Wendy Character Analysis in Peter Pan

The eldest Darling child, a “tidy,” practical girl with a soft spot in her heart for orphaned or abandoned creatures. From an early age, Wendy seems naturally disposed to care for others. When the lost boys tell her that they need “a nice motherly person,” Wendy replies happily, “I feel that is exactly what I am”: she is clearly delighted to complete this symmetry, to be no more and no less. But we also catch glimpses of a very different Wendy, hiding awkwardly behind the “motherly person.” This other Wendy tries over and over for the ‘kiss’ in the corner of Mrs. Darling’s mouth, the kiss she “could never get,” though Peter takes it without trying. She wants to fly and play with mermaids and say “funny things to the stars.” And when she has grown into the mother she was always becoming, the other Wendy wants desperately for the “woman” whom she now lives inside to “let go” of her. Perhaps that desire will one day turn into a hopeless, mysterious ‘kiss’ of her own, forbidden to her own daughter as her mother’s was forbidden to her.

Wendy Quotes in Peter Pan

The Peter Pan quotes below are all either spoken by Wendy or refer to Wendy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

'That doesn't matter,' said Peter, as if he were the only person present who knew all about it, though he was really the one who knew least. 'What we need is just a nice motherly person.'
'Oh dear!' Wendy said, 'you see I feel that is exactly what I am.'

Related Characters: Peter Pan (speaker), Wendy (speaker)

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 82

Explanation and Analysis:

'You are so queer,' he said, frankly puzzled, 'and Tiger Lily is just the same. There is something she wants to be to me, but she says it is not my mother.'

Related Characters: Peter Pan (speaker), Princess Tiger Lily, Wendy

Page Number and Citation: 119

Explanation and Analysis:

"See, dear brothers," says Wendy, pointing upwards, '"there is the window still standing open. Ah, now we are rewarded for our sublime faith in a mother's love."

Related Characters: Wendy (speaker), Mrs. Darling, Michael, John

Page Number and Citation: 124

Explanation and Analysis:

If she was too fond of her rubbishy children she couldn't help it. Look at her in her chair, where she has fallen asleep. The corner of her mouth, where one looks first, is almost withered up. Her hand moves restlessly on her breast as if she had a pain there. Some like Peter best and some like Wendy best, but I like her best.

Related Characters: Mrs. Darling, Peter Pan, Wendy

Related Symbols: The Kiss

Page Number and Citation: 180

Explanation and Analysis:

Wendy was grown up. You need not be sorry for her. She was one of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end she grew up of her own free will a day quicker than other girls.

Related Characters: Wendy

Page Number and Citation: 194

Explanation and Analysis:

It is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly.

Related Characters: Wendy (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 195

Explanation and Analysis:

Wendy Character Timeline in Peter Pan

The timeline below shows where the character Wendy appears in Peter Pan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

When Wendy is a little girl of two, she understands from a wistful comment of her mother’s... (full context)

The Fantastic and the Commonplace Theme Icon

Wendy’s mother, Mrs. Darling, is pretty and imaginative, with some mystery about her. The mystery seems... (full context)

Some time after the two are married, they have three children: Wendy, John, and Michael. They can just barely afford the children on Mr. Darling’s salary. Even... (full context)

...Neverland, a colorful, magical place full of dangers and joys, and also ordinary everyday things. Wendy, John, and Michael each have their own Neverlands, but as they are siblings their Neverlands... (full context)

One day Mrs. Darling asks Wendy to explain Peter Pan, a person she has noticed in the children’s minds. Mrs. Darling... (full context)

...is refusing to take a bath, and Mrs. Darling is dressing for her evening out. Wendy and John are pretending to be Mr. and Mrs. Darling on the day of John’s... (full context)

...it without complaint, Mr. Darling brags that he has always taken his medicine very bravely. Wendy helpfully suggests that Mr. Darling take his medicine along with Michael. Mr. Darling had hidden... (full context)

Mrs. Darling sadly puts the children to bed. Nana is barking loudly outside, and Wendy explains that the dog senses danger. Mrs. Darling is anxious, but she gathers herself, says... (full context)

Wendy wakes up and they introduce themselves. She is surprised by Peter’s short name and his... (full context)

Wendy takes offense at his ingratitude and hides in bed. Peter Pan then becomes apologetic and... (full context)

Peter tells Wendy that he ran away from his father and mother to live with the fairies in... (full context)

...very wonderful childish laugh. When he lets her out, she is angry and rude, but Wendy is enchanted nonetheless. “She is a quite a common fairy,” Peter says, explaining that Tink... (full context)

...to listen to stories, since neither he nor the lost boys know any good stories. Wendy tells him the end of Cinderella, which Mrs. Darling has been reciting for the children... (full context)

Peter asks Wendy to come with him and tell stories to all the boys. He tempts her by... (full context)

Wendy, John and Michael fly for many days and nights in the direction of Neverland. They... (full context)

...fire at them anyway, and the blast blows them apart. Peter drifts out to sea, Wendy shoots up with Tinker Bell, and the two boys fly somewhere else entirely. Tink decides... (full context)

...boys that he saw a large white bird flying through the sky and calling “Poor Wendy.” Soon they see the bird flying toward them, and they see Tinker Bell scolding and... (full context)

The boys all gather around Wendy, and they realize she is not really a bird. Tootles is very sad to have... (full context)

...Tootles takes responsibility for the death, Peter Pan almost stabs him with an arrow. But Wendy’s hand holds him back. She is alive: Peter’s button, which she wears as a necklace,... (full context)

The boys decide to build a house around the very spot where Wendy lies, so as not to disturb her. They bring her nice things from their underground... (full context)

The boys quickly finish Wendy’s house, and they make it just as she asks them to: it has red walls,... (full context)

The next day, Peter measures Michael, John, and Wendy and makes tree holes to fit their figures. The underground home is one large room.... (full context)

...be boys. After switching sides, they continue the battle. There is also the story of Wendy and the cake: Wendy never lets the boys eat the overly rich cake, no matter... (full context)

...is a little like the colors you see if you close your eyes very tightly. Wendy, Peter, and the lost boys spend many warm days swimming there, and listening to the... (full context)

Wendy always makes sure the boys take a half an hour’s rest after lunch, and on... (full context)

...boys have found a mother. Smee does not know the meaning of the word, and Wendy exclaims in surprise and compassion. Hook points to a Never bird sitting on top of... (full context)

...fleeing from the ticking crocodile. When the boys see Hook’s frightened retreat, but cannot find Wendy or Peter, they assume the two have left already and happily fly home. But Peter... (full context)

Suddenly, they feel something small touch them: Michael’s kite. Peter ties it around Wendy’s waist and it carries her off to safety. Soon he is alone, and the mermaids... (full context)

...on her eggs, and Peter uses the nest to float to shore. Soon, Peter and Wendy are home with the other boys. (full context)

...outside the boys’ home. The boys don’t like the way the tribe idolizes Peter, but Wendy doesn’t want to speak against him: “father knows best.” (full context)

...Peter comes home, and the boys crowd happily around him. They insist on dancing, despite Wendy and Peter’s dignified protests, so the whole family sings and dances. (full context)

Before the dance, though, Peter and Wendy have an odd conversation. They talk about the boys exactly as though they were their... (full context)

...lovely, says the narrator, because they don’t know that it is to be their last. Wendy settles everyone into bed and begins to tell their favorite story. It is a story... (full context)

Wendy’s a story is about a couple called Mr. and Mrs. Darling, who had three children... (full context)

...love. But Peter hates it. “You are wrong about a mother’s love,” he says to Wendy. He once felt about mothers as she did, he says; but when he returned to... (full context)

Wendy is stricken with fear, and she decides that she and her brothers must return home... (full context)

When Wendy sees the boys’ disappointed faces, she invites them to come with her. She assures them... (full context)

...tree, is captured by a pirate, tied, and gagged. Hook displays the tied-up boys to Wendy “with ironical politeness.” Slightly, who is the bulkiest of the boys, is very difficult to... (full context)

The pirates put Wendy and the boys in Wendy’s cabin and carry the cabin to the ship. When the... (full context)

...by a tapping on his door. It is Tinker Bell, and she tells Peter that Wendy and the boys have been tied and hauled away. Peter is about to run after... (full context)

The pirates prepare to drown the boys. They carry Wendy up to deck as well. Wendy is disgusted by the ship’s filth, and Hook becomes... (full context)

...chains. Peter and the children then emerge from the cabin quietly. Peter sneaks over to Wendy, unties her, puts on her shawl, and takes her place. Then he crows again. The... (full context)

...just like Hook, and some of the boys think he intends to become a pirate. Wendy makes him an outfit from Hook’s old clothes, and he holds his finger bent like... (full context)

Now the narrator jumps to Wendy and her brother’s old home. The narrator considers telling the Darlings in advance about the... (full context)

...and Tinker Bell fly in. Peter has come to shut the nursery window, so that Wendy might feel forgotten and return to Neverland. But when he sees Mrs. Darling cry quietly... (full context)

...but just then she begins to play the piano again, and they sigh with relief. Wendy decides that they should all climb into their beds, so that when she comes in... (full context)

...Peter too, but he refuses. He will live in Neverland with Tinker Bell. He asks Wendy to come with him, and she almost says yes, but Mrs. Darling reminds Wendy that... (full context)

Peter returns for Wendy the following year, though she is embarrassed that her old Neverland dress is too short.... (full context)

...that he skipped a year. He does not come for a long time afterwards, and Wendy grows up and becomes a woman. All the boys become ordinary men, with jobs and... (full context)

Wendy gets married, and soon she has a daughter named Jane. Mrs. Darling is no longer... (full context)

One night, when Wendy is knitting and Jane is asleep, Peter Pan flies in through the window. He hasn’t... (full context)

When Peter understands that Wendy has grown up, he begins to cry, and his sobs wake Jane. She asks him... (full context)

Wendy becomes old, and now it is Margaret, Jane’s daughter, that does Peter’s spring cleaning. It... (full context)

Peter Pan

Wendy Character Analysis

Wendy Quotes in Peter Pan

Chapter 6 Quotes

Chapter 10 Quotes

Chapter 11 Quotes

Chapter 16 Quotes

Chapter 17 Quotes

Wendy Character Timeline in Peter Pan