Mary Poppins is the main character of a children’s book series by P. L. Travers which later made into a film, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. In the books, she is an English magical nanny who travels in time and sometimes dimensions, with her Cockney jack-of-all-trades assistant, Bert. She does this to help children fix their problems using her magical abilities and knowledge of psychology.
About The Character
Poppins was one of two nanny characters created by Travers for children’s books, the other being nanny Jane Duckworth in All Grown Up. Poppins was originally introduced in Travers’ 1934 self-illustrated manuscript, Mary Poppins, which was rejected by seventeen publishers before being picked up by an editor at the last publishing house to which it was submitted. The first Mary Poppins book, Mary Poppins, or The Children and It , was published in 1934. Over time the books’ storylines became more complex and included such elements as magic medicine bottles, animated chalk drawings, talking animals and pirates.
Mary Poppins’ character has been described as enigmatic, with her true nature being difficult to pinpoint. In Travers’ diaries, she admitted that Mary Poppins’ character was greatly inspired by her own mother. The idea of a fairy-godmother figure has been quite common among children and friends of Travers have attested to her fascination with fairies. Furthermore, Travers appears to have had a fascination with storytelling and characters who could turn into animals.
In the original books, Poppins was very athletic, performing such stunts as long jumps and flying through the night air. She also had a magical umbrella that changed in different ways throughout the stories. When Poppins was not working, she would spend time with her cockatoo friend, Number Seventeen. Poppins was also fond of knitting.
In the books, Poppins was a nanny who could fly and walk through walls and at one point, even turned into a penguin. She also was known to disguise herself as a horse. In the second book “Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane”, she changes the street into an Australian outback setting with kangaroos, shearers and a horse-drawn carriage. According to the books, Poppins had two origins, although both can coexist. The first is that Mary Poppins was born on a stormy night in 1837 to an English actress mother and her lover, who abandoned her at birth. She was brought up by her mother’s sister Fanny in Australia and later inherited her house when she died. The second origin is that she sprang into being when Bert’s chalk drawing of a nanny came to life during a magic lightning storm. Bert is also the inventor of the magic umbrella.
In Mary Poppins Returns, the introduction reads “Mary Poppins is a real character.” Travers used her nanny as part of her imagination along with her mother. She also said that “these stories are not meant to be meaningfully historical, but they are certainly inspired by events from my life”. The admission of reality into written stories can be seen in the writing style of various writers of history and present still. This further adds to the significance of personal experiences and how an individual tends to take along good as well as bad experiences with them throughout life.
In the film, Poppins is a magical nanny who comes when she is needed and leaves when she wants. While the books depict Poppins as a caring nanny, the film shows her as stern, and quick to anger when displeased. One of her main roles is to help the children out of their mental ruts using psychological tricks. One of such occasions is making one boy feel like he is being pulled in all directions by his siblings.
In the film, Mary Poppins is the main antagonist and she has a magic bag which she uses to take people, animals and things out when needed. In the end of the movie it is revealed that her magic bag was filled with nothing. She also has a magical bag in the books.
What Portrayal Of Mary Poppins Meant For Children?
The authors of children’s books have to put in far more thought into their writing as well as story, than those targeting any other audience. They have to be as imaginative and as wild as a child’s brain to keep sync with their thoughts. The character of Mary Poppons has been introduced with the same view in mind. It has been intended to bring out the imaginative powers of a child’s mind and that imagination should have no limits. Also, it is for the children to believe that no matter how big a problem is, a way can be found out of it. It has also been the intention of the author for the children to trust and rely on their parents, by involving a motherly figure into the stories. This character is meant to bring a learning experience to the readers and instill a quest for the unknown.
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