Peter Pan and Solomon Caw

"In this world, there are no second chances."

– Solomon Caw's warning to Peter Pan

The Little White Bird – J.M. Barrie 1902

Prequel to Peter Pan

Arthur Rackham's illustration for the White Bird

“The Little White Bird is a novel by J.M. Barrie that was published in 1902. It ranged from fantasy and whimsy to social comedy and dark aggressive undertones. It mostly achieved fame from several chapters that were written in a softer tone than the rest of the book, which introduced the character and mythology of Peter Pan . The chapters were later published as Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens as a children's book. The Peter Pan story started as a chapter of a longer work in the four years that Barrie worked on the book prior to publication that grew to an "elaborate book-within-a-book" of over a hundred pages”. Peter Pan Wiki

Solomon Caw is one of the characters the infant Peter Pan meets in Kensington Gardens. He is a wise old crow and is responsible for fulfilling the requests of ladies in London for children; he selects a bird for each women and sends them to their new homes.

Solomon Caw

 Peter Pan is a seven-day-old infant. All children begin life as birds until Solomon Caw sends them out to expecting mothers, where they become human children. Solomon is fond of Peter; he passes on as much wisdom to him as possible. Peter is still young enough that he's still half-bird and therefore has complete belief in his ability to fly. He escapes his home by flying out through the open window and arrives in Kensington Gardens. He realizes that he really is no longer a bird, and he lost the ability to fly because once you doubt your ability to fly, you can no longer do it. Solomon Caw tells him that he is not still a bird, but more like a human – Solomon says he is crossed between them as a "Betwixt-and-Between".

Peter Pan is loosely based on a Roman myth about a shipwrecked infant raised by crows, similar to the Romulus and Remus story.

Pan (Peter?) is the god of all wild things, nature, hunting and music, as well as the companion of the nymphs.

Pan was the God of the Wild

He is the only Greek god who actually dies whereas Peter never grows old. Solomon (Caw?) is King of Israel famous for his wisdom and his architectural projects, including the Temple in Jerusalem.

"Then I shan't be exactly a human?" Peter asked Solomon Caw.

"No."

"Nor exactly a bird?"

"No."

"What shall I be?"

"You will be a Betwixt-and-Between," Solomon said, and certainly he was a wise old fellow, for that is exactly how it turned out.

“Betwixt-and-Between”, by Larry Vienneau

Etching, 5 inch x 7 inch 2023