Peter Pan and the Delights of Flying
Illustration by F.D. Bedford from 1911, showing Peter Pan, Wendy, John, and Michael making the magical flight to Neverland.
Peter Pan is perhaps best known from the animated 1953 film Peter Pan, but his story originated in the book Peter and Wendy, written in 1911 by J. M. Barrie. It’s a story of fairies, mermaids, pirates, and a mischievous boy with the power of flight. This boy, named Peter Pan, has adventures in Neverland with a group of British children that he teaches to fly. Flight is central to the narrative of the story, and Barrie does a good job of describing the children’s joy as they learn to fly.
As the story goes, Peter teaches the children to fly in their bedroom after their parents put them to bed. He accomplishes this by sprinkling fairy dust on them from his fairy companion Tinker Bell. This fairy dust allows them to fly, and Barrie describes their initial joy thus: Their heads were bobbing against the ceiling, and there is almost nothing so delicious as that. This deliciousness is heightened as they begin their flight to Neverland. Pictured above is an illustration by F.D. Bedford that accompanied the original story, showing the four children flying high in the sky among the birds. Barrie describes their flight thus: So great were the delights of flying that they wasted time circling round church spires or any other tall objects on the way that took their fancy.
The joy Barrie describes is referencing the power of flight on the human mind. The passages tap into the innate need for flight that every human experiences, which enhances the sense of awe and fantasy in the story. Peter’s ability to fly gives him great power over those who don’t have it, and when he bestows this power on the children, he makes them superhuman. They are so enthralled by their new powers that they forget about everything else and lose themselves in the pleasure of flight. Such is the need for verticality that lives within each of us.
Check out other posts from literary sources that deal with verticality here.
Quotes and illustration taken from Barrie, J.M.. Peter and Wendy. Illustrated by F.D. Bedford. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1911.