A Lingering Question

Peter Pan has amazed fans for decades with his ability of never growing up. The author of the book, J. M. Barrie, creates for millions of little kids a magical place called Neverland.

With so many of us growing up on the story, one question we’ve struggling to answer is who is the archetype of Peter Pan?

An Once-In-A-Lifetime Novel

We know that J. M. Barrie wrote over forty plays and seven novels during his life, with only one novel written for children. That novel is Peter Pan.

As one will wonder, why in his once-in-a-life-time novel, J. M. Barrie present us with such a character as Peter Pan?

One Possible Answer

The answers may lie in his childhood.

J. M. Barrie was born in 1800 in Kirriemuir, Scottland. When he was seven, his brother--his mom’s favorite child—died. In honor of his dead brother, J.M. Barrie wore his clothes to please his heart-broken mother. J. M. Barrie later went to school, college, and after graduation from the University of Edinburgh, become a freelance writer. Peter Pan was finished in 1902.

His brother’s death might have played a big role in his writing the novel. He probably did this for him. The dead brother might have a lot like Peter Pan, a boy good but not perfect. The setting might have also reminded him of his home. He had said he ‘love Neverland’, and everything there ‘reminded him of his home’.