A Toxic Marriage
In the story, Wendy wants Peter to act like a father, but he literally has no idea what she wants him to do. In 1894, Barrie got married. He clearly loved children, but he didn’t have any of his own. Apparently, his wife desperately wanted to have kids. It’s unclear why exactly the marriage ended. But this is a possible reason.
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Barrie did describe his relationship with his wife as toxic, but he may have been uninterested in sex, which can also cause a relationship to deteriorate. Barrie kept a personal journal where he wrote: “Greatest horror – a dream I am married – wake up shrieking.” Something tells me Peter Pan might have the same reaction.