Mary Poppins (P.L. Travers) Response

      In Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back by P.L. Travers, there is a subtle
Christian theme that is present when considering certain adventures and conversations in the
story. The theme is especially present in Mary Poppins Comes Back, but can be seen in the original story as well.
   In my opinion, the first somewhat obvious representation of Christian ideology occurs in the scene featuring Barbara and her twin brother John. The scene is similar to a typical "loss of innocence" story. At first the children are young enough that they share a connection with nature -- a connection that allows them to understand and speak with wind and the starling. They lose this ability, however, after the age of one. Within the story, we also see that a similar fall occurs to Jane and Michael, "Because they've grown older" (Travers 96). In fact the only person who does not lose the ability to converse with nature is Mary Poppins herself. In literature, it is common to lay out a similar scenario. At first young children are capable of fully immersing themselves in nature. With age, however, they lose this ability due to a loss of innocence -- which in Christianity is caused by each person's original sin. Of course, neither the twins, nor Jane or Michael have completely lost their innocence, as they are still young -- evidence for this idea are the adventures taken by Jane and Michael that often occur within nature. Nevertheless, the idea is suggested by Travers, possibly, to highlight the enlightenment of children. Furthermore, if it is the case that the children have suffered mildly (at this point) from original sin, then perhaps Mary Poppins represents Jesus' mother Mary (the only human not to suffer from original sin). Although I am not quite sure what the significance of such an idea is within the context of the story, it is certainly an interesting one to consider.
   I also argue that the Christian undertones in Mary Poppins Comes Back are even more prominent than in the original story. For example, the birth of Annabel and the events following it provide for the use of ample Christian ideas. To begin, as soon as Mary Poppins leaves Mrs. Banks' room with the baby, Mrs. Brill praises the child using Christian terminology: "Ah, the Lamb! Ah, the Duck! Ah, the Trinket! And as good as a week of Sunday's, I'll be bound"(Travers 238). Mrs. Brill's line is easy to ignore, but there is certainly plenty of meaning packed within it and the subtle points made in the quote apply to children as a whole. First of all, the Lamb is a Christian symbol referring to the "Lamb of God" and is often associated with purity. Here, Travers clearly attributes that same purity to Annabel and perhaps children in general. Furthermore, in Christianity, Sunday is set aside for rest, as a holy day -- as God took the seventh day to rest when creating the world. Therefore, to compare the newborn baby to a week of Sunday's is seemingly suggestive of the goodness of the baby. In addition, Annabel has a loss of innocence of her own when she forgets the story of her birth and where she came from. More importantly within the context of my argument is Annabel's description of where she has come from as "the Dark where all things have their beginning" (Travers 242). I do not proclaim to be an expert in Christianity and I do not know exactly how this line relates to the beliefs of the religion, nevertheless, it seems that Annabel has come from a Holy place into the real world. Perhaps, Travers is suggesting that Annabel was merely a spirit before, but she now has her physical body as well. Either way, if Travers presents this line with Christian meaning behind it, and I contest that he does, their is an implication that Annabel is quite close to God. Such an implication can be applied to all children, and it continues to provide evidence for the respect shown toward children in the story by Travers.
     When I began writing this response, I intended to simply note Christian ideology and perhaps attempt to connect it to Disney in some way. Now, however, it seems to me that Travers uses Christianity in a way that glorifies children. Children are already placed on a pedestal in the story, as they seem to come across more superior to adults -- especially when considering their respective interactions with Mary Poppins. Nevertheless, Christianity helps to further place emphasis on the intelligence and the superiority (in comparison to adults) of children.