Peter Pan and Mary Poppins: A Common Theme - Essay Example

 Peter Pan and Mary Poppins: A Common Theme Fairy tales are dubbed such because they present us with a glimpse of another world. This is a world that is similar to ours in that it typically contains all the same features and natural processes, but in this world, things work a little differently. The rules can be bent, changed, or work directly opposite to how they work in our world. As people discuss the relative merits of this fantasy world versus the real world, fantasy is typically identified as being the exclusive domain of the child, something that must be put aside as the child grows into an adult and something that the adult cannot appreciate or experience at all. However, there are occasions when an adult manages to overcome the issues of being ‘grown up’ and continues to see the magical world of the child. It is to stress the importance of this middle ground that both Peter Pan and Mary Poppins are dedicated as they explore the difference between fantasy and reality, childhood freedom and adult responsibility and the importance of finding a middle way between the two of them if one wants to enjoy life to its fullest. In Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie outlines the concept that fantasy is not any less or more real than what we recognize as reality, but is an alternate space that can exist at once inside the mind and in some amorphous ‘other’ physical plane. This is introduced as he discusses the nature of the mind: “I don’t know whether you have ever seen a map of a person’s mind. Doctors sometimes draw maps of other parts of you, and your own map can become intensely interesting, but catch them trying to draw a map of a child’s mind … There are zigzag lines on it … and these are probably roads in the island; for the Neverland is always more or less an island” (Barrie, 2003: 17). This is emphasized while the children are in Neverland and the narrator tells his reader, “If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colours suspended in the darkness; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape, and the colours become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire. But just before they go on fire you see the lagoon. This is the nearest you ever get to it on the mainland” (Barrie, 2003: 103-104). Thus, fantasy represents another plane altogether from the one in which we live, but is also accessible, for moments only, to this plane. There is a danger in living in it full-time, though. While the other boys realize the difference between when they are really eating and when they are being forced to go hungry, Peter could not discern the difference. “Make-believe was so real to him that during a meal of it you could see him getting rounder” (Barrie, 2003: 97). This trait, while engaging is also found to be dangerous, particularly when Pan is attempting to function within an adult world. The concept that the real world and the world of fantasy overlap but remain distinct is also found in Travers’ book Mary Poppins. The first such instance is when the children observe Mary sliding up the banister behind their mother upon her arrival. Other than this strange sight, the scene remains completely within the bounds of the normal world. Mary Poppins seems a bit haughty, as every proper nanny should, the mother is slightly addlebrained and the children remain stunned. While it is only a small incident, the concept that the world of fantasy does exist is recognized with this scene. Evidence that this other world exists on another plane is seen in Mary’s date with Bert, the MatchMan / street artist. Bert makes chalk images on the sidewalks as a means of making money on fine days, but has not made much on the day he plans to have tea with Mary. Rather than going hungry, Bert and Mary jump through the image of a grassy field and are served a wonderful tea by a fancy waiter before going for a ride on some merry-go-round horses. The difference between this world and the London from which they came is as different as the enclosed nursery space of the Darling children from the wildness of Neverland. “How green it was there and how quiet, and what soft, crisp grass under their feet! They could hardly believe it was true, and yet here were green branches huskily rattling on their hats as they bent beneath them, and little coloured flowers curling round their shoes” (Travers, 1962: 30). However, the fantasy world of Mary Poppins has a much closer relationship with the real world whenever Mary’s around, which are evidenced by tea at Uncle Wigg’s house, Mary’s ability to communicate with other creatures like the dog Andrew or the starling and the explanation behind the activities of the cow. Another primary theme in both books is the concept of adult responsibility and concern as compared to childhood’s freedom from all care. The concept of adult concern is found in Hook’s preoccupation with the pursuing crocodile with the ticking clock inside of him “and so before it can reach me I hear the tick and bolt.’ ‘Some day,’ said Smee, ‘the clock will run down and then he’ll get you’” (Barrie, 2003: 77). The message here is that the clock is winding down for Hook and he is forced to stay perpetually concerned about his own mortality and the necessity of accomplishing his goals before too much longer. By contrast, when Peter realizes the crocodile has stopped ticking, he begins making a ticking noise himself as a means of frightening off any wild creatures that would be expecting the more fearsome beast. Despite his own involvement with the proverbial clock at this point in time, Peter completely forgets about it despite the fact that he himself is making the noise. “He had ticked so long that he now went on ticking without knowing that he was doing it. Had he known he would have stopped, for to board the brig by the help of the tick, though an ingenuous idea, had not occurred to him” (Barrie, 2003: 182). While Hook is completely overwhelmed by his concerns, Peter is completely unaffected by them. This same sort of distinction can be seen in Mary Poppins as the various people the children come into contact with are seen as either adults or children, with the lone exception of Mary Poppins herself, who seems quite capable of hopping back and forth between the two without upset. The adventure with Uncle Wigg is an example of this kind of juxtaposition. Upon arriving at his house, they meet Miss Persimmon. Appropriately named after a hard, dry and bitter fruit, Miss Persimmon is seen to have no imagination and no ability to relax as revealed in her indignation at being called by the wrong name. This aspect of her personality is brought forward again when she interrupts the party in a kind gesture of bringing up more hot water for the tea, exclaiming “Mr. Wigg, sir, I’m astonished at you! It’s that undignified, and for a gentleman of your age … I have more respect for myself than to go bouncing about in the air like a rubber ball on the end of a bat” (Travers, 1962: 48). In contrast, Uncle Wigg is so in touch with his inner child that when his birthday falls on a Friday, he cannot keep himself off the ceiling. “If I laugh on that particular day I become so filled with Laughing Gas that I simply can’t keep on the ground. Even if I smile it happens. The first funny thought, and I’m up like a balloon” (Travers, 1962: 40-41). The children have no problem joining him, even Jane is able to overcome any fears she might have of growing up with the magical example shown in this house. While the world of fantasy and children is shown to be highly desirable in terms of its beauty and joy and the world of reality and the adult is shown to be highly dull and depressing, the point of both of these books is to advise the discovery of a middle road between them. Mrs. Darling is seen as an adult living in reality with a touch of the child still about her heart. “She was a lovely lady with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other; that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner” (Barrie, 2003: 12). She is only able to give this kiss to the elusive and eternally childish Peter Pan at the end of the children’s adventure, having been forced to release her childish side to the worry and concern she’d felt for her children all this while. Mary Poppins is also seen as a woman living in the world of reality and adult responsibility who hasn’t lost her ability to enjoy the world of childish fantasy. One example is in her identification of the compass as a tool to help people find their way around the world. Unlike the ordinary adult, though, she spins the compass and literally takes the children to meet the people of the northern artic, the southern deserts, the eastern Asians and the western Indians. While growing up is inevitable and something that all creatures must do, the point of both stories is that one should never forget the magical world of their youth. Although they may still need to fill their days with the everyday responsibilities of adulthood, as Mary Poppins must, a connection with this world can serve to bring benefit and joy to an otherwise ordinary life. Works Cited Barrie, J.M. Peter Pan. New York: Starscape Books, 2003. Travers, P.L. Mary Poppins. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1962. Read More