Two is the Beginning of the End: Peter Pan and the Doctrine of Reminiscence

This article considers J.M. Barrieʹs satirical treatment of the Platonic doctrine of reminiscence in Peter Pan, and how Barrieʹs work both honors and undercuts it. It will first analyze the Platonic notion of the doctrine of reminiscence in Wordsworthʹs “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” (1807). It will then show its influence on Victorian literature in the depiction of the exalted perception and moral purity of children, and how Barrie satirizes these ideals by underscoring the ignorance and savage qualities of the children in Peter Pan. The essay will also explore the portrayal of the Eden of childhood in Wordsworthʹs poem (as influenced by Plato), and how Barrie subverts this utopia by presenting a dystopic world where Darwinian principles rule. Like Darwin, Barrie argues for a natural rather than a divine origin of species and demonstrates the struggle for existence in a profoundly disturbing way. Finally, the essay will contemplate the subject of immortality and how, far from being an idealized condition as in Wordsworthʹs poetry, it is a far more ambivalent state in Peter Pan.