Characters in Barrie's works
A number of characters appear throughout J. M. Barrie's works, including the play Peter Pan, the novel Peter and Wendy , and the novel Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens .
Major characters
- Peter Pan is a free spirited and adventurous young boy who would not grow up. He can fly, and lives on the island called Neverland. He is described as "a lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of trees". [2] It is also stated that he still has all his baby teeth.
- Tinker Bell is a tinker fairy and Peter Pan's companion at the time of his adventures with Wendy Darling and her brothers. She is known for her loyalty to Peter but is very jealous of Wendy and Tiger Lily. In the original play, she is portrayed by a darting light and voiced by a tinkling bell.
- Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a young girl, the eldest child of the Darling family, who is befriended by Peter Pan and flies away to Neverland to be a mother to him and the Lost Boys and share their adventures.
- Captain Hook is a pirate and captain of the Jolly Roger. He is Peter Pan's archenemy and is determined to get revenge on Peter for cutting off his right hand in a battle and feeding it to a crocodile.
- Mr. Smee is the Irish bo'sun, the only non-conformist in Hook's crew. One of two pirates to survive the final battle and "henceforth wandered around the world in his spectacles, making a precarious living by saying he was the only man that Jas. Hook had feared".
- John Napoleon Darling is the middle child, named after Jack Llewelyn Davies.
- Michael Nicholas Darling is the youngest of the three children. In an early draft of the play, the character's name was "Alexander" or "Alex", but was renamed after Michael Llewelyn Davies and Nicholas Llewelyn Davies, who were both born during the play's development.
Minor characters
The Darling family
- George Darling: the father of Wendy, Michael and John. He is a bank clerk and is named after George Llewelyn Davies.
- Mary Darling: the mother of Wendy, John and Michael and wife of George Darling. She is named after Mary Ansell, Barrie's wife.
- Nana: the Newfoundland acting as the Darling children's nanny. She was based on Barrie's own Newfoundland, Luath.
- Jane: (surname is not given) the daughter of the adult Wendy Darling who appears briefly in Barrie's An Afterthought and the final chapter of Peter and Wendy.
- Margaret: Jane's daughter, mentioned at the end of the story as the one who will go back to Neverland with Peter for spring cleaning.
The Pirates
- Gentleman Starkey: once an usher in a public school "and still dainty in his ways of killing". He and Smee are the sole survivors of the final battle, although he got captured by the Piccaninnies, "who made him nurse for all their papooses".
- Bill Jukes: used to be on the Walrus under Captain Flint, and is heavily tattooed.
- Cecco: a very handsome Italian fellow who was said to have "cut his name in letters of blood on the back of the governor of the prison at Gao".
- Cookson: he is said to be the brother of real-life pirate Black Murphy, but this was never proved.
- Noodler: not much is known about him, except for the fact that his hands are fixed on backwards, and he is superstitious, like all sailors.
- Skylights (Morgan's Skylights): he is killed off early on the novel "to show Hook's method".
- Black Pirate: it is only stated that he is gigantic and has had many names that still terrify children on the banks of the Guadjo-mo.
- Alf Mason: one of the pirates killed in mortal combat with Lean Wolf early on in the battle between the pirates and Tiger Lily's braves.
- Robert Mullins: he is killed by Peter in the final battle with the pirates.
- George Scourie: another casualty in the battle.
- Chas. Turley ("Chay Turley" in the play): he is said "to laugh with the wrong side of his mouth (having no other)"; another casualty in battle by the Piccaninnies.
- Foggerty: an Alsatian who also died in the above battle.
- Whibbles: he wears an eye patch and is the first casualty in the final battle.
- Ed Teynte: the quartermaster in the novel (but not mentioned in the play), was the first killed in the last battle (instead of Whibbles).
- Black Gilmour (only in play): killed in battle by the Piccaninnies.
- Alan Herb (only in play): "still remembered at Manaos for playing skittles with the mate of Switch for each other's heads"; killed in battle by the Piccaninnies.
- Canary Robb (only in play): killed in the above battle.
Other characters
- Lost Boys : a gang of young boys who fell out of their prams and were not claimed by their parents, so Peter brought them to the Neverland. It is implied there has been a succession of lost boys over time, but the boys in Barrie's work are Tootles, Nibs, Curly, Slightly, and The Twins. Additional or different Lost Boys appear in sequels, prequels and adaptations.
- Great Big Little Panther: the Chief of the Piccaninny tribe and the father of Tiger Lily.
- Tiger Lily : the chief's daughter, often described as a princess (in her own right), who is captured by the Pirates and left to drown on Marooners' Rock before being rescued by Peter Pan.
- Crocodile (Tick-Tock in Disney's movie): Hook's other nemesis and the only thing which he fears. It ate Hook's hand when Peter cut it off in battle and craves for the rest of him. The clock swallowed by the crocodile warns Hook of its proximity. In Peter and Wendy, the crocodile is briefly referred to by the feminine pronoun "she", [3] a point overlooked in subsequent adaptations.
- Mermaids are half woman and half fish; they live in the sea but are often seen in the Mermaids' Lagoon in Neverland. They're vain, unfriendly and care for their looks and good appearance. They can be dangerous creatures (especially at night) who dislike all humans (except Peter Pan) and act very spitefully towards Wendy.
- Liza: the maid in the Darling household.
- Maimie Mannering : a little girl who is helped and befriended by Peter Pan in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and considered to be Wendy's literary predecessor. [4] Although enjoying Kensington Gardens and her friendship with Peter when she stays behind one day after Lock Out time, she comes to realise that her mother is very worried about her so she must return. When she grows up, she continues to think of Peter, dedicating presents and letters to him. To remember Maimie, Peter rides the imaginary goat she created for him.
