Caroline, Mary Poppins (P.L. Travers)

I must confess that prior to this class the most I could tell you about any Mary-Poppins-story was that she sings a song about a spoon full of sugar. While I did not expect much singing in the book (although you never know), I did start it thinking Mary Poppins the character would be the type of person to sing about sugar – as in sweet, maternal, and a whole lot of fun. While she does provide the Banks children with plenty of pleasure and pure fun, she is unafraid to scold them (or anyone for that matter), and even insult them at times when provoked, and most importantly, she leaves them (twice!) when they so desperately love and need her. At the end of both Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back, Jane and Michael are both devastated at the sudden departure of their beloved nanny, ending uncharacteristically sad and disappointing for children’s books. 

In each chapter, the Banks children in some way or another feel some sort of frustration, often with the adult world. Everyone from Mary Poppins (who does so purposefully) to their parents and the help (who do so habitually) dismiss the children as, well, children. It’s difficult to get a straight answer out of any adult, even when their mother is having a baby. They get in trouble for walking too slow but must stop and wait every time Mary Poppins wants to check her reflection. Between all the magic, talking animals, and spontaneous adventures lies an ongoing double standard for child and adult behavior. At times, it seems like the children are more mature than the adults, and chapters with the twins and Annabel demonstrate that perhaps the older you get, less wise you become. 

While Traveler’s intended audience for Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back, may never have been deliberately children, I think the darker and more mature parts of the stories are what makes them so appealing to kids. Even now, in college, older adults occasionally feel the need to impart their “wisdom” on me and dismiss me as too young or inexperienced in life. The constant frustration Jane and Michael feel resonates with children. Similarly, chapters like “Bad Tuesday” and “Bad Wednesday,” which have no real resolution to Michael and Jane’s respective aggravation are experiences shared by most children and validate the fact that sometimes you’re just going to be upset with the world. 

The only parts I don’t like – but acknowledge as necessary for both the plot and Mary Poppin’s character – are her departures. Both times she leaves, especially the second time given the newest addition to the family, I struggle to see why she feels is as time to go. If she comes when she is needed, why leave so abruptly and turn the household upside down and why leave when, to me, the children still obviously need her. Mary Poppins is the most present and constant being in the Banks childrens’ lives until she leaves, so surely she can’t think a sudden disappearance without much of a goodbye will leave them prepared for life without her? To me, the only explanation is that she wants to give herself a reason to keep coming back because she loves them just as much as they love her.