“Keep your temper” is both a social admonition and a strategic tool. On the surface, the Caterpillar orders Alice to control her irritation in the face of its contradictions and clipped questions. The advice’s value appears meager—especially given the Caterpillar’s own peevish tone—yet it becomes the precondition for learning anything useful in Wonderland. By swallowing her frustration, Alice remains in the conversation long enough to receive the crucial mushroom instruction that enables her to manage her size. The phrase also carries a secondary sense: to “temper” is to harden and moderate, as with metal. In this light, the Caterpillar’s command suggests cultivating steadiness under pressure, a quality Alice needs as her body, memory, and social cues keep shifting. The line thus marks a pivot from reactive bewilderment to deliberate experimentation: she later nibbles alternately from each piece, calibrating herself instead of passively enduring transformations. In a world where rules seem arbitrary or circular, the only stable rule Alice can apply is internal—her composure—which allows observation, testing, and incremental control.