The downside of never growing up

Here's my article for the July edition of the Scawby parish magazine:

This year, the Year 6s from both Scawby Academy and Hibaldstow will be performing Peter Pan.  As a boy, Peter Pan was one of my favourite stories and I would often read the Ladybird Children's Classics version of it.  I also have fond memories of watching Peter Pan performed on ice one Christmas.  I don't know whether it was the flying or the sword-fighting that excited me most about the story, but one of the reasons it's remained such a popular story throughout the world with people all ages, is that it is seen as a celebration of childhood innocence and a reflection of our desire for eternal youth.

When I had children of my own, I decided to read J. M. Barrie's original story so I could then read it to my children, but I was horrified at how sinister and disturbing his story actually is.  Far from being the playful and mischievous character of my memories, Peter is a controlling, egotistical bully.  The fantasy worlds we create as children are lived as if they were reality in Neverland.  In Chapter 6: The Little House, after Wendy is shot down, Peter calls for a doctor and one of the Lost Boys pretends to be a doctor.  Barrie writes

The difference between him [Peter] and the other boys at such a time was that they knew it was make-believe; while to him make-believe and true were exactly the same thing. This sometimes troubled them, as when they had to make-believe that they had had their dinners.  If they broke down in their make-believe he rapped them on their knuckles.

Most disturbing, however, is Peter's attitude to adults, and particularly mothers.  In Chapter 11: Wendy's Story it says that Peter

was so full of wrath against grown-ups, who, as usual, were spoiling everything, that as soon as he got inside his tree he breathed intentionally quick short breaths at the rate of about five to a second. He did this because there is a saying in the Neverland that, every time you breathe, a grown-up dies; and Peter was killing them off vindictively as fast as possible.

His experience of running away from his mother, and returning some time later only to find she has had another son, leads him to distrust others, particularly mothers.  Peter's refusal to grow up is less about the wonders of childhood and more to do with his fear of the uncontrollability of real life, especially in relationships with others.

We might see in Peter a reflection of our modern obsession with youth or a (not universally justified) criticism of 'young people nowadays' who want the enjoyment of life without any of its responsibilities.  However, Peter's blurring of fact and fantasy points to a more worrying aspect of society: where people can construct their own 'reality' which has no basis in fact or logic, and then require everyone else to 'play-along' with their make-believe.  Those that don't play along get rapped on the knuckles or worse.  Jesus calls us to follow him; the Way, the Truth and the Life.  And following him really is an awfully big adventure.