The Perfect Child
Margaret and Alexander Barrie are the parents of James Matthew “J.M.” Barrie, who was born in the Scottish town of Kirriemuir in 1860. He had one older brother, David, who was considered “the perfect child” (we all have one of those in the family). Sadly, the golden child who everyone adored fell and cracked his skull after being hit by an ice skater.
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Unfortunately, David was never the same mentally and eventually died due to the injury. Supposedly, J.M. was comforted by the fact that in a way, his brother would stay a boy forever. I think you can see where this is going. From this point on, a fascination with boys and preserving their innocence was ingrained into Barrie’s psyche.