Second star on the right and straight on 'til morning: The reception of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan

Abstract

The purpose of my research is to illuminate the long-standing reception of J.M. Barrie’s most famous story: Peter Pan. There are three distinct mediums for the story, theater, fiction, and film, and I unveil the successes and failures of each category. My research centers on the theories produced by Hans Robert Jauss and Hans-Georg Gadamer. I utilize Jauss’ work in reception studies to address how Peter Pan changes over time without losing an audience. Gadamer’s work in hermeneutics enables my research to highlight the language and conversation produced by Barrie’s tale over time. Throughout my thesis, I come back to the overall success of Peter Pan and discuss why it has been so popular over the past century.