This text analyses the gender roles of people in Victorian England and in Peter Pans Neverland. The Play Peter Pan was first published in 1904, the period where the Victorian Rules of society began to change slightly, and the Edwardian way of life became the canon. Men and Women roles in Victorian and Edwardian England, or in any era, were not the same throughout the different social classes. Men in royalty had different roles to fulfill than middle or lower-class Men.
Men’s Gender roles in Victorian England and their Influences on Peter Pan A comparison between the “real world” and the Neverland
Introduction
The Victorian Era in England was from 1837 to 1901. It was named after the reigning Monarch, Queen Victoria. She was succeeded by her son, Prince Edward of Wales who would become King Edward VII and he rings in the Edwardian Era which lasted until 1910 (p. 25 C. Cook). The Play Peter Pan was first published in 1904, the period where the Victorian Rules of society began to change slightly, and the Edwardian way of life became the canon.
Men and Women roles in Victorian and Edwardian England, or in any era, were not the same throughout the different social classes. Men in royalty had different roles to fulfill than middle or lower-class Men. The roles in which Men must fit in to are plenty. The first role is as the Head of the Household or family. They have to be strong and are not allowed to show any weakness or show affection to their children.
Gender roles of Men in the Victorian Era
One Example is that after the Children are put to bed Mrs. Darling tells her Husband about the figure she saw in the window, expressing concern over her children. And you can see in the Stage directions, that Mr. Darling thinks “this may be a man’s job” (J.M Barrie, Act 1, V. 164), or he tries to pry out more information by calling her a coward and thinking, that he needs to “treat her like a child” (J.M Barrie, Act 1, V. 198 f.) in order to get what he wants.
Men also need to be strong and tough, they can’t show any weakness. Like when the Mr. Darling wants to give Michael, the son, his medicine Michael refuses to take it, just like most Children would. Mr. Darling is strict tells his son to “Be a man” (J.M Barrie, Act 1, V. 206) and take his medicine whereas Mrs. Darling is soft and forthcoming (J.M Barrie, Act 1, V. 208 f.). This portrays perfectly how literature in the Victorian Society presents Men and Women.
In the first Act the Darling Children are playing to be their Parents. Wendy Darling plays the Mother and her Brother John plays the Father. Wendy presents her “Husband” their Child. Wendy says, she doesn’t mind which sex the Child has, if its healthy. So, John says “That is just the difference between Gentlemen and ladies” (J.M Barrie, Act 1, V. 96 f.), indicating, that Men care about the sex of the child, because they want an heir to their Name, and in the Upper Classes to their title, whereas women care about the child’s well-being. Wendy presents the “child” and says it’s a Girl and John is disappointed. Here one can see that the in society of the Victorian Era, a boy gives much more prestige and a better reputation to a Family, is reflected perfectly.
A little further in the first Act you can see, that Mr. Darling sees his authority in the House weakened by Nana, the Dog. He is protective of his children and sees Nana not only as a threat to his authority but also to the well-being of the children. And to re-establish his children’s View of him as the head of the household he banishes the Dog and chains her up in the Garden. One could view this as a very self-conscious man because he sees his manly hood threatened by an old dog. On the other hand, when Peter Pan arrives, and Wendy helps him find his Shadow he says that “one Girl is worth more than twenty boys.” (J.M Barrie, Act 1, V. 380 f.) which could lead you to believe, that the rules of society don’t apply in Neverland. When talking about the Lost Boys Peter Pan also says, that “girls […] are much too clever to fall out of their prams” (J.M Barrie, Act 1, V. 451 f.), which must happen to become a Lost Boy.
Upon their arrival in Neverland the Lost Boys say, that they have built a House for Wendy. John gets confused and a little bit jealous. He says that they shouldn’t have built Wendy a House because she is “only a girl” (J.M Barrie, Act 2.1 V. 289). In his Opinion, his sister doesn’t deserve a House built only for her.
Gender roles in Neverland
The Gender roles in Neverland are like the ones Great Britain of the Novel, but not the same. Peter seems to be a kind of father figure to the Lost Boys (J. M Barrie, Act 2.1 V. 200). He is their Group leader and that’s why everyone respects him and follows his order without question. Tootles even shoots Wendy with an arrow because Tinker Bell says it is what Peter wants (LINES). The Lost Boys assume, that Wendy can and has to be their Mother, simply because she is female (J. M Barrie, Act 2.1 V. 223f; 340; 345). In some parts of the Play they are very gentlemanly towards Wendy. For example, they think they must carry Wendy because she is a lady, but then Peter says it is disrespectful (J. M Barrie, Act 2.1 V. 265-268). Later in this Act one can see, that the Lost Boys are not used to having a girl around. Everything Wendy does is “lovely” (J. M Barrie, Act 2.1 V. 315). Peter Pan sees a “normal” life where he must work and “be a man” (J.M Barrie, Act 5.2, V. 131) unfulfilling and not to worth pursuing. He wants to be a boy forever (J.M Barrie, Act 5.2 V. 136).
Because the Pirates of the Jolly Roger come from different Countries, they all have a different view on roles of the different Genders. Captain Hook seems to be the only Englishman on the Ship.
Conclusion
To summarize one can say, that the society of Victorian and even Edwardian era had a huge influence on the work of James Matthew Barrie. The Gender roles of Men and Women in the Play are just like they are depicted in the British Society. It doesn’t matter whether the setting is the Home of the Darling Family, Neverland or the Jolly Roger, the rules of society are always visible. Men always must fulfill their role as the big, strong leader. Men, and even boys, love violence. They must be part of a hierarchy to find their place. Men are serious and must work whereas boys can have fun and be childish some of the time.
Works Cited
Cook, Chris. The Routledge Companion to Britain in the Nineteenth Century, 1815-1914. 2005, Routledge. Oxon
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- Maria Lajin (Autor:in), 2018, Mens Genderroles in Victorian England and their influences on Peter Pan, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/538398
