Wendy, Wendy, when you are sleeping in your silly bed you might be flying about with me saying funny things to the stars.
James M. BarrieRead
And so when Mrs. Darling went back to the night-nursery to see if her husband was asleep, all the beds were occupied. The children waited for her cry of joy, but it did not come. She saw them, but she did not believe they were there. You see, she saw them in their beds so often in her dreams that she thought this was just the dream hanging around her still.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote illustrates a mother's deep connection to her children, blurring the line between dreams and reality.
In this poignant reflection, Mrs. Darling's experience highlights the profound longing and emotional complexity of motherhood. Upon returning to the nursery, she is shocked to find her children in their beds, yet her mind hesitates to accept the reality, as she often dreams of them being there. This encapsulates the unique nature of a mother's love, where her dreams of her children are so vivid that they momentarily overshadow her perception of actual life, emphasizing the joy and disorientation that can accompany familial love.
Themes
MotherhoodDreamsChildrenLoveFamily
In practice
Example use cases
During a family gathering, I shared this quote to express the depth of a mother's love.
More from James M. Barrie
All quotes →His lordship may compel us to be equal upstairs, but there will never be equality in the servants' hall.
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The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.
James M. BarrieRead
Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own.
James M. BarrieRead
It was then that Hook bit him. Not the pain of this but its unfairness was what dazed Peter. It made him quite helpless. He could only stare, horrified. Every child is affected thus the first time he is treated unfairly. All he thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness. After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but he will never afterwards be quite the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter.
James M. BarrieRead
But the years came and went without bringing the careless boy; and when they met again Wendy was a married woman, and Peter was no more to her than a little dust in the box in which she had kept her toys.
James M. BarrieRead
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