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„Everybody’s got a Fairyland of their own”
The episodic plot (the plot built around daily activities and details tied together by a common theme or / and a character, that is Mary Poppins) makes it easier to read the book as the (young ) reader doesn't have to keep in mind what happened in the previous chapters.
All the chapters can be read individually, each of them being a new story by itself.
The episodic plot is used mostly to explore the personalities of the characters. In this book almost every chapter deals with a different kind of personality.
The characters’ personality traits are, in most cases, defined by their names, too.
Mary Poppins = Mary = a common name
= Poppins = to pop in (informal) means to visit briefly and unexpectedly as she does. Her surname also means ‘to stop in’, ‘to drop by’, ‘to appear’, ‘to burst’, all the things she does so successfully during the story.
“Mr. Banks, who owns it (the house), said to Mrs. Banks that she could have either a nice, clean, comfortable house or four children. But not both, for he couldn't afford it.’’ Although his name sounds like he is a wealthy man, he is in fact a middle class clerk, whose name doesn't match the social status.
The other characters have got names that somehow describe their jobs, physical appearance or actions or the opposite.
Mrs. Brill (the species of a flatfish of European waters) is the cook, Admiral Boom bares the name of the sound of an exploding bomb, Miss Lark has a “high, windy voice”, Mr. Wigg (Mary’s uncle) is bald.
It is interesting to notice that some of the names and sometimes items that appear in the story remind the reader, somehow indirectly, by the eastern countries: Japan and China. We can mention here the name of Mr. Wigg’s maid, Miss Persimmon that is the name of the edible fruit of a species of trees that is native to China but it can be found in Japan, too. Also, Miss Lark’s name reminds us of the bird that is traditionally kept as a pet in China. Mary Poppins takes out from her bag (besides the flannel nightgowns and the bathing caps) a set of dominoes = “the earliest mention of dominoes is from Song Dynasty China” (according to Wikipedia)
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Monika Bandi
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