Peter Pan

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1911

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-13

Chapters 14-17

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Fairies

The narrator explains that fairies are born when babies are born. The narrator also explains that fairies die when children no longer believe in them. The Neverland represents a place of belief. Fairies can be seen to represent children’s imaginations. Peter saves Tinker Bell’s life by asking all the children in the world if they believe in fairies. Many do. When does childhood end? Perhaps it is when children stop believing in fairies.

Mothers

Mothers are symbols of knowledge, but they are also easily manipulated by children. Peter Pan manipulates Wendy, bringing her to the Neverland (though the narrator pointedly suggests she tempted Peter first). He uses her to take care of his lost boys as well as himself, but refuses to stay with her when she returns home. He is angry when Wendy grows up, assuming that, as his mother, she would wait for him like she said mothers did.

Mothers nurture their children, and Wendy nurtures the lost boys. However, a mother’s goal is to see her child grow up. Mothers, then, play a role in ending childhood, especially when one considers the possible allusions to Eden, Adam and Eve and the loss of innocence. Wendy represents Eve, her stories represent Eden, and Peter represents Adam. However, Peter is not tempted by Wendy. The other children are, however, and they are brought out of the Neverland and into the real world, which is less exciting and story-worthy.

Birds

“The birds were flown” (37) and the adventure to the Neverland begins. Throughout the novel, birds are a motif and a symbol. Peter suggests that he is a bird broken out of the egg. Near the middle of the novel, the narrator talks about the Neverbird, who protects her eggs in the nest. She goes so far as to paddle herself though the lagoon to keep them safe in the nest. Birds, like mothers, are protective of their eggs, their children. When a child leaves the nest, they have grown up.

Some birds fly home each season, and the children do just that, except for Peter, who broke out of the egg to do something on his own. When the children return home, they gradually forget how to fly. They are no longer children, no longer birds free to leave each season. Wendy tries to leave, agreeing to go with Peter in the spring, but eventually she too forgets to fly. Without their wings, they grow up.