Marry Poppins Book Response

In many ways, Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back are dated books written from an old perspective. It is apparent that these books contain old gender roles and stereotypical depictions of children and manners, along with in the original version stereotypically offensive representations of ethnicities from around the world. The first book introduces the reader to the family living in Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, the Banks family. When the children's old nanny storms out, Mary Poppins arrives at their home. The children quickly learn to listen to their nanny, who may be stern, vain and quick to anger, has a sense of wonder about her. The children experience upside down tea parties, a trip around the world, meeting magical people like Mrs. Corry and the Bird Woman and a shopping trip with a star. At the end of the first book, Mary Poppins opens her umbrella and flies away, carried by the wind. As the second book begins, it is clear that the dynamic of the Burch family is missing Poppins since her departure at the end of the previous book, but everyone is overjoyed when one of the children flies a kite and when it returns Mary Poppins is at the end of the string. The children are once again subject to the whims of Mary Poppins, and they go on a myriad of new adventures.  At one point in the book a new child, Annabel, is born into the Banks family. As in Mary Poppins, the first book, again Mary leaves at the end, yet this time she has plans to return. The most compelling component to examine is the discussion over what type of entity Mary Poppins is. A few examples of her power include the ability to fly, manipulate certain levels of reality, and her bag seems to be a special pocket. There is much debate over what Poppins could be whether it’s a witch, fairy, angel, or goddess, and there are many interesting theories about where she receives her mystical power from. Perhaps the most compelling argument is that she is a witch, this holds particular power as the time in which these books were written at a time when Wicca was both prevalent and popular. Many of her magical actions could be seen as casting spells and many of the magical objects she possesses, like the compass from Bad Tuesday, could be those enchanted by a witch. Additionally, Poppins appears to be well known, admired, and even feared by the mysterious entities she encounters throughout her adventures. A fundamental character to mention at this point is the jackdaw present in both Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back. The jackdaw calls Mary Poppins "The Great Exception," this seems to imply that she is the only human who has retained the magic that many children contain until they grow up and forget about it. This may not be a trait directly linked to witchcraft; however, it does imply that she is a practitioner of magic, and as a result, it could be imagined that she is practices Wicca.