35 pages • 1 hour read
P.L. TraversMary Poppins
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1934A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a mysterious nanny who is transported to the Banks’s home at 17 Cherry Tree Lane in London very suddenly by the east wind. She comes without references, but her natural authority is apparent; thanks to her impeccable timing and assuring manner, Mrs. Banks hires her immediately. Mary Poppins may have a stern manner with the children, but she brings magic in many forms. She can pull objects large and small out of a carpet bag, she can speak in different animal languages and with babies, and she has other magical beings as friends. Mary Poppins enjoys spending time with her friend Bert the Match-Man and looking at her reflection in shop windows. She often displays a caustic demeanor to even her employers. Though she comes off as rude or haughty, the narrative hints at Mary Poppins’s heart of gold, especially at the end when she takes off suddenly but leaves presents for the Banks children behind. She stays with the Banks family until the west wind summons her away, but she promises in a note to Jane that they will meet again.
Jane Banks
Jane Banks is one of Mary Poppins’s charges and the eldest of the four Banks children. She is gentle and tender towards her brother Michael and the twins, John and Barbara. When Michael needs comforting or a good story, Jane is there to provide. Sometimes, when Mary Poppins is feeling exasperated, Jane is able to smooth over the situation. Together with her siblings and Mary Poppins, she sleeps in the nursery at 17 Cherry Tree Lane.
Michael Banks
Michael Banks is Jane’s younger brother. He is inquisitive and impulsive, and sometimes, his talkative nature irritates Mary Poppins. Michael knows what it feels like to enjoy being naughty, and he can behave very badly. Though Mary Poppins can be difficult to be around, he cares for her deeply. When Mary Poppins leaves the Banks residence at the end of the novel, she leaves her compass with Michael just in case he has a bad day.
John Banks and Barbara Banks
John and Barbara are Jane and Michael’s baby twin siblings. Over the course of the book, they turn one year old; at this point, their teeth come in and they lose their natural ability to talk with the sunshine, with the winds, and with animals like the starling who sometimes visits the nursery. They express fondness for the adults in their lives, and they admit that they often play along with what the adults seem to expect of them much of the time, babbling and chewing on their toes.
Mr. Banks
Mr. Banks, the children’s father, works in London. He is careful with his money, and he has a practical way of looking at the world, which sometimes conflicts with the more emotional needs of his wife and family.
Mrs. Banks
Mrs. Banks, the children’s mother, is a suggestible woman who is easily swayed by the opinions of others. Mary Poppins is able to persuade her, for example, to accept her as the nanny without following the customary procedures by mentioning the norms of “the best people.” Mary Poppins is able to get her way with Mrs. Banks at several points throughout the novel by invoking the ways of other members of London society.
Bert the Match-Man
Bert is a friend of Mary Poppins. He sometimes treats her to tea when he manages to make enough money hawking artwork on the streets. Though he sees Mary one day and can’t buy her tea, he takes her with him inside one of his paintings, where the friends spend the day having tea, riding the merry-go-round, and riding horses to distant places.
