Sir John Tenniel's illustration also shows him with straw on his head, a common way to depict madness in Victorian times. Like the character's friend, the Hatter, the March Hare feels compelled to always behave as though it is tea-time because the Hatter supposedly "murdered the time" whilst singing for the Queen of Hearts. It used to be incorrectly believed that these bouts were between males fighting for breeding supremacy. Early in the season, unreceptive females often use their forelegs to repel overenthusiastic males. It is reported in The Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner that this proverb is based on popular belief about hares' behavior at the beginning of the long breeding season, which lasts from February to September in Britain. "Mad as a March hare" was a common phrase in Carroll's time, and appears in John Heywood's collection of proverbs published in 1546. "The March Hare will be much the most interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won't be raving mad - at least not so mad as it was in March." Haigha, the March Hare is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
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