Getting Back to It Now with a Peter Pan Post

 It's been a long time since I last blogged.

I've been thinking about writing one for a while now, but it seemed that every time I thought of an idea for a post, I'd get distracted, or I'd forget about it, or my inner critic would pipe and say "No, that's stupid."

But the lack of a social life this past year has me desperate for ways to express myself.

I recently read the book Wendy Darling Vol. 1 Stars since I love the Peter Pan mythos so much.

Something that I noticed immediately as I read this reimagining of Barrie's tale is that the Darling family is Catholic. I thought that was an odd choice at first because 1) I didn't see how religion was important to this story, after all, it's never been mentioned before, and 2) because the official religion of the United Kingdom is Protestant Christianity. Catholics in England have a long history of persecution and although most of that was over by the Edwardian Era (no one was being executed for attending Catholic mass) I would think that Catholicism would still be strongly associated with the Irish, and not a well-to-do family living in Kensington.

However, as I continued reading I realized why this change was so appropriate for this story: Mary. The Mother. At one point, Michael does something naughty and Wendy instructs him to say a Hail Mary and it hit me like a ton of bricks. This story is all about Motherhood, so it makes perfect sense that the Holy Mother should be a thread weaving through the narrative.

Peter Pan is a supernatural being, and in Barrie's text Mrs. Darling believes that he accompanies dead children halfway to Heaven, so that they will not be frightened. Peter and the Lost Boys' worship of Wendy, the Mother, and the standard portrayal of Wendy in blue gowns add to the imagery of Mary and the Mother:

I really enjoyed the book, and it's actually the first in a trilogy; however, the person who recommended it to me admitted that she couldn't get into the second book, and have up on it. I'll probably still try it.

In 2002, Disney released Return to Neverland, which takes place after Wendy grows up. Although Disney sequels usually make me cringe, in this case Disney was following Barrie's cue. Barrie wrote When Wendy Grew Up: An Afterthought as a one act play: a sequel to the play Peter Pan. 

Later when he adapted his famous play into a novel, he used the last chapter of the novel to tell the reader what happened in the sequel play. Wendy is now a real mother, with a daughter of her own. 

In the Disney sequel, I think Wendy is drawn very nicely, and it only makes sense that she is still wearing blue:

I don't have much a closing thought on this, other than the conversation I had with my son a few nights ago. As I was getting him ready for bed, I admired how big and strong he's getting now that he is six, and I told him that sometimes I wish he could stay a little boy forever, like Peter Pan. I said that I used to wish I could fly away to Neverland, and he replied that maybe I could someday. 

I told him that Neverland is a magical place, but only children can get there. There are no mothers allowed in Neverland, and that's why Peter and the Lost Boys need Wendy to act like their mother.

He hugged me and said "I'm sorry, Mama" and I said "It's OK; I like being your mama."