Peter Pan, Wendy, and The Tragedy of Never Growing Up.
growing up hurts, but never growing up is worse
As a child, I loved Peter Pan. I mean, it had just about everything: Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, and Wendy (Wendy!) magical crocodiles and pirates.
But in my head, Peter Pan and Wendy would always end up being together. I didn’t know how, since Wendy had accepted her mortality and Peter Pan would be a child forever but in my head, the laws of logic would be defied and they would be the same age and still be together, and live happily ever after.
Don’t ask.
Then this scene happened
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6nBzOQzgg8
(don’t read the book, I can’t tell which one is more heartbreaking, the movie or that).
And then I realised, Peter Pan wasn’t just a magical story of childhood love and Lost Boys and jealous fairies.
It was the tragedy of not growing up.
Peter Pan is magical. Like most children are magical in that charming child-like ways only children can have. Children also have multi-potentiality, as they don’t need to pick yet the sacrifice they will bear. However as time wears on, we have to pick a path, whether it’s in choosing a career, wanting to have a family…
