The film *Alice* (1988) by Jan Švankmajer is a dark, surreal, and psychological interpretation of Lewis Carroll's story, where "better" and "worse" refer more to a character's state of psychological agency and freedom.
Based on the film's narrative and themes, **Alice** ends up definitively **better**, while the **White Rabbit** ends up symbolically **worse**.
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### **Who ends up BETTER: Alice**
Alice (Kristýna Kohoutová) begins the film as a frustrated, constrained, and relatively passive child, but ends with a clear sense of agency and defiant control.
**Specific Details:**
* **Start:** Alice is shown in a state of boredom and non-compliance, like throwing stones into a cup, after having her hand slapped for attempting to touch a book. She is uncomfortable in the "real world" and initially follows the White Rabbit out of curiosity and a desperate need to escape her domestic constraints. She is often a passive protagonist, acted upon by the Wonderland world and its rules, frequently changing size against her will.
* **End:** Alice progresses from a passive follower to an **active agent of defiance**.
* She eventually refuses to conform to the absurd rules of Wonderland, such as when she is commanded to follow a script during her trial, which she defies by simply eating the Queen's tarts.
* The closing scene shows Alice waking up in her room, but the ambiguity remains as she discovers the White Rabbit is *still missing* from his glass case. Crucially, she finds a secret compartment where he keeps his signature **scissors**.
* Her final, narrated thought is a statement of newfound power: "And then, with the White Rabbit's scissors, I'll cut off his head." This final contemplation suggests she has appropriated the object of the White Rabbit's power (the executioner's scissors) and is ready to enact her own, uncompromising will upon the symbol of oppressive, unpredictable authority. She has gained **control** and **determination** over the dark forces she encountered.
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### **Who ends up WORSE: The White Rabbit**
The White Rabbit is the film's initial catalyst for freedom but ends up as the ultimate figure of the oppressive system Alice learns to defy, and is left exposed to her newfound aggression.
**Specific Details:**
* **Start:** The White Rabbit begins by violently freeing himself from his glass display case by smashing it with scissors after pulling nails out of his own body. He is a taxidermied object that gains **life and liberty**, serving as the initial symbol of escape from constraint.
* **End:** Despite his initial freedom, he becomes an unquestioning, robotic figure of the absurd regime, acting as the Queen's loyal **executioner**, beheading other characters with his scissors upon her command. This makes his "freedom" a trade-off for subservience.
* Symbolically, he ends up worse because his very power (the scissors) and authority are subverted and stolen by Alice in the real world. His missing status from the case and Alice's final threat to cut off his head signify that he has lost the battle for control, transforming from a menacing guide into a powerless **target** of Alice's now-unleashed will.