I. That Milne was a children’s book writer and an adult philosopher
- People in their eighties are still reading his books.
- His quotations are all over the net on adult websites.
- His writing was used in the “Tao of Pooh,” and the “Te of Piglet,” by Benjamin Hoff, in a serious philosophical discussion for adults.
- Milne was reported not to even LIKE children that much, and he let his own be raised mostly by a nanny.
- Milne was very distressed over his success from the book as he considered himself an adult writer with a lot of flexibility in his writing topics, and was kind of depressed that people considered him only to be a children’s writer.
- He abandoned children’s writing after his fantastic success with it and moved on to other adult projects.
Alan Alexander Milne: An Adult Philosopher
Say the names A. A. Milne, Christopher Robin, Eeyore,Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Roo, Owl, Rabbitand people of all ages will immediately regress and return to their childhoods with a laugh or a sigh or both. Alan Alexander Milne, born on January 18, 1882, was an English writer first known for his humorous adult writing, playwriting, and a novel, “The Red House Mystery,” but in 1924, he published a little book entitled, “When We Were Very Young,” and the whole world changed. His subsequent books: “Winnie-the-Pooh,” “The House at Pooh Corner,” and “Now We Are Six” made him one of the most successful writers in the history of the world (and one of the richest)!
That these books held great appeal for children, there is no question. They are charming, engaging, comforting, familiar, both funny and sad, and full of wonder. The 100-acre Wood seems a very safe place indeed, where nothing much ever happens—almost like, “The Golden Age of history and legend, and the lost paradise of childhood.” (A. Lurie.) Children love these books, and often clamber for stuffed Poohs and Piglets and toys just like Christopher Robin’s (the originals now reside in the New York Public Library). They are probably the most popular series of children’s books ever written. “Millions of copies have sold in over 18 languages, including Serbo-Croatian, Esperanto, and Latin” (of Winnie the Pooh). (A. Lurie)
The main point that I would like to make in this paper is that the Pooh books and the poetry went on to work their way into the hearts of adults as well, such that both adults who read them as children, and adults picking them up for the first time just flip out over them! There are reports of people in their eighties buying whole new sets of the books because their own originals are too worn out. Adult websites all over the net are just loaded with quotations from “Winnie-the-Pooh” and the other children’s book A. A. Milne wrote. I think I saw at least 100 sites when I browsed the net that were full of Milne quotations, and these were not sites intended for children (although they were welcome too, of course!) A couple of examples of Pooh wisdom, as we begin to get into this topic: “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” (Milne, “Winnie-the-Pooh”) And: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” (Milne “Winnie-the-Pooh).
Hmm. Sounds pretty romantic and adult to me—not necessarily something which children would fully understand, but thoughts that all adults would understand. A few more, in order to set the tone:
“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” (Milne, “Winnie-the-Pooh”).
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.” (Milne, “Winnie-the-Pooh.”)
Sounds a bit more like Shakespeare sometimes than like children’s books. I can see why adults hold on to these sayings and use them in their lives. Sometimes the relationship between Pooh and Piglet feels more like a courtship than a friendship—that’s just my opinion—there are so many expressions of love in the writing.
“The Tao of Pooh,” and the “Te of Piglet,” by Benjamin Hoff, have also been fantastically successful books. In them, Hoff says that he, “Got the idea to write a book that explained the principles of Taoism through Winnie-the-Pooh, and explained Winnie-the-Pooh through the principles of Taoism.” (Hoff, “The Tao of Pooh,” p xii.) Taoism is an ancient Eastern religion, mostly practiced by the Chinese, which is definitely an adult pursuit. The Hoff books are not for children at all; they are way too complicated to be understood by most children. But they represent the extension of A. A. Milne’s philosophy into the adult domain. Many quotes and whole pages from the Milne books are used to explain the Taoist religion in terms that people can easily understand.
Milne, however, contends totally that the books were written for children. But he also seems to be ambivalent about this. In his “Autobiography,” he states, “What has been particularly irritating about the sales of Christopher Robin books (even though the irritation has produced no more intimidating retort than the writing of the name ‘Kwistopher Wobin,’) is that the books were written for children.” But he goes on to say, “‘When We Were Very Young’ is not the work of a poet becoming playful, nor of a lover of children expressing his love, nor of a prose writer knocking together a few jingles for the little ones, it is the work of a light-verse writer taking his job seriously, even though he is taking it into the nursery.” Milne himself seems to have one leg in both worlds. While contending that he was a writer of books for children, he also feels that he is a serious adult writer who happened to “take it into the nursery.”
Alan A. Milne didn’t even particularly like children, according to his “Autobiography,” in which he wrote: “I am not inordinately fond of or interested in childrenI have never felt in the least sentimental about them.” What a surprise! One might have thought that the writer of such magical children’s verses and prose would have been someone who was thrilled with children and totally caught up in their world, but the truth is that Milne, I think, always thought of himself as an adult writer, no matter what his subject matter was, and didn’t care all that much about children.
Furthermore, as was the custom in those days, Milne allowed his own three sons to be raised mostly by their nanny, and probably had very little interaction with them at all.
Alan Alexander Milne, famous “children’s book writer,” seems to have been distressed over the success of his books, since he considered them just a few entries in a line of life work that included a lot of adult writing too. He says in his “Autobiography”: “Having said goodbye to all that in 70,000 words, knowing that as far as I was concerned the mode was outmoded, I gave up writing children’s books. I wanted to escape from them as I had once wanted to escape from “Punch,” as I have always wanted to escape.” One gets the sense that Milne always wanted to run away from the realities in his life—that he was perhaps a bit of a dreamer. Interestingly, his son Christopher once made the following observation: his father’s “relationships were always between equals, however old or young, distinguished or undistinguished the other person.” (Jenkyns, Richard.) One theory about Milne’s stopping the writing of children’s books too is that since Christopher Robin was getting older, he was no longer the source of inspiration for writing that he once had been.
All four of the children’s books are just chock full of adult wisdom. Milne really could be said to be an adult philosopher, because on almost every page of the books is a little gem of wisdom that applies equally well to children and adults. A few more examples of this: “Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way.” (Milne, “Winnie-the-Pooh,” 7.) What a metaphor for the way almost all of us go through our lives: encountering obstacle after obstacle, dreaming of an easier way, knowing that there probably really is a better way, but being unable to find it or use it.
Another great example of “wishful thinking” (and illogical thinking), is found in “The House at Pooh Corner” (207), when Pooh says, “If I plant a honeycomb outside my house, then it will grow up into a beehive.”
Piglet wasn’t quite sure about this.
“Or a piece of a honeycomb,” said Pooh, “So as not to waste too much. Only then I might only get a piece of a beehive, and it might be the wrong piece, where the bees were buzzing and not honeying. Bother.”
This is such a great example of adult “wrong thinking.” Trying to get something for nothing, wanting to hold onto the bulk of the thing and only give up a tiny piece, and worry, worry, worry about a negative outcome before even beginning the project!
In conclusion, I would like to say that it is clear to me, at least, that even if these books were allegedly written for children, they have developed an enormous universal appeal which makes them pleasurable for even elderly folks to read. The philosophies contained within them are universal, and just plain good old fun! One need only to glance around the internet, as I mentioned before, to see the volume of websites, blogs, quotation sites, analysis of the works, that have been produced by adults and for adults to believe this. Winnie-the-Pooh, Christopher Robin, and all their friends in the forest present a vision of a kinder, gentler way to live that is very appealing to older people who may have become cynical, jaded, and worn out over the years. A little hit of Pooh is all one needs in order to wake up and smell the roses again in the 100-acre woods. Feeling down? Go read about Eeyore and you will instantly feel better by comparison. Feeling fat? Watch Pooh do his Stoutness Exercises and you will also instantly feel better, since you will not feel so alone. Feeling lonely? Pick up one of these books and get involved in the lives of these characters, and magic will return into you own life again!
Works Cited
Dalphin, Marsha, Mr. Edward Bear, His Book. New York Herald Tribune Books.(1926, 8). web
FamousQuotesAbout.com, retrieved Dec 14, 2014, from http://www.famousquotesabout.com. web
Hoff, Benjamin, The Tao of Pooh, New York: Penguin Group, 1991. Print.
Hoff, Benjamin, The Te of Piglet, New York: Penguin Group, 1991. Print
http://www.Goodreads.com. web
Jenkyns, Richard. “True Pooh.” The New Republic. 15 October, 1990. 203.16. (50-53). web
Lurie, A. “Now We Are Fifty.” The New York Times Book Review. 14 November, 1976 (27). web
Milne, A.A. Autobiography. New York. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1939. web
Milne, A. A. Biography.com, Retrieved 14 December, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/aa-milne-9409137, web
Milne, A. A. The World of Pooh: The Complete Winnie-the-Pooh, and The House at Pooh Corner. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1957. Print
