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Excerpt from Peter Pan: "When Wendy Grew
Up"
By J.M. Barrie 1911 Sir James Mathew Barrie (1860-1937), known as J. M. Barrie, was a Scottish author.famous work. Peter Pan is a young boy who flies about and never grows older. Peter meets Wendy Darling Peter Pan is his most in London, and takes Wendy and her brothers to adventure in Neverland. In Neverland, the Darling childrenmeet the Lost Boys (a group of orphaned boys who take care of themselves), a fairy named Tinker Bell, and the evil Captain Hook. The final chapter of Peter Pan, titled “When Wendy Grew Up,” explains how Wendy’slife changes after her adventures with Peter and the Lost Boys end. As you read, make note of the author’s differences in characterization between the adult and child characters. I hope you want to know what became of the other boys.Wendy time to explain about them; and when^1 They were waiting below to give they had counted five hundred they went up. They went up by the stair, because they thoughtthis would make a better impression. They stood in a row in front of Mrs. Darling^2 , with their hats off, and wishing they were not wearing theirpirate clothes. They said nothing, but their eyes asked her to have them. They ought to have looked at Mr. Darling also, but they forgot abouthim. Of course Mrs. Darling said at once that shewould have them; but Mr. Darling was curiously depressed, and they saw that he considered six a rather large number. “I must say,” he said to Wendy, “that you don’t do things by halves,” a grudging^3 remark which the twins thought was pointed at them. The first twin was the proud one, and he asked, flushing, “Do you think we should be too much of a handful, sir? Because, if so, we can go away.” “Father!” Wendy cried, shocked; but still the cloud was on him. He knew he was behaving unworthily, but he could not help it. “We could lie doubled up,” said Nibs. “I always cut their hair myself,” said Wendy.
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- A reference to the Lost Boys, who came back to London with Wendy and her brothers in the hopes of having amother. 2.3. Wendy’s mother Grudging (adjective): said, done, or given in an unwilling or doubtful way
“George!” Mrs. Darling exclaimed, pained to see her dear one showing himself in such an unfavourablelight. Then he burst into tears, and the truth came out. He was as glad to have them as she was, he said, buthe thought they should have asked his consent (^4) as well as hers, instead of treating him as a cypher (^5) in his own house. “I don’t think he is a cypher,” Tootles cried instantly. “Do you think he is a cypher, Curly?” “No, I don’t. Do you think he is a cypher, Slightly?” “Rather not. Twin, what do you think?” It turned out that not one of them thought him a cypher; and he was absurdly gratified, and said he would find space for them all in the drawing-room^6 if they fitted in. “We’ll fit in, sir,” they assured him. “Then follow the leader,” he cried gaily^7. “Mind you, I am not sure that we have a drawing-room, but we pretend we have, and it’s all the same. Hoop la!” He went off dancing through the house, and they all cried “Hoop la!” and danced after him, searching for the drawing-room; and I forget whether they found it, but at any rate they found corners, and they all fitted in. As for Peter, he saw Wendy once again before he flew away. He did not exactly come to the window, but he brushed against it in passing so that she could open it if she liked and call to him. That is whatshe did. “Hullo, Wendy, good-bye,” he said. “Oh dear, are you going away?” “Yes.” “You don’t feel, Peter,” she said falteringlyvery sweet subject?”^8 , “that you would like to say anything to my parents about a “No.” “About me, Peter?” “No.”
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4.5. Consent A drawing-room is an old name for a living room, or a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. (noun): agreement or willingness for something to happen or be done 6.7. A dated term for zero (0), referring to him as being something of no valueIt was done joyfully or cheerfully
- Falteringly (adverb): hesitantly, uncertainly
“It doesn’t matter,” Peter said. “O Peter, you know it matters.” “Well, then, come with me to the little house.” “May I, mummy?” “Certainly not. I have got you home again, and I mean to keep you.” “But he does so need a mother.” “So do you, my love.” “Oh, all right,” Peter said, as if he had asked her from politeness merely; but Mrs. Darling saw hismouth twitch, and she made this handsome offer: to let Wendy go to him for a week every year to do his spring cleaning. Wendy would have preferred a more permanent arrangement; and it seemed to her that spring would be long in coming; but this promise sent Peter away quite gaysense of time, and was so full of adventures that all I have told you about him is only a halfpenny-^10 again. He had no worth of them. I suppose it was because Wendy knew this that her last words to him were these rather plaintive ones: “You won’t forget me, Peter, will you, before spring cleaning time comes?” Of course Peter promised; and then he flew away. He took Mrs. Darling’s kiss with him. The kiss that had been for no one else, Peter took quite easily. Funny. But she seemed satisfied. Of course all the boys went to school; and most of them got into Class III, but Slightly was put first into Class IV and then into Class V. Class I is the top class. Before they had attended school a week they saw what goats they had been not to remain on the island; but it was too late now, and soon they settleddown to being as ordinary as you or me or Jenkins minor :the younger Jenkins. It is sad to have to say that the power to fly gradually left them. At first Nana^11 tied their feet to the bed-posts so that they should not fly away in the night; and one of their diversionsbut by and by they ceased to tug at their bonds in bed, and found that they hurt themselves when they^12 by day was to pretend to fall off buses; let go of the bus. In time they could not even fly after their hats. Want^13 of practice, they called it; but what it really meant was that they no longer believed. Michael^14 believed longer than the other boys, though they jeered at him; so he was with Wendy when Peter came for her at the end of the first year. She flew away with Peter in the frockfrom leaves and berries in the Neverland, and her one fear was that he might notice how short it had^15 she had woven become; but he never noticed, he had so much to say about himself.
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10.11. He was feeling cheerful and happyNana is the Darling family’s dog, who cares for and protects the children. 12.13. DiversionWant (noun): (noun): lack; the state of not having enough of something something that is other than, or takes attention away from, what is happening 14.15. Michael is Wendy’s youngest brother.A dress
She had looked forward to thrilling talks with him about old times, but new adventures had crowdedthe old ones from his mind. “Who is Captain Hook?” he asked with interest when she spoke of the arch enemy. “Don’t you remember,” she asked, amazed, “how you killed him and saved all our lives?” “I forget them after I kill them,” he replied carelessly. When she expressed a doubtful hope that Tinker Bell would be glad to see her he said, “Who is TinkerBell?” “O Peter,” she said, shocked; but even when she explained he could not remember. “There are such a lot of them,” he said. “I expect she is no more.” I expect he was right, for fairies don’t live long, but they are so little that a short time seems a good while to them. Wendy was pained too to find that the past year was but as yesterday to Peter; it had seemed such a long year of waiting to her. But he was exactly as fascinating as ever, and they had a lovely springcleaning in the little house on the tree tops. Next year he did not come for her. She waited in a new frock because the old one simply would notmeet (^16) ; but he never came. “Perhaps he is ill,” Michael said. “You know he is never ill.” Michael came close to her and whispered, with a shiver, “Perhaps there is no such person, Wendy!” and then Wendy would have cried if Michael had not been crying. Peter came next spring cleaning; and the strange thing was that he never knew he had missed a year. That was the last time the girl Wendy ever saw him. For a little longer she tried for his sake not to havegrowing pains; and she felt she was untrue to him when she got a prize for general knowledge. But the years came and went without bringing the careless boy; and when they met again Wendy was a married woman, and Peter was no more to her than a little dust in the box in which she had kept hertoys. Wendy was grown up. You need not be sorry for her. She was one of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end she grew up of her own free will a day quicker than other girls. All the boys were grown up and done for by this time; so it is scarcely worth while saying anything more about them. You may see the twins and Nibs and Curly any day going to an office, each carrying a little bag and an umbrella. Michael is an engine-driverbecame a lord. You see that judge in a wig coming out at the iron door? That used to be Tootles. The^17. Slightly married a lady of title, and so he bearded man who doesn’t know any story to tell his children was once John.
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- Here the word “meet” means “fit”
“Because they are no longer gay and innocent and heartless. It is only the gay and innocent andheartless who can fly.” “What is gay and innocent and heartless? I do wish I were gay and innocent and heartless.” Or perhaps Wendy admits she does see something. “I do believe,” she says, “that it is this nursery.” “I do believe it is,” says Jane. “Go on.” They are now embarked on the great adventure of the night when Peter flew in looking for his shadow. “The foolish fellow,” says Wendy, “tried to stick it on with soap^21 , and when he could not he cried, and that woke me, and I sewed it on for him.” “You have missed a bit,” interrupts Jane, who now knows the story better than her mother. “When you saw him sitting on the floor crying, what did you say?” “I sat up in bed and I said, ‘Boy, why are you crying?’” “Yes, that was it,” says Jane, with a big breath. “And then he flew us all away to the Neverland and the fairies and the pirates and the redskins and themermaids’ lagoon, and the home under the ground, and the little house.” “Yes! which did you like best of all?” “I think I liked the home under the ground best of all.” “Yes, so do I. What was the last thing Peter ever said to you?” “The last thing he ever said to me was, ‘Just always be waiting for me, and then some night you willhear me crowing (^22) .’” “Yes.” “But, alas, he forgot all about me,” Wendy said it with a smile. She was as grown up as that. “What did his crow sound like?” Jane asked one evening. “It was like this,” Wendy said, trying to imitate Peter’s crow. “No, it wasn’t,” Jane said gravely, “it was like this;” and she did it ever so much better than her mother.
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- A reference to earlier in the story, when Peter first arrived in the Darling household to search for his missing shadow.When he found it, he tried to keep it from disappearing again by sticking it to himself with soap.
- Crow (verb): to make the sound of a crow, a type of bird
Wendy was a little startled. “My darling, how can you know?” “I often hear it when I am sleeping,” Jane said. “Ah yes, many girls hear it when they are sleeping, but I was the only one who heard it awake.” “Lucky you,” said Jane. And then one night came the tragedy. It was the spring of the year, and the story had been told for the night, and Jane was now asleep in her bed. Wendy was sitting on the floor, very close to the fire, so asto see to darn (^23) , for there was no other light in the nursery; and while she sat darning she heard a crow. Then the window blew open as of old, and Peter dropped in on the floor. He was exactly the same as ever, and Wendy saw at once that he still had all his first teeth. He was a little boy, and she was grown up. She huddled by the fire not daring to move, helpless and guilty, a big woman. “Hullo, Wendy,” he said, not noticing any difference, for he was thinking chiefly of himself; and in the dim light her white dress might have been the nightgown in which he had seen her first. “Hullo, Peter,” she replied faintly, squeezing herself as small as possible. Something inside her was crying “Woman, Woman, let go of me.” “Hullo, where is John?” he asked, suddenly missing the third bed. “John is not here now,” she gasped. “Is Michael asleep?” he asked, with a careless glance at Jane. “Yes,” she answered; and now she felt that she was untrue to Jane as well as to Peter. “That is not Michael,” she said quickly, lest a judgment should fall on her. Peter looked. “Hullo, is it a new one?” “Yes.” “Boy or girl?” “Girl.” Now surely he would understand; but not a bit of it. “Peter,” she said, faltering, “are you expecting me to fly away with you?”
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- Meaning to mend an article of clothing
Peter rose and bowed to her, and she bowed to him from the bed. “Hullo,” he said. “Hullo,” said Jane. “My name is Peter Pan,” he told her. “Yes, I know.” “I came back for my mother^24 ,” he explained, “to take her to the Neverland.” “Yes, I know,” Jane said, “I have been waiting for you.” When Wendy returned diffidentlyJane in her nighty was flying round the room in solemn ecstasy.^25 she found Peter sitting on the bed-post crowing gloriously, while “She is my mother,” Peter explained; and Jane descended and stood by his side, with the look in herface that he liked to see on ladies when they gazed at him. “He does so need a mother,” Jane said. “Yes, I know,” Wendy admitted rather forlornly; “no one knows it so well as I.” “Good-bye,” said Peter to Wendy; and he rose in the air, and the shameless Jane rose with him; it was already her easiest way of moving about. Wendy rushed to the window. “No, no,” she cried. “It is just for spring cleaning time,” Jane said, “he wants me always to do his spring cleaning.” “If only I could go with you,” Wendy sighed. “You see you can’t fly,” said Jane. Of course in the end Wendy let them fly away together. Our last glimpse of her shows her at the window, watching them receding^26 into the sky until they were as small as stars.
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24.25. Throughout the story, Peter refers to Wendy as his mother. Diffidently (adverb): lacking confidence, in a restrained manner
- Receding (verb): to withdraw or back away
Excerpt from Peter Pan: "When Wendy Grew Up" by J.M. Barrie is in the public domain.
As you look at Wendy, you may see her hair becoming white, and her figure little again, for all thishappened long ago. Jane is now a common grown-up, with a daughter called Margaret; and every spring cleaning time, except when he forgets, Peter comes for Margaret and takes her to the Neverland, where she tells him stories about himself, to which he listens eagerly. When Margaretgrows up she will have a daughter, who is to be Peter’s mother in turn; and thus it will go on, so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.
- Write a sentence that states the theme of the story.
- Why doesn’t Peter notice much? A.B. He has bad eye-sightHe’s heartless C. He’s too young to understand most situations D. He’s self-centered because of his youth
- How does Wendy feel about growing older? Cite at least two pieces of evidence fromthe text in your response.
- Why does the author state that Wendy having a daughter “ought not to be written inink but in a golden splash” (paragraph 74)?
- Why does Jane remember Peter better than her mother, Wendy? A.B. Jane spent more time with Peter.Even though Jane hadn’t met Peter, she was younger and understood Peter’s C. childish nature better than her mother.Jane has a better memory than he mother. D. Wendy never actually met Peter and she only imagined their adventures.
