The Little White Bird is the 1902 novel, written by J. M. Barrie, in which Peter Pan was first introduced. Peter's story was not the main story here, though his chapters were what gained the most attention in the years to follow. The Little White Bird was an "elusive" work, filled with "whimsy" -- two words which were so often applied to Barrie's work that he felt they diminished his efforts[1] -- but also some more pointed comedy, with undertones of stark social commentary, mostly on class and adulthood.
Publication[]
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Overview[]
The novel's protagonist, who is very obviously an insert for Barrie himself, called Captain W in one passage, has some manner of a relationship with a married woman, and has become close with her son, David. He is invested in his fanciful perspectives on the world around him, and describes what he's been told without attempting to make sense of it, as adults are prone to do, not wanting to "break the spell" which is their connection.
He tells and shares many stories, including some about Peter Pan. He always employs an imaginative twist to the mundane in the way he engages with David and other children, keeping to what they understand and how they imagine it all fits together, and building on this to arrive at altogether new ideas. This inspiration plays into the development of the original Peter Pan tale.
Though this version of Peter Pan had not developed even into his Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens form, he is already a young boy -- his body remains only a week old -- who flies around, meeting fairies. He left through an open window, flew out past Kensington Gardens, and arrived at Peter Pan's island, where readers' hopes, written down and folded into the shape of a boat can reach him after dark. Within this story-within-the-novel, children were all birds before they started out, so that Peter is only holding onto this early form. He's able to fly because he doesn't grow up, not even through the earliest stages of infancy.
Through Oliver's story, growing older is framed as a dark process in which children are made into what is expected of them, and are no longer allowed the freedoms of Kensington Gardens. With this, they lose what they still imagined could lie beyond: the hope of a better life than has been designed for them. With that in mind, this version of Peter refuses all transformation, never even becoming a child, to indulge in this kind of exploration, at the outset, to never be contained by such rigid conventions.
Characters[]
Main narrative[]
- Captain W, narrator. David sometimes calls him "father", but he does not want to point this out, lest he "break the spell that binds him and me together". The narrator is always very receptive to the imaginations of those around him, and doesn't dare break from the children's own conceptions. In fact, he relates their accounts as-is, and only builds on them, with his own imaginings. He delights in being "free from the company of parents" when David stays over, and finds a measure of fun in telling him it's bed-time, since he'd never had occasion to before. He lives alone, and has no children of his own, so he's only ever known the child's perspective.
- David, a six-year-old boy who spends much time with the narrator. His perspective shines through the narrator's prose, as he pieces together what he knows about the lives of others. Though David is seen at earlier ages in the novel, through various time travel machinations, he doesn't grow any older, and seems to the narrator as though he was "unable to get beyond [his age]", for a time.
- Mary A, David's mother. The narrator regards her as virtuous, and cares deeply for her, though the exact nature of their relationship is left undescribed. She is married. She is devoted to her home, and has the skill to drag anyone out of the darkest of places, helping a local painter in one anecdote.
- Mary A's husband remains unnamed. Not much is said about him, other than that he wants to sell their house and that he travels as part of his job. He acts more as a constraint for Mary within the narrative than as an agent, holding her back, since she remains devoted.
Kensington Gardens[]
- Oliver Bailey was a boy of seven, when last he was seen in Kensington Gardens. The narrator suggests that boys stop coming when they reach the age of eight, linking this to a fanciful notion of children flying away, to only be seen again as "ladies and gentlemen", adults fully formed. Oliver actually went to Pilkington's, which seems to be a boarding school, though David dresses it up in myth, as somewhere "[all] boys have gone" when they fly away.
- The narrator felt sidelined by David's interest in Oliver, though he feels guilty about these feelings. He would encourage them both when they disagreed.
Peter Pan chapters[]
- Peter Pan, a young boy steeped in magic, and destined for Kensington Gardens. He flies about, and spends time with fairies. This version of Peter is one week old, though he has lived for far longer.
- Maimie Mannering, a young girl who remains behind in Kensington Gardens, and gets to see hundreds of fairies come out, all awaiting a grand ball. She stayed here past "lock-out time" because the fairies have turned the clock backwards. (Maimie would later be developed into Wendy Darling in Peter and Wendy.)
Locations[]
Mary's house[]
- The house where Mary A and her husband live is described as "very cheap"; while Mary's husband intends to sell the land on the first opportunity, Mary herself is attached to her home, and doesn't want to hear mention of their property being sold. She focuses on framing it in terms of what she'd like to see.
Kensington Gardens[]
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Peter Pan's island[]
- Main article: Peter Pan's island (The Little White Bird)
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External links[]
- Full text of The Little White Bird at Neverpedia
References[]
- ↑ Barrie, J. M. "Myself and My Islands" (1992). Published speech. Quote: "I was quite prepared to hear it from your chairman, because I felt he could not be so shabby as to say whimsical, and that he might forget to say elusive. If you knew how dejected these terms have often made me. [...] It is a terrible business if one is to have no sense at all about his own work. Wandering in darkness."