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I'm currently reading the 1911 novelization of Peter Pan, and was completely unprepared for this passage in a children's book
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2026
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Yeah...
Lots of words change over a century.
That doesn't change the subtext in the earlier versions like OPs screenshot being removed and tamed over the years.
Again, this isn't great literature it's children stories. Kids didn't need to understand why a pedo or wolf were actually dangerous, they just needed to know to trust their instincts around a creep.
So villains were over the top creepy, paragons of every red flag. Because that's what it takes to get kids to listen.
When subtlety is used, they don't just never mention a reason. They allude to an easy surface answer. Sometimes "real" to the story, sometimes shoehorned in as a reason.
But that's kind of a requirement for subtext...
A surface level narrative.
So you pointing out a surface level narrative, just doesn't really mean anything
The reason I've quoted another passage is to highlight language which could, to a modern reader, be interpreted very differently.
None of this detracts from your point that like Aesop's fables or Sesame Street, these stories can have life lessons.
I also included a link to the Wikipedia article and some of the major themes in the book. Again, this is down to interpretation.