Themes in Peter Pan

Barrie uses stars as an extended metaphor for how humans mature. He states that the “older ones have become glassy-eyed” (talking about the stars), to symbolize how adults lose their “sparkle” and wonder.

This follows the theme of motherhood in the story. Wendy immediately knows the difference between Nana’s happy and unhappy bark because of her protective instincts.

This response supports the major theme of motherhood in the story. Even though Wendy herself is just a little girl when she meets Peter, she begins to take on responsibilities of a mother to Peter and the Lost Boys, because they don’t have mothers of their own.

Peter’s explanation highlights the major theme of avoiding duty and responsibility. In Peter’s mind, growing up is the worst thing that can happen to a person because the freedom and wonder of childhood should be endless.

Wendy’s quick thinking follows the major theme of the story of women as caretakers for men. Throughout the story women are portrayed as strong and individualistic, always willing and ready to help out more foolish and self-absorbed male characters.

Wendy dreams of seeing a mermaid, and Peter uses this to try to lure her to Neverland. In the story, Neverland symbolizes children’s ideal reality, a place where dreams become reality.

Throughout the story, characters continuously exhibit a lack of control. Tinker Bell can’t control her light because she is a fairy, just like Wendy can’t control her urge to pick the flower in the first chapter. Such moments are metaphorical reminders of all children’s inability to control growing up.

The Lost Boys' desire for a mother emphasizes the theme of motherhood running throughout the story. While adult men, like Mr. Darling, are described as stern and difficult to relate to, women have "romantic" minds and are easier for the Lost Boys to get along with. Barrie defines Wendy as a strong character but careful readers will question why her strength, and the strength of women, needs to be so explicitly connected to motherhood.

Wendy takes on responsibilities of a mother for the Lost Boys, but Peter refuses to follow lead and act as a father. While Wendy's actions support the theme of motherhood in the story, they also potentially reinforce stereotypical gender roles, suggesting that her only use in Neverland is to take care of the Lost Boys.

The use of the past tense shows how remote and removed Mr. and Mrs. Darling are from the kids, making it seem as though they no longer exist. Perhaps the memory of their parents has vanished because Neverland is a place built of children’s imaginations instead of realities.

Again the mother bird protecting her eggs builds on the theme of motherhood in the story. This symbol also parallels Wendy’s choice to brace herself for the pirates as she let the children sleep. Sleep is important for children (in the story) because it is the time when their imaginations can birth a sort of wondrous reality.

The narrator uses “pride” to highlight character weakness in the story. Recall in chapter 2 how Mr. Darling blames his wardrobe decisions as one of the reasons the children vanished; he was too proud to wear a “made-up tie.” In both Mr. Darling and Tiger Lily’s scenarios, “pride” is seemingly their downfall.

The narrator portrays Tiger Lily as brave in times of distress, showing an ability to be “impassive” during a life-threatening situation. This supports the argument that Barrie portrays women in a positive light (a heavily debated upon topic). Compare how Barrie portrays Wendy and Tiger Lily with Tinker Bell. The fairy's character is interesting because she seems to be petty and emotionally unstable.

In this scene during Peter and Wendy’s role play as mother and father, Wendy’s submissiveness as a housewife contrasts the strong and courageous character she has demonstrated thus far. Although Barrie has promoted the idea motherhood so far, traditional and fixed gender roles have begun to appear during the second half of the story.

While all the women in the story (except Mrs. Darling) have romantic feelings for Peter, he does not feel the same way. This imbalance presents damaging notions of behavior, implying that women are meant to fawn over men. While Peter stands atop a metaphorical pedestal, the other women crave his affection and continuously try to win him over.

Peter wants to avoid growing up to avoid responsibility, thus he is only willing to act as a father if it is “only make-believe.” Wendy on the other hand is ready to accept the responsibility in a sort of Neverland reality, suggesting that women are more ready for responsibility than boys.

Peter Pan presents a fictional scenario where children have no need for parents to survive and thrive. However, here Barrie presents theme that concerns the emotional immaturity of children. Although the story seems like an adventurous bedtime story, underlying themes of staying young forever against aging into maturity are constantly in conflict with one another.

This statement emphasizes one of the key points Barrie wants to make about motherhood in this story and the strength of parents' love for their children. Wendy teaches the Lost Boys that no matter how badly you treat your mother, she will always love you.

This Darling children’s return home represents one of the most enduring themes of the story: childhood play is valuable and fun, but in reality it does not last forever. Although the Darling children enjoyed their time in Neverland, they understand the love of their parents and their lives at home are more important than playing make-believe forever. Perhaps this is a sign that they are already starting to grow up.

Peter was right all along. While the children had personally experienced Neverland, they quickly forget it when put into the real world. This symbolizes how easily people lose memories of childhood because of brain maturation. In forgetting these memories, they also forget the carefree and adventure-driven lifestyle they loved when they were young.