Peter Pan is a fairy tale created by Scottish writer and playwright James Matthew Bally, a clever, mischievous little boy who can fly and never grow up.
The story of Peter Pan has been circulating for more than a century, and people love Peter Pan, but not many people know what inspired Barry to create this classic image.
James Matthew Barry
Behind the Story of Peter Pan, there are five boys, they are five brothers, surnamed Leveling-Davis, named George, Jack, Peter, Michael and Nico.
The five brothers were with their father
In 1897, while walking in Kensington Gardens in London, James Matthew Barry met George, 5, Jack, 4, and their infant brother Peter. Barry was very fond of the boys, and he became friends with the boys' father Arthur and mother Sylvia, and the two families became closer and closer, often spending vacations together.
Kids also loved listening to Uncle Jim (Jim was James' nickname) tell stories that later became the material for Peter Pan's stories. Barry got a lot of inspiration from the kids about Peter Pan, and George and Michael had the best relationship with him and gave him the most inspiration.
In 1907, Arthur died of bone cancer. Barry took on the responsibility of caring for the Davis family, not only providing financial support for Sylvia and the children, but also becoming a guardian for the boys. Three years later, Sylvia also died of cancer, and Barry took full responsibility for caring for the children.
Father of the five brothers, Arthur Leverlyn-Davis
The mother of the five brothers, Sylvia Leveling-Davis
Barry was so wealthy that he provided housing, education, and financial support to the boys until they were able to become independent.
However, the tragedy of the Leveling-Davis family continues, and both George and Michael, like Peter Pan, can never get old.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > George</h1>
George was a significant source of inspiration for an earlier version of Peter Pan, when he was 10 years old. With Barry's patronage, George attended Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, joining the Amateur Drama Club of the University Theatre Society.
During World War I, he volunteered as an officer in the British Army, serving the King's Royal Rifle Corps. In March 1915, during an operation, he was shot in the head and died at the age of 21.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Jack</h1>
Jack and Barry were not as close as the other brothers, and he was the only of the five brothers who did not receive an Eton education, attended the Royal Naval Academy, and served in the Royal Navy during World War I.
Jack died of lung disease in 1959 at the age of 65.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Peter</h1>
Because of his name, Peter Leverin-Davis was recognized as the "real Peter Pan" and was known everywhere he went, and he hated it. Not liking his name in relation to Peter Pan, Peter spent his time sorting through the previous letters of the Leverlyn-Davis family, destroying many of the letters between Barry and Michael.
After several years in the army, Peter became a book publisher. In 1926, he used Bally's money to establish Peter Davis Limited.
Shortly after Barry's death, Peter fell ill with alcoholism. His three sons inherited Huntington's disease from his wife, and health problems for Peter himself and his family affected his mood.
On April 5, 1960, peter committed suicide at the age of 63. His news made headlines with headlines such as "Peter Pan's Death Leap" and "The Boy Who Never Grew Up Died." His name is still closely associated with Peter Pan.
In January 1995, one of Peter's sons, Ruthwin, told the media:
"My father didn't really like Barry. He resented the fact that he had no money and had to accept Barry's financial support. However, when Barry's will did not contain his name, he felt very angry and extremely disappointed. This anger followed him all his life. He began to drink heavily, and when he died, he had almost nothing. I think the last thing that led to his suicide was that he spent all his money on getting drunk and his life had been ruined. ”
< H1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Michael</h1>
George's death brought Michael and Bally closer together. Michael was Barry's favorite child, sensitive and emotionally rich, and had the greatest influence on Peter Pan's creations.
Michael Leveling-Davis
In 1921, at the age of 20, Michael enrolled at Oxford University. On May 19, Michael drowned with classmate Rupert Buxton.
Michael couldn't swim and his death was ruled an accident. But people familiar with Michael and Rupert's relationship believe that they committed suicide by agreement, and the two are likely to be lovers and trapped by love. (An agreed suicide is a homicide offence in the UK, which is a homicide committed for the purpose of committing a suicide agreement, and the party who survived the suicide by the agreement is criminally liable.) ）
A key witness confirmed that Michael and Rupert's heads were "intimately close" before the rapid descent, and the two looked as if "not struggling".
In December of the same year, Barry wrote to a friend, "Now the whole world is different. Michael was almost my world, and his death killed me in some way. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Nico</h1>
Nico, the youngest of the five brothers, didn't have much influence on Peter Pan's story. He joined Peter's publishing company in the mid-1930s. Decades later, he told a film director the story of Barry and the Le Verlin-Davis family.
Nico died in 1980 at the age of 77.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > postscript</h1>
Barry died of pneumonia on 19 June 1937 at the age of 77. He left the rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London, one of the few hospitals in the world that can treat children with rare, complex or multiple diseases, many of whom have benefited from Bally's legacy.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the "Peter Pan" series of works appeared at a time when society was very obsessed with childhood culture, so it aroused strong resonance among readers. People in the upper and middle classes at the time were paranoid that boys were becoming more and more "weak" and losing their masculinity. Some writers have published books that encourage boys to retain their "wildness." "Peter Pan" euphemistically opposes the "wild" argument, trying to show that the masculinity of adults is not the natural development of childhood "wildness", but the most precious thing in childhood is the childlike heart, a pure and perfect true heart.
Peter Pan symbolizes eternal childhood, happy and innocent, but people will eventually grow up and lose their childlike hearts, leaving only the troubles of adults and the distractions of the world. Peter Pan's story endures precisely because it makes people feel both happy and sad, beautiful and helpless.
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