The darkness of Peter Pan

There's a new Peter Pan movie coming out soon, well it's a prequel called 'Pan', it's a complete re-imagining of the character. The trailers have looked impressive and I'm generally interested in the whole Peter Pan universe, the concept of never growing up has always intrigued me. Until recently I've never actually read any of the novel, let alone seen the stage play.

With nothing to read at the moment, I decided to buy a copy, it's not a particularly long book and I had assumed that I knew everything about the plot and the characters from the Disney movie. But to my surprise I was wrong.

Much like 'Alice In wonderland', by contemporary standards 'Peter Pan' is only a children's novel in name, it's certainly very imaginative and juvenile. But it's also very dark, and involves a lot of mature subject matter about the innocence of childhood and the responsibilities of growing old. 

Because it is the darkness of the novel that really surprised and shocked me, to put it bluntly, Peter Pan is a rather unlikeable character. Throughout the narrative we're told of his cockiness. In one of the last chapters, just before the final battle between Peter and Hook, Peter hides in one of the cabins and kills each of the pirates that are ordered to find him. Their deaths are not described, but we are told by the sounds of their 'screeching' as explained by the others on the Jolly Roger. It really is harrowing to read.

No wonder Walt Disney did not like how the character was rightly portrayed in the original animated movie. Because the reality is so different from people's perceptions of what Peter Pan actually is, the cartoony image of Peter is different from the original source material. 

Which brings me to my wider point, While the idea of never-ending childhood is admirable, it's destined to leave you alone and sad. It takes away our sole purpose in life, and that is self development. For us to become better individuals and the wider world, we have to change. Endless childhood doesn't solve this.

This is best illustrated with the character Wendy Darling (arguably the real protagonist in the novel), who decides not to stay in Neverland knowing that she will never be happy and returns home. The story is as much her journey as Peter Pan's. By the end she realises that you can't stay a child forever.

However, being childlike (not childish) is something to aspire to be. It's important to treat life like a big adventure, and discover different hobbies outside of consumer drivel and technological triviality. The world would be a better place if it were more carefree, and if we went through life without the conditioned weight of the world on our shoulders.  

The writing of J.M. Barrie is very conversational, and with many memorable quotes, and there's a deeper story behind the title. So I recommend you read 'Peter Pan', whether you liked the Disney movie or not.