Peter Pan and the Tyranny of Youth.

An Apologia for Captain Hook

Jaime Cuenca
Abstract
In James M. Barries novel Peter Pan and Wendy (1911) the conflict between
hero and villain is clearly referred to time. First of all, there is a conflict
between enerations! "eter "an and the #ost Boys vers$s the ad$lt "irates
and %a&tain 'oo(. B$t, more im&ortantly, two different ways of livin time
are o&&osed. %a&tain 'oo( remembers his aristocratic ed$cation and &lans
how to (ill his mortal enemy. )n the contrary, "eter "an forets even his
closest friends and never really &lans anythin. 'e lives in a &er&et$al
&resent, ca$ht in the s&ontaneity of his own action.
*his form of time e+&erience resembles what ,immel called -advent$re. 'e
defined advent$re as -absol$te &resentness and related it to yo$th. Many
years later, &o&$lar &sycholoy too( this advent$re.li(e activity as a
sym&tom of inada&tation and fear of commitment! the "eter "an ,yndrome
was born.
In this &a&er we state that "eter "an is a symbol of some life conditions, b$t
these are neither set $& by a &artic$lar stae in life nor bro$ht abo$t by any
(ind of &sycholoical disorder. *hey are the res$lt of a social &rocess! a
reaction aainst the s&readin of rational action in modernity (as /eber
described it). In the 01th cent$ry, the ideal of s&ontaneo$s yo$th ins&ired the
rebellion aainst bo$reois forms of social orani2ation and finally &re&ared
totalitarianism. In the 01st cent$ry the same ideal sets in motion a &owerf$l
mar(et of &rod$cts and thera&ies. *he eternal yo$th symboli2ed by "eter "an
im&oses $nmeetable demands on the individ$als and facilitates the control of
a system of e+&erts over the &o&$lation.
From this &oint of view, is it not fair to as( who the real villain in 3everland
is4 ,ho$ld not %a&tain 'oo( be considered a failed tyrannicide4 It is time for
his a&oloia to be written.
Key Words: 5o$th, time e+&erience, "eter "an, %a&tain 'oo(.
*****
. !ntroduction
*he cateories of villain and hero $se to be o$r first contact with
moral 6$dement. ,ince we are children, we learn that in every story there is
"eter "an and the *yranny of 5o$th
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ood and there is evil, and that the first one sho$ld win over the second one.
*his hel&s $s to develo& the ability of 6$din actions morally and to acce&t
that we have to ass$me res&onsibility for what we do. 'owever, the hero.
villain distinction also hides a reat daner! it can ma(e $s acce&t some
social valori2ations witho$t 8$estionin them. *he hero fi$re fi+es some
character feat$res, &atterns of behavior and body attrib$tes as &ositive9 the
villain fi$re fi+es others as neative. *o esca&e this d$alistic distinction can
be hard if it is ass$med in childhood. *hat is why it seems necessary to as(
what are we &raisin in heroes and what are we condemnin in villains, and
if it is reasonable to do so. In this &a&er we will try to &resent some do$bts
aro$nd a famo$s co$&le of hero and villain! "eter "an and %a&tain 'oo(.
:naly2in the s&ecial time e+&erience every character shows, we will
discover the dar(est side of the first one and the h$manity of the second one.
)$r &$r&ose is not to be hidden! we want to write the a&oloia %a&tain 'oo(
deserves.
". Conflict of ti#es
*he character of "eter "an was soon very im&ortant for the creative
wor( of James M. Barrie. It already a&&eared in 1910, in the novel for ad$lts
The Little White Bird. *wo years later, Barrie wrote a theater &lay whose
&rotaonist was "eter "an. It achieved a reat s$ccess and was t$rn into a
novel in 1911, with the title Peter Pan and Wendy. ,ince then, the story has
been ada&ted to several enres and media. %a&tain 'oo(, antaonist and
archenemy of "eter "an, already a&&eared in the more elaborated drafts of the
theater &lay.
*ime &lays a central role in the novel. In the first &lace, as a conflict
between enerations. From the very first sentence we are told that -all
children, e+ce&t one, row $&.
1
;rowin $&, leavin childhood behind, is
&resented as a traedy (-the beinnin of the end,
0
writes Barrie), which is
inevitable for all b$t for "eter "an. *he sides fihtin in the 3everland are
divided into two enerations! on the one hand, "eter "an and the #ost Boys9
on the other, the ad$lt "irates and %a&tain 'oo(. 'owever, this conflict oes
beyond the fihtin sides, and is shown to involve all ha&&y and careless
yo$n &eo&le and all established and borin rown.$&s. For e+am&le, in the
film ada&tation of 1991 (Hook) one of the #ost Boys says that -:ll rown.
$&s are &irates and in the theater &lay %a&tain 'oo( is $s$ally &layed by the
same actor than Mr. <arlin, /endys father. *he fiht between yo$n and
ad$lt &eo&le becomes sometimes sinister, as when yo$ read in the novel!
-there is a sayin in 3everland that, every time yo$ breathe, a rown.$&
dies.
=

*his conflict between childhood and mat$rity is evident from the
very beinnin of the novel and sets its &lot in motion. B$t, more
im&ortantly, two different ways of livin time are o&&osed. *hese are
0
Jaime %$enca
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re&resented by "eter "an and %a&tain 'oo(, who ideally symboli2e time
e+&erience of yo$n &eo&le and ad$lts. *heir role in the novel &lot is
determined by their different &osition towards tem&oral becomin. *o &$t it
briefly, we co$ld say that "eter "an stays indifferent to chane, beca$se he
seems to be beyond time, whereas 'oo( is inevitably s$n( in it.
$. Peter Pan or the ecstatic action
From the beinnin "eter "an a&&ears immersed in a frenetic
activity, which is always described as &lay or advent$re. *his descri&tion
does not de&end on the contents of the action itself (sometimes as less
innocent as (illin &irates), b$t on its relation to time. "eter "ans action is an
advent$re for it is never &lanned in advance, b$t im&rovised. It is a 8$estion
of l$c( that everythin at the end t$rns o$t well. For e+am&le, he boards the
&irate bri imitatin the crocodiles tic(in and so ma(in %a&tain 'oo( and
his crew brea( into &anic. B$t the narrator e+&lains that s$ch an inenio$s
idea has not occ$rred to him and that he com&letes the tric( in an
$nconscio$s way.
>

In eneral, it can be said that his conscio$sness is totally absorbed
by the intensity of the action he is &erformin, with no s&ace remainin for
calc$latin its conse8$ences or any other considerations. ?very action t$rns
into &lay when lived so intensely and so the distinction between real and
ill$sion vanishes!
*he difference between him @"eter "anA and the other boys
at s$ch a time was that they (new it was a ma(e.believe,
while to him ma(e.believe and tr$e were e+actly the same
thin.
B

It is this attit$de that t$rns everythin into a matter for advent$re,
even the most terrible sit$ations. ,o, when "eter "an is abo$t to drawn at the
Marooners Coc( he thin(s! -*o die will be an awf$lly bi advent$re.
D
Bein totally s$n( in the action he &erforms, "eter "an has no -sense
of time.
E
*his lac( affects the character in a &ec$liar way! it is not only that
he does not &lan anythin for the f$t$re, b$t he does not remember anythin
from the &ast either. It is said, for e+am&le, that -"eter had seen many
traedies, b$t he had forotten them all.
F
'e constantly forets what he has
done a moment ao. For e+am&le! -'e wo$ld come down la$hin over
somethin fearf$lly f$nny he had been sayin to a star, b$t he had already
forotten what it was.
9
*he novels last cha&ter shows that "eter "an is
$nable to remember *in(er Bell or %a&tain 'oo( only a year after the first
one saved his life or the second one was (illed by him.
11

*his e+istence witho$t sense of time ma(es him very different from
the others. /itho$t memory and witho$t &ro6ects "eter "an does not have a
=
"eter "an and the *yranny of 5o$th
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tr$e conscio$sness of himself. *his is clearly shown when %a&tain 'oo( as(s
him who he is!
GIm yo$th, Im 6oyH "eter answered at a vent$re, GIm a
little bird that has bro(en o$t of the e.H *his, of co$rse,
was nonsense9 b$t it was a &roof to the $nha&&y 'oo( that
"eter did not (now in the least who or what he was, which
is the very &innacle of ood form.
11


/itho$t self.conscio$sness and witho$t anythin remainin stable
in his s$b6ective life, "eter "an cannot feel tr$e affections either. #ove and
hate are b$t &assin ames for him, somethin to entertain himself with,
before beinnin a new advent$re. ,o he can easily re&lace /endy with her
da$hter Jane and foret the man he s$&&osedly hated the most.
It is &recisely beca$se of this lac( of tr$e affection that his
relationshi& to others is tyrannical. "eter does not loo( for friendshi& of
com&rehension! he demands obedience. ,o, he commands John, for e+am&le!
-*here is one thin that every boy who serves $nder me has to &romise, and
so m$st yo$.
10
"eter is a tr$e military leader for the #ost Boys, and that is
why he also $ses a lan$ae that is a&&ro&riate to this &osition. 'e also
shows an o$tstandin coc(iness that leads him to contin$o$sly &raisin
himself, as when he says! -:m I not a wonder, oh, I am a wonderI
1=

%. Captain Hook or the anguish of ti#e
%om&ared to "eter "an, %a&tain 'oo( re&resents a com&letely
different time e+&erience. In contrast to "eter, %a&tain 'oo( does live s$n(
in time, is conscio$s of the &ast and f$t$re as well as the &resent, and s$ffers
the an$ish of bein a tem&oral creat$re, what means bein finite. In the
novel it is sometimes e+&lained how 'oo( remembers some of his &ast life. It
seems that these tho$hts ma(e him feel bad, beca$se they evo(e a more
innocent and ha&&y time. Maybe this is the reason of his dee& melancholy
loo(.
1>
Jnli(e "eter, he does remember his mother, as it is im&licitly stated in
the novel.
1B
Js$ally it is mentioned the eleance and ood forms of %a&tain
'oo(, conse8$ence of his ed$cation in a Gfamo$s &$blic school,H
1D
what he
reminds with love. /hat is more, his last tho$hts before dyin are abo$t his
ha&&y childhood!
and as he staered abo$t the dec( stri(in $& im&otently,
his mind was no loner with them9 it was slo$chin in the
&layin fields of lon ao, or bein sent $& for ood, or
watchin the wall.ame from a famo$s wall.
1E

>
Jaime %$enca
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It is not only that 'oo( does remember. 'is memories im&ose a
behavior ideal on himself, which he ac8$ired at school. *his is what he calls
ood form. 'e s$ffers the tension between the &ast r$les of cond$ct and his
&resent criminal e+istence! -;ood formI 'owever m$ch he may have
deenerated, he still (new that this is all that really matters.
1F
*his tension
between his real identity and the ideal one ma(es him feel terribly an+io$s!
Most dis8$ietin reflection of all, was it not bad form to
thin( abo$t ood form4 'is vitals were tort$red by this
&roblem. It was a claw within him shar&er than the iron
one.
19
*his an$ish fills the character of %a&tain 'oo( with some
com&le+ity and reality that "eter "an lac(s. In com&arison with him, 'oo(
does (now who he is and wants to be, and is constantly do$btin between
both &ositions. *hat is why he do$bts for a second when he is abo$t to &oison
"eter "an, seein him so aslee& and innocent. -Mastered by his better self,
01
he wo$ld have one witho$t doin any harm. In the character of "eter "an
there is no &lace for this (ind of moral debate, beca$se in him everythin is
sim&le and s&ontaneo$s. *he nat$ral s&ontaneity of "eter "an is what ma(es
'oo( feel f$rio$s. 'is coc(iness is b$t the confidence of someone that does
not do$bt beca$se he is not dee& eno$h to do so. For 'oo( this is the
&innacle of ood form, and he cannot stand seein in "eter what he desires
for himself. ,o, while "eter "an hates him 6$st as &$re ame, the reason of
'oo(s hatred towards "eter is rooted in his identity and memory.
Besides of bein conscio$s (&ainf$lly conscio$s) of the &ast,
%a&tain 'oo( also &ro6ects himself into the f$t$re. /hereas "eter "an tr$sts
in l$c( or int$ition to finish with him, 'oo( &lans caref$lly each attac(
aainst his enemy. It is this so&histicated intellience what &rovo(es
admiration amon his men.
01
'is relations with the &irates are not less
tyrannical than "eters with the #ost Boys. B$t the loyalty of ones and others
to the their leader has very different fo$ndations! what the boys admire in
"eter "an is his constant dis&osition to advent$re, his bein &erfectly
anchored in the &resent instant. )n the other hand, the &irates admire the
ca&acity of 'oo( to &ro6ect his actions into the f$t$re, calc$latin its
conse8$ences and havin in mind all $ne+&ected side effects.
,o %a&tain 'oo( lives s$n( in time and is a bein &ainf$lly
conscio$s of his tem&orality. In the novel there is an obvio$s symbol of the
fear he feels of this own finiteness (a feelin that is com&letely $n(nown for
"eter "an)! the crocodile. :s it is well (nown, "eter "an c$t the riht hand to
%a&tain 'oo( and threw it to a crocodile, that $l&ed it, cloc( incl$ded. It
li(ed it so m$ch, that since then it chases him to devo$r him. Fort$nately to
%a&tain 'oo(, the cloc(s tic(in anno$nces its &resence in advance, and
B
"eter "an and the *yranny of 5o$th
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allows him to esca&e. Indeed, this so$nd is the only thin that ma(es him feel
frihtened. 'owever, as ,mee tells him Ksome day the cloc( will r$n down,
and then hell et yo$,
00
as it finally ha&&ens in the novel. In this symbolic
way, death constantly follows %a&tain 'oo(, and it is not cas$al that the last
moment is mar(ed by a cloc( that sto&s. 'oo( is a tem&oral bein, so he
reconi2es himself finite! when the time assined to him is finished, he will
die. Meanin f$lly, in the novel the crocodile is a daner only for him! no
other character shows his conscio$sness towards tem&orality. :nd "eter "an
less than anybody else, ready, as he is, to hel& the crocodile in its macabre
mission. *his shows how "eter "an is imm$ne to time and its daners. )f
co$rse, he does not row and it is $nderstood that he will not die9
f$rthermore, it is said that he never falls ill.
0=

&. 'inal reflections
:fter this brief analysis of the two characters and their relation
towards time, it can be clearly seen that the villain is the most h$man of both.
'oo( shares o$r fears and do$bts, is able to hate and to love (or at least he
was in the &ast), remembers and &lans, (nows who he is and who he wants to
be. "eter "an, on the contrary, is an inh$man abstraction. 'e is the
&ersonification of frenetic activity, an ideal of endless yo$th and 6oy. *his is
the ideal he im&oses aro$nd him, b$t witho$t any chance of bein f$lfilled by
nobody. In com&arison with him, the #ost Boys do distin$ish between
reality and fiction, they remember and sometimes also miss their &ast lives
and, most im&ortantly, they row. "eter "ans demand for obedience is cr$el,
beca$se the #ost Boys will never be li(e him and are condemned to sto&
followin him someday. *his, of co$rse, does not affect him at all! when the
time comes, he will 6$st loo( for other lost boys to re&lace the old ones. 'e is
a tyrant who im&oses an $nreali2able ideal with total indifference towards the
fr$stration his &ower is based $&on. From this &oint of view, one cannot hel&
de&lorin that %a&tain 'oo( failed his &lanned tyrannicide.
In a f$t$re research we ho&e to show that this yo$th ideal is not
e+cl$sive of Barries wor(, b$t characteristic of several social, &olitical and
c$lt$ral movements of the early 01
th
cent$ry. F$t$rism in Italy,
0>
Jugendbewegung in ;ermany
0B
and &roressive reformism in the Jnited
,tates!
0D
they all identified yo$th with advent$re and ecstatic activity and
tr$sted in its reeneratin force. :t this time ;eore ,immel defined
advent$re as -absol$te &resentness and related it to yo$th,
0E
whereas /alter
Ben6amin fo$nd in yo$n &eo&le the revol$tionary s$b6ect that wo$ld
emanci&ate history.
0F
)$r hy&othesis, that can only be s(etched here, is that
these are b$t manifestations of the very same reaction to bo$reois and
rational forms of socio.tem&oral orani2ation. 3owadays, in a society that is
dominated by the ideal of eternal yo$th, we live the conse8$ences of that
D
Jaime %$enca
77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777
t$rn. "eter "an im&oses his tyranny over all of $s more efficiently than ever
before.
(otes
E
1
J M Barrie, Peter Pan, "en$in, #ondon, 199B, &. 1.
0
ibid., &.1.
=
ibid., &.11F.
>
ibid., &.1>9.1B1.
B
ibid., &. E1.
D
ibid., &. 99.
E
ibid., &. 1ED.
F
ibid., &. F9.
9
ibid., &. >0.
11
ibid., &. 1EE.
11
ibid., &. 1BF.
10
ibid., &. >E.
1=
ibid., &. 91.
1>
ibid., p. 55.
1B
ibid., p. 92.
1D
ibid., p. 141.
1E
ibid., p. 159.
1F
ibid., p. 142.
19
ibid., p. 142.
01
ibid., p. 133.
01
ibid., p. 61.
00
ibid., p. 60.
0=
ibid., p. 178.
0>
F * Marinetti, Futurist Manifesto, 1919.
0B
%h ;raf von Lroc(ow, ie !ntscheidung, %am&$s, Fran(f$rtM3ew 5or(, 1991.
0D
J :ddams, The "#irit of $outh and the City "treets, Jniversity of Illinois "ress, %hicao, 19E0.
0E
; ,immel, -"hiloso&hie des :bente$ers, in %ufs&t'e und %bhandlungen ()*)+()(,- Band ., ,$hr(am&, Fran(f$rt a.M.,
0111, &&. 9E.111.
0F
J M "Nre2.:ote, -#as in8$iet$des &edaOicas del 6oven Ben6amin! el &oder redentor de la 6$vent$d y la ed$caciOn, in
/e0ista %nthro#os, iss$e 00B, 0119, &&. 01=.010.
)ibliography
:ddams, J., The "#irit of $outh and the City "treets. Jniversity of Illinois "ress, %hicao, 19E0.
Barrie, J. M., Peter Pan. "en$in, #ondon, 199B.
Lroc(ow, %h. ;raf von, ie !ntscheidung. %am&$s, Fran(f$rtM3ew 5or(, 1991.
Marinetti, F. *., Futurist Manifesto. 1919.
"Nre2.:ote, J. M., -#as in8$iet$des &edaOicas del 6oven Ben6amin! el &oder redentor de la 6$vent$d y la ed$caciOn.
/e0ista %nthro#os, iss$e 00B, 0119, &&. 01=.010.
,immel, ;., %ufs&t'e und %bhandlungen ()*)+()(,- Band ., ,$hr(am&, Fran(f$rt a.M., 0111.
*ai#e Cuenca is Cesearcher at the Instit$te for #eis$re ,t$dies in the Jniversity of <e$sto (Bilbao, ,&ain). %$rrently his
research and writin is foc$sed on the re&resentations of social str$ct$res in &o&$lar c$lt$res.