Although it receives quite a bit of attention, we all know that the Neverland is not the only island in fiction.Over at searchonfly.com there's quite a comprehensive list of them. It seems they thought of everything. Novels, comics, video games, songs... Bravo.
Though the wording for "The Neverland" is somewhat ambiguous.
an island that apparently exists outside of time, as its inhabitants never age or die
Characters most certainly can die. Of course, it's refering to the immortality aspect that Peter Pan and other inhabitants display. As for whether the isle exists "outside of time," I'd like to explore that further. In fact, I've been thinking about that very subject - the nature of "Time" regarding the Neverland (again) lately prior to their description.
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Ever since I've gotten into Barrie's original version(s) of Peter Pan, I've been under the impression that the idea that the Neverland makes you never grow up is a misconception. In other words, that only Peter himself never grows up, and that anyone else is no less able to grow up there than anywhere else (hence Peter's "thinning out" of his troop of Lost Boys whenever some get too grown-up). Certainly death is a constant spectre, as the ticking crocodile seems to represent death (perhaps specifically for Captain Hook, but the fact that the clock wound down when it was Hook's "time" doesn't strike me as a coincidence).
Anonymous - I've wondered the same thing. I've seen it from many angles. However, one can also argue that given the time frame/line, it might not otherwise be possible for the pirates to still exist there if they aren't also "frozen" in time. I'm not saying either is correct at this point. :)
Heh, maybe it freezes you in time, but only at a certain age, and that age is older than Peter Pan's age (Peter being an exception since he doesn't seem to have gotten any older even before he came to live there)? Just throwing out ideas....
One thing that has always interested me (but that I find difficult to determine with Peter Pan) is timelines. Like, what year was Peter born, when was his brother born, when did he move to the Never Land, when did he first encounter Captain Hook, when did he meet Wendy, Jane, Margaret, etc.?
But it's not an easy thing to do with the Peter Pan universe. :(
It's not easy, no.
But I've done it, partially out of curiosity/obsession and partially to be able to compose the novel.
I used clues from Barrie's Pan texts [simplest example: in order for Pan to be able to fly to Kensington Gardens and see certain sights there... these things had to be there, thus a starting/endpoint date is set automatically] and other sources like Stevenson's Treasure Island (which, as previously stated, is in fact connected to Peter Pan.)
So, I have a timeline of Barrie's creation. Sure, I had to be a BIT creative, but mostly I used Barrie, history, etc. It's accurate to the best of my knowledge. As for whether or not I'll have cause to share it... that remains to be seen. :)
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