The Speaker (Wendy)

The speaker is cued to be Wendy Darling from JM Barrie’s Peter and Wendy (later canonized as Peter Pan). In this context, she has just returned from an adventure and is forced to face the mediocrity of her future. She expresses a feeling of fascination and longing for what Peter represents, even if what she longs for isn’t the boy himself. By the end of the poem, Wendy is at the cusp of admitting that she will never find what she’s looking for.

Peter

Peter doesn’t directly appear in the poem, yet his presence pervades the speaker’s entire experience. The speaker reflects that Peter was boastful yet caught in a state of stagnant existence, unable to learn or grow. As such, he’s unable to hold onto emotional connections and experiences, which is why he inevitably leaves Wendy behind.