[Mrs. Darling] was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner. […] [Mr. Darling] got all of her, except the innermost box and the kiss. Wendy thought Napoleon could have got it, but I can picture him trying, and then going off in a passion, slamming the door.

Peter Pan, Chapter One: Peter Breaks Through

I love this passage so much because it not only acknowledges that Mary Darling is a compellingly complex individual but she possesses a certain amount of agency in that there are some very intimate and sacred things that she is able to keep for herself. (Remember, this book was written back in an era when women still couldn’t even vote.) This is the woman that Wendy most idolizes and aspires to be, thus even she covets that secret kiss. In the 2003 film, PJ Hogan took this theme even further by giving Wendy her own “secret kiss”, which she eventually bestows on someone of her own choosing (Peter, natch). And because she gives it to someone who is, in essence, a childhood fantasy, it’s not something that can ever be given away again to any “real-life” man. One can infer that Mrs. Darling might have even done this herself once – given her hidden kiss to Peter Pan as a girl – hence why Mr. Darling is never able to get it either. Perhaps all girls’ hidden kisses belong to Peter…

GODS I LOVE THIS STORY.

(via kateofthecanals)

Source: kateofthecanals