Mary Poppins was Written by a Child in Need of Protection.

by Megan Bayliss | More from this Blogger

30 Sep 2006 09:37 PM

Mary Poppins was a nanny with pull. She knew which strings to pull to keep her charges in line and, even when she introduced them to risky situations, she worked hard to keep them safe. She knew how to shape Mr. and Mrs. Banks into responding to the needs of their children and she frowned upon their constant absences. What a shame the parents of the Mary Poppins author were unable to offer the same level of care and child protection.

Mary Poppins was not merely a spoonful of sugar! Written by a woman who had experienced a childhood that no child needs experience, Mary Poppins was originally written as an externalization of families gone wrong. The central unit of the story, the Banks family, was a glossed up representation of the author's own family of origin and the story line reflected the author's own deep fear of abandonment.

A little about the Mary Poppins author: P. L. Travers

Born Helen Goff, in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia in 1899, the celebrated author of Mary Poppins was the daughter of a bank manager who drank himself to death by the time Helen was seven. Helen's mother, Margaret, dithered on for a few more years before also giving up on life and attempted suicide in a local river. One thundery night, Margaret Goff announced to her three children that she was off to kill herself. Helen, the oldest (age 10) was terrified. She was left, alone, to settle her younger siblings and she coped by putting them to bed, all three together, on the lounge room floor. In an effort to divert their attention from frantic thoughts around their mother's impending violent death, Helen made up fantasy stories about magical flying horses in faraway lands that would ride them all to safety.

Although Margaret returned, unsuccessful in her suicide attempt, Helen withdrew from the hurt caused by her family and instead found solace in the strength of a spinster aunt. Helen's dysfunctional family predicament haunted her for the rest of her life. She was never able to rid herself of images concerning the appalling fate of children whose parents were unable to care for them.

At 21 years of age, Helen changed her name to Pamela L. Travers. At age 25, she moved to London to make a new life as a writer. She never married, wore trousers when she wanted, had an affair with an older married man and eventually entered into a long-term relationship with another woman. Ever desperate to protect children, at age 40, a single parent, she adopted and raised an Irish orphan.

Mary Poppins did not start life as a Protective Factor.

Travers wrote Mary Poppins as a piece of anti-nanny propaganda. Angered by the middle classes who shunned their children, Mary Poppins character was essentially a therapeutic catharsis for Travers wounded inner child. Mary was designed to bring the middle classes to their senses by reflecting their own weak ethics and inability to provide emotional stability to their children. The moral of the story was that the Nanny got the chop because she was no longer required: the middle classes would awaken to children's needs and would forever more parent appropriately.

It is Walt Disney who is responsible for the rewrite of the book as a sreen play (1964) and the now immortalized personification of Mary Poppins as the all rounded protector of children. His movie made Mary Poppins synonymous with love, magic and umbrellas - a protective accessory.

Protective umbrellas.

Just as Mary Poppins is synonymous with an umbrella, umbrellas are nowadays synonymous with a protective support network that all children need. Each spoke represents a person that your child can turn to for support, cover from the elements of life, and protection from external dangers.

During October (Sexual Violence Awareness Month) consider telling your child the sad tale behind Mary Poppins and use the structure of her umbrella to ensure your child has enough safety folk in their network to talk to at any time about any issue that may be bothering them: a spoke for speak.

P. L. Travers died in 1996, aged 96. Pamela, may you finally rest in peace. Even though you did not like what Walt Disney did to Mary Poppins, I do, and I will continue to use her in my fight to help protect children.

Related families.com articles about protective behaviors: BITSS of Support Networks

Related families.com reviews about Mary Poppins: Mary Poppins: A Film Classic Oft Overlooked

Walt Disney Pictures Mary Poppins (1964)

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Lisa Andrews (1457) 30 Sep 2006 11:38 PM

What an interesting article. I didn't know that P.L.Travers had such a troubled life. Mary Poppins had always been a favorite movie and play on mine, but now I will appreciate the deeper meanings behind the story. Thank you for the insight.

Megan Bayliss (3586) 01 Oct 2006 12:14 AM

You're welcome Lisa. My article has only touched the sides of Travers' life. I LOVE Mary Poppins. The more research I've done on the author the heavier my heart has felt for her and the greater appreciation I have of what Walt Disney has done.

Gwyllum (301) 01 Oct 2006 02:33 AM

Megan, nice article. As a retired social worker who spent many years working in the areas of child protection, youth justice, corrective services, mental health, primary care health services and also acute care health services, as well as working with homeless youth, survivors of torture and trauma, and acute flight non-English speaking refugees experiencing dislocation and resettlement in both Central America during the war in El Salvador and in Australia, I experience heartfelt empathy with many adults and children I worked with. Why? Because I have, many times during my professional journey, used the Mary Poppins character and umbrellas in therapeutic sessions (in several languages too). I did not know the personal history of P.L.Travers. I feel humbled. Thank you for making her background known. I so often think, what a small world it is! That applies to our social and professional experiences too!!

Jaime Egan (2178) 01 Oct 2006 06:46 AM

Wow. Where did you find all of this information? It's sad that it took such a life to create such a beloved children's story.

Megan Bayliss (3586) 01 Oct 2006 01:57 PM

Hey Jamie, if you click on the Mary Poppins author link above it takes you to a comprehensive article from The New Yorker Fact, Life and letters, Becoming Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers, Walt Disney and the making of a myth, by Caitlin Flanagan. I'm about to go to Maryborough to facilitate some Protective Play training. In my research on the towns demographics I came across the Mary Poppins connection and the more I learnt of her life, the more fasinated I have become. I will be visiting her memorial when in Maryborough.

Tristi Pinkston (10839) 01 Oct 2006 06:04 PM

Thank you for this article. Although the movie was made in a way that was against the author's wishes, it has become such an icon of our times, surely it has accomplished some good. What a shame the author had to suffer so much.

Megan Bayliss (3586) 01 Oct 2006 07:17 PM

If you're interested, there is an Australian TV doco (2002) made about Travers life - THE SHADOW OF MARY POPPINS. A review can be seen at http://www.moria.co.nz/fantasy/shadowofmarypoppins.htm .