PL Travers

Biographical Information

P.L. Travers was born Helen Lyndon Goff on August 9, 1899, in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. Her Irish father, Travers Goff, was an unsuccessful banking manager and a heavy drinker, which ultimately led to his death when she was only 7 years old. Because of this, Travers moved with her mother and sisters to New South, where they were supported by a great aunt. Her love for reading along with a talent for writing emerged during her teenage years, when she began publishing poems in Australian newspapers. During this time she became an actor and took on the stage name Pamela. She earned a reputation as a dancer and Shakespearean actress. However, her family did not approve of this lifestyle and because of this she left for London, England to pursue a life as a writer. It was here that she changed her name and took on her late father’s first name as her own.

Once in England she published many articles, which included poems that she wrote for The Irish Statesman. This is important because Travers had a love of Irish mythology, perhaps attributed to the cherished childhood stories told by her father. Moving away from articles and poems Travers published her first book Moscow Excursion (1934) that drew from her experience as a traveler and writer. However, the book that would make her famous followed closely after this.

Stories seem to suggest that as Travers recovered from an illness, she decided to entertain two children who were visiting her with a story of a magical nanny holding a parrot-head umbrella. That same year she published Mary Poppins (1934) and it was an instant success. Seven more books in the series followed over the ensuing years: Mary Poppins Comes Back (1935), Mary Poppins Opens the Door (1943), Mary Poppins in the Park (1952), Mary Poppins From A to Z (1962), Mary Poppins in the Kitchen (1975), Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane (1982), with the last being Mary Poppins and the House Next Door in 1988, all with illustrations by Mary Shepard.

Despite the success of the Poppins books, Travers continued to write other material—young adult novels, a play, essays and lectures on mythology and symbols. People believe this was because she feared not being taken seriously as a writer. The 1964 Disney movie Mary Poppins made Travers immensely wealthy, though she reportedly wept at the premiere. The film may have given the notoriously private and prickly Travers money, but it also made her unhappy. She died alone in London on April 23, 1996 at 93 years old from the effects of an epileptic seizure. A 2013 film, Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompsonas Travers, tells the behind-the-scenes story of book to film. More information about her life can be located here.

Themes/Motifs

            Mary Poppins composed much of PL Travers life, so when analyzing the primary themes and motifs from her career it seems best to focus on Mary Poppins’ stories specifically. In all of her series, some themes that weave themselves throughout are these ideas of using one’s intuition, looking within, and uncovering the truth. She primarily teaches these lessons through her work with the Banks children (Michael and Jane specifically). Many times throughout the stories the Banks children are taught to follow their intuition despite the seeming risk they put themselves in, but in the end the universe opens for them in the most delightful of ways. As stated above, Mary Poppins explores the idea of looking within and uncovering the truth. An example of this is a moment in which the children are at a party and they have a conversation with a Bird Woman about the topic of our shadows. The Bird Woman says, “You take my word for it, my loves, when you know what your shadder knows—then you know a lot. Your shadder's the other part of you, the outside of your inside—if you understand what I mean." In many ways this shows the ways in which Mary Poppins encourages us to explore what is unexplored, to get to acknowledge the darker shades to who we are in order to understand who we are. Each of the chapters within the series provides small truths to unpack and uncover, all in the hopes of helping the Banks children, and the reader to uncover a deeper truth to who we are, and to ceaselessly look within.

Writing/Artistic Style

As stated above, Travers was a lover of Irish mythology. Travers made a lifelong friend in George William Russel, an Irish nationalist leader. It was Russel who introduced Travers to Irish Poet William Butler Yeats, and other Irish literary figures who used Irish mythology in their writing. Her style was not only inspired from Irish mythology but she also began to study the mythology of various cultures including Hindu and Buddhism, the lore of the Navajo and even Jungian philosophy. This exposure with mythology fueled an already creative mind, and this artistic style found its way into Mary Poppins. What makes her writing unique is the seamless blend of both fantasy and everyday nature. Her writing draws from the intensive studies of mythology and legend while appealing to more than simply children; with many of her chapters directly referencing the various cultures she has studied so diligently. Travers was quick to explain that her books are not intended exclusively for children. However, children quickly fell in love with this mix of fantasy and reality. More so, her writing evoked a playful warping of reality, a dismissal of unnecessary rules and a great sense of absurdity due to the mythological elements she incorporated into the stories.

Criticism

After reviewing Goodreads for critique of PL Travers it became clear very quick that many of the criticism stem from the movie expectation not meeting the book expectations. The film Mary Poppins will forever immortalize Julie Andrews as the sweet nanny who always knows just what to say and how to act, whereas Travers’ version of her creation is far stricter, snarky and to be blunt, rude. It is for this reason that many people find themselves deceived when finishing the Disney classic and opening the pages of Travers’ writing. One review portrays this deception well, “ “Um...I really did NOT like Mary Poppins herself. Why? She was a) condescending, b) rude, and c) unloving. She was always telling them to shut up and come along and be quiet and go to bed and GO HOME. This woman is not fit to look after children!”

However, another criticism lies not in Travers’ character personality, but rather her representation of other cultures. As stated above, Travers relied heavily on mythology from many cultures, and these cultures found their way in the chapters of her stories. Because of this, some of the cultures she represented were written in ways that did not accurately showcase their culture. This is primarily apparent a chapter entitled “Bad Tuesday” in which Mary uses a compass to visit places all over the world. The original chapter contained cultural and ethnic stereotypes/descriptions of Chinese, Eskimo, Sub-Saharan Africans, and Native Americans. Issues such as these caused the Mary Poppins to be banned from the San Francisco Public Library system in 1980. Because of the criticism Travers revised the chapter two more times.

Bibliography

-In 1965 PL Travers won a Nene Award for Children’s Fiction

-For services to Literature Queen Elizabeth honored her with the “Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977.

A collection of her representative works is listed below.

Mary Poppins, published 1934. This story introduces the Banks family and their famed nanny Mary Poppins.

Mary Poppins Comes Back, published 1935. As Michael flies a kite in the sky, it is soon reeled back down but with Mary Poppins at the other end of the line to continue her lessons with the Banks children.

Mary Poppins Opens the Door, published 1943. The magical nanny returns for more adventures with the Banks children including riding peppermint horses and a garden party under the sea.

Mary Poppins in the Park, published 1952. This book chronicles six adventures with the Banks family that were untold during the second and third installments of the series.

Mary Poppins From A to Z, published 1962. These are 26 stories with Mary Poppins and the Banks children for each letter of the alphabet.

Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, published 1975. With recipes included, this book chronicles what happens when the Banks’ chef goes on leave and Mary Poppins teaches the children how to cook.

Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, published 1982. This book tells of the adventures that Mary Poppins and the Banks children encounter on the magical Midsummer’s Eve.

Mary Poppins and the House Next Door, published 1988. This book tells the story of how Mary Poppins intervenes when Number Eighteen, an empty house that each neighbor has created an imaginary wished-for tenant, is about to be occupied by someone named “The Holy Terror.”

Other Info

Here are some interesting facts on Travers and more can be found here.

·     Travers' father, Travers Robert Goff, was a loving man but a poor provider, later being demoted to bank clerk due to his love of drinking. At 7 years old, Travers was traumatized when her father died an alcohol-induced death at the age of 42.

·     Travers' mother, Margaret, once threatening to drown herself in a nearby creek when Travers was only 10 years old because she didn’t know how to handle her three daughters. Travers’ mother often sent them away to stay with family members.

·     Travers found comfort with her kind and wealthy Aunt Ellie who carried a carpet bag everywhere she went. Aunt Ellie was the inspiration behind Mary Poppins.

·     Known to be a flirt, Travers nonetheless never married but was known to have relations with both men and women.

·     At the age of 40 she adopted a boy from Ireland whom she named Camillus. On the advice of an astrologer, she refused to adopt his identical twin. Like her own mother, Travers did not know how to be a good mother. She also sent Camillus away when she couldn't handle the young boy, and it was only at the age of 17 that he discovered Travers was not his biological mother. Camillus became an alcoholic and died in 2011.