Mary Poppins (character)

Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins character
Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins
Created by	Pamela Travers
Portrayed by	Julie Andrews
Information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Nanny

Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the protagonist of P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins books and all of its adaptations. She is a magical nanny of unknown origins who arrives at the Banks home in Cherry Tree Lane where she is given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons with a magical touch. Julie Andrews, who played the character in the 1964 film adaptation, won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Description of character

Mary Poppins is a slightly stern but loving nanny who uses magic and self-control to take care of the Banks children. She is usually identifiable by her sensible hat and parrot umbrella which she brings with her wherever she goes on outings. She is loving and kind towards the children, but can be firm when needed. She is, "practically perfect in every way". In the film version, she is a very beautiful young woman, with an air of grace and elegance about her.

Book

Mary Poppins in P.L. Travers' books is strict and no-nonsense, asserting her unusual brand of discipline over the four (later five) Banks children in her charge. Mary is very vain and is always admiring herself in the mirror and other reflections. She constantly scolds the children for their "bad" behaviour, especially when they point out the magical things she does, for she constantly denies she is anything but a prim and proper lady. Mary only shows her gentler side around her friends, among them the Matchman (Bert), Mrs. Corry and Nellie-Rubina.

Mary has many relatives, each with their own supernatural or otherwise eccentric nature, at least one of whom appears in each book. She appears to be well known to every sort of magical entity (sorcerers, talking animals, etc.) that appear in the books, some of whom love her dearly and others of whom are quite terrified of her. Some characters, most notably an impudent jackdaw seen in the first two books, call her "The Great Exception," meaning, among other things, she is the only human being who has retained the magical secrets infants possess (such as the power to communicate with animals) until they grow up and forget about them. Some of her adventures occur in London, others in strange realms which later writers might identify as magical dimensions. In literary terms, she might be described as a character who exists in every conceivable fantasy genre (gothic, mythic, urban, etc.) at once: There are many strange people and phenomena in the world, but only Mary Poppins is familiar with them all.

Movie

Mary Poppins in the Disney film, as portrayed by Julie Andrews, is also stern but at the same time more gentle, cheerful, and nurturing of the two Banks children of whom she is in charge. Mary also has a friendship with Bert (Dick Van Dyke), a jack-of-all-trades who is quite at home with Mary's brand of magic. She also is less vain and selfish, and far more sympathetic towards the two children than the nanny in the original stories.

Stage Musical

In both the West End and Broadway versions of the stage musical, the Mary Poppins character is more deliberately mysterious than in the movie version. She is stricter with the children (who are also naughtier than their book and movie counterparts) but she only wants them to become the best they can be. Mary in the stage version is also more aware of Bert's feelings towards her, but remains non-committal towards his affections.

Actresses who have played Mary Poppins

• Julie Andrews, in the Disney film and in all English Merchandise.
• Mary Wickes, in an episode of the television series Studio One in 1949.
• Natalya Andrejchenko (acting) and Tatyana Voronina (singing) in the 1983 Soviet movie.
• Juliet Stevenson in the BBC Radio adaptation of the novel.
• Laura Michelle Kelly, in the original London and Broadway productions of the stage musical.
• Ashley Brown, in the original Broadway and original US tour production of the stage musical.
• Scarlett Strallen, in the London and Broadway productions of the stage musical.
• Lisa O'Hare, in the London and UK tour production of the stage musical.
• Caroline Sheen, in the original UK tour and US tour productions of the stage musical.
• Rani Mukherjee, in the Bollywood film Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.
• Linda Olsson, in the Swedish production of the stage musical.
• Noortje Herlaar in the Dutch production of the stage musical.
• Verity Hunt-Ballard in the original Australian production of the stage musical.
• Christina Tan, also in Australian production, as understudy to Hunt-Ballard.
• Anne Hathaway played the role (in tribute to Julie Andrews) in a short parody sketch at season 34, episode 4 of Saturday Night Live in 2008.

Additions

Mary Poppins appears in the third League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel, in the Black Dossier when it returns to Margaret Cavendish's Blazing World.

In the short story "El problema de la pequeña cliente" (The Problem of the Little Client), a Sherlock Holmes pastiche by Spanish writer Alberto López Aroca, included in the volume "Nadie lo sabrá nunca" (2005, ISBN 978-84-609-7429-1), the detective of Baker Street is hired by a little girl to find her missing nurse, Mary Poppins. In the story, set in Cherry Tree Lane, Bert also appears.

References