator, The Red Queen, who is herself “of such a bulbous head” that she and Hatter are able to connect excitedly on hat design possibilities.
So there we have it! The mysterious epidemiology of the Mad Hatter's hat fanaticism: solved. A child with a wondrous imagination that was re-interpreted and misinterpreted, likely by some parental authority figure as ‘craziness’. A child who learned to fear this part of himself, and thus began a lifetime of carefully hiding it away and protecting himself from it. Ultimately this falsely labeled ‘craziness’ sublimated into an outlet for both defense and expression – Hats. And thus was born The Mad Hatter. My daughter will be pleased to have this clarity.
And perhaps a message to us all:
Unleash the crazy. Remove the hat. Indeed: Off With Your Head.
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