In J.M. Barrie’s play and novel Peter Pan, there is a scene where Peter Pan gives Wendy a kiss. This scene hints that he gives her an acorn button from his outfit as a kiss or token of affection. Though it is not definitively stated in the text what Peter gave Wendy, an acorn button is the most likely possibility based on the evidence.
The Kissing Scene
The scene where Peter gives Wendy a kiss occurs in Chapter 14 titled “The Pirate Ship” in the novel Peter Pan. In this scene, the Darling children have just been captured by Captain Hook and his pirate crew. Peter Pan shows up to try to rescue them. At one point, he flies over to Wendy to give her a kiss before continuing his rescue mission.
Here is the passage describing the kiss:
“For a moment after he had spoken he was quite still, and then he made a vain attempt to fly though he was inside the cabin. “Quick Tink,” he called, “close the porthole. Close it! Hurry!” But before she could reach it, Hook had the door open, and with a fearful shriek the little fairy flew out into the night.
“Don’t disappoint me,” Peter said threateningly to the pirates, and then in the same breath to the unhappy Wendy, “And you, m’am, will walk the plank at sunrise.”
Wendy was all alone. With Tink’s light out, the cabin seemed darker than before. She kept as still as she could, for fear of attracting the attention of a pirate. After what seemed a very long time, Peter came back, and Wendy saw that he had a pirate on each side of him. She could hear them whispering together.
“Quietly, now,” said Hook to his men, “no sound of footsteps on the decks, and take it very slowly.”
The window was thrown open, and the two pirates climbed through. They had gone for Peter.
In despair Wendy darted across the cabin to try to warn Peter, but it was too late. Peter had already flown away.
Through the porthole Wendy saw that the dawn was breaking. As the pirates pushed off in their boats Wendy heard Peter crow.
Then he dropped in front of her on to the deck, rather fairy-like in the half light.
“Wendy,” he whispered, squeezing her hand, “I’ve got a kiss for Mrs. Darling.”
He snatched a thimble from a sailmaker’s pocket, and with it pressed a thimble on the end of a piece of string against Wendy’s lips.
“Now,” he said, “you be Wendy, and I’ll be Peter Pan.”
So in this scene, Peter Pan takes a thimble on a string and presses it against Wendy’s lips, essentially giving her a kiss with the thimble. But what exactly is this “kiss”?
The Acorn Button Theory
Though Barrie simply describes it as a “thimble” in this passage, many scholars believe this was meant to represent an acorn button from Peter’s outfit. Earlier in the novel, Barrie describes Peter Pan’s costume as including acorn buttons:
“He had bright knobby eyes, elfish ears, and his hair was still as Tinkerbell had arranged it. His shirt was stained with berry juice which he had been gathering from bushes in the Neverland, and his costume was pieced together out of items he had found in the pirate camp, caps and one or two jackets a little large for him. On his dirty hands he wore rings with tiny jewels in them which must have come out of pirates’ treasure chests, and round his waist hung a leathern belt with a hunting knife stuck in it. His legs were bare, of course, brown and scratched and hard. The thorns hadleft marks on them which looked like miniature railway maps. From his left elbow dangled a leathern gauntlet, and he also wore one on his right arm which hid his nail-less fingers. He had made himself a ambitious pair of wings out of string and canvas, but they were clumsily done and would never enable him to fly. Over his jersey he wore his greatcoat when he could find it, but he was so small it kept slipping off. His trousers were decorated in front with wooden buttons, rather like acorns, with which hooks of wire were ingeniously fastened. He wore no hat, for he had lost it during his flight from the pirate ship, but around his neck for safe keeping was Wendy’s frilly nightdress.”
So Peter’s outfit is described as having acorn button decorations. It’s likely the “thimble” he gave Wendy was meant to actually be one of these acorn buttons. Since an acorn button wouldn’t make sense as a literal kiss, this supports the interpretation that the acorn button was a symbolic kiss – a token of his affection modeled after a real thimble.
Supporting Evidence
Some other textual clues support the acorn button interpretation:
- Peter says he has a kiss “for Mrs. Darling” – the acorn button wasn’t necessarily meant as a kiss for Wendy herself.
- Peter had to take the item from a sailmaker’s pocket – he didn’t already have the object on him, so it likely wasn’t originally part of his costume.
- Barrie specifically describes Peters’ costume as having decorations that look like acorns – making the connection between the “thimble” and the acorn buttons explicit.
Peter taking an acorn button from his outfit to give to Wendy also fits the character’s motives and personality. As a boy who refuses to grow up, giving a symbolic kiss with an acorn button is a more age-appropriate gesture from Peter than an actual kiss. And his impish, playful nature makes the notion of giving a button as a pretend “kiss” seem fitting.
So in summary, while not definitively stated, there is substantial evidence to indicate that the “thimble” or “kiss” Peter gave Wendy was an acorn button taken from his clothing – a symbolic token of affection.
Why Peter Pan May Have Given Wendy an Acorn Button
Peter Pan’s motivations for giving Wendy an acorn button from his outfit are open to interpretation. Here are some possible reasons behind this symbolic gesture:
To Represent Affection
As a young boy who never grows up, Peter likely had limited understanding of romance and affection. Giving Wendy an acorn button from his costume may have been Peter’s childlike way of expressing that he cared for her without necessarily implying romantic love.
To Comfort Wendy
Peter gave Wendy the acorn button after she had been captured by pirates and was in distress. His gift could have been meant to cheer her up and bring her some comfort in the midst of danger.
To Reassure Mrs. Darling
When giving Wendy the button, Peter specifically said “I’ve got a kiss for Mrs. Darling.” Knowing that Wendy missed her mother, his gift may have been a way for Wendy to give her mother a symbolic “kiss” from Peter, reassuring Mrs. Darling that her daughter was okay.
To Be Like A Grown-Up
Despite not wanting to grow up himself, Peter seemed fascinated by and eager to imitate adult customs at times. Giving a kiss may have been his childlike attempt to act like a grown-up even though the kiss itself was just a button.
To Mark Wendy As “His”
While likely not fully aware of the romantic implications, Peter may have given Wendy the acorn button to stake a claim, marking her as a girl under his protection to keep her from getting too close to any of the Lost Boys.
The Significance of the Acorn Button
Beyond Peter’s specific motivations, the acorn button he gave Wendy holds symbolic significance in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Here are some of the broader meanings tied to this object:
Connection to Nature and Innocence
As an acorn and natural object, the button represents Peter’s close ties to nature and his state of natural and ageless innocence as a boy who will not grow up. His kiss reflects that innocence.
The Selfishness of Children
While Peter likely intended the acorn button as a selfless gesture, the notion of giving a button instead of a real kiss highlights the tendency of children to be unintentionally selfish. Peter was thinking of his own amusement, not what Wendy would want.
Contrast Between Youth and Adulthood
Drawing a distinction between a button as a child’s kiss and a real adult kiss highlights Barrie’s larger theme of the differences between youth and maturity. Peter could only go so far in trying to act “grown-up.”
Marking the Path to Adulthood
For Wendy, the acorn button represents the beginnings of an initiation into maturity, as Peter’s act contains traces of chivalry and courtship even if unintentional on his part.
A Stay Against Time and Change
For Peter himself, giving this kiss may have been an attempt to halt Wendy’s growth and preserve her innocence just as the acorn button remains unchanged.
So while a simple object, the acorn button Peter gave Wendy as a kiss is imbued with thematic significance in Barrie’s exploration of youth, maturity, and change.
Conclusion
In examining the scene where Peter Pan gives Wendy a kiss in J.M. Barrie’s novel Peter Pan, substantial textual evidence indicates this “kiss” was likely an acorn button taken from Peter’s clothing. Peter’s motivations behind this symbolic gesture likely included a desire to express affection, comfort Wendy, or reassure her mother in an age-appropriate way untainted by romance. And the deeper symbolic significance of this acorn button kiss ties into larger themes in the novel around the contrasts between childhood and adulthood. So while a small detail, Peter giving Wendy his acorn button carries meaningful weight in the story of the boy who refused to grow up.