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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Chapter 1: Peter Breaks Through
Explanation and Analysis—Mrs. Darling's Dream:
In Chapter 1, Mrs. Darling has a dream about seeing a flying boy in the window, which foreshadows his arrival later that same night:
While she slept she had a dream. She dreamt that the Neverland had come too near and that a strange boy had broken through from it. He did not alarm her, for she thought she had seen him before in the faces of many women who have no children. Perhaps he is to be found in the faces of some mothers also. But in her dream he had rent the film that obscures the Neverland, and she saw Wendy and John and Michael peeping through the gap.
Moments prior to her dream, Mrs. Darling falls asleep next to the fire. She has a very vivid vision of a "strange boy" breaking out of Neverland and into the normal world. He "rent[s] the film" and creates a gap in the continuum between Neverland and London, and Mrs. Darling sees her children peering through it. Interestingly, she seems to recognize in Peter a similar quality that she has recognized in the faces of many childless women. Immediately after her dream, Peter blows in through the window and drops to the floor of the nursery. Despite the fact that this instance of foreshadowing precedes the event to which it refers, the event of Peter's arrival still comes as quite a shock. The fact that Barrie foreshadows this event through the lens of Mrs. Darling's dream shows how well-connected she is to the world of Neverland despite her being a mother. Her character's unconscious foresight creates a sense of anticipation and sets the stage for a magical visit from Peter Pan.
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