The Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams, (author), William Nicholson, (illustrator), George H. Doran Company, 1922.

Rummaging through some forgotten keepsakes I found an old velveteen rabbit a woman had purchased for me over forty years ago.  She also gave me a book; The Velveteen Rabbit, and some old schoolgirl photographs I returned to her by mail for her family archives years ago.  I want to return the velveteen rabbit to her as well.  But I am reluctant.  Perhaps it would be better to give the toy to a poor local child in need.  I wanted to send this letter with the toy, but will probably do neither.  So I will publish the letter instead.

Dear 🐇,

I think this rabbit belongs to you.  I overlooked it somehow.  As you can see she is still in pristine condition, ignored, unlike the velveteen rabbit in the story who was loved to excess by a childhood friend.  But, perhaps, the poor little neglected rabbit may have a second chance to ponder all of the contradictions of what it means to be real if she acquires a new childhood friend.  I am sure there are plenty of poor children who would love to have her.*

Of course, the velveteen rabbit accepts the skin horse definition of "real" as unconditional love from a child, up until the moment he encounters live rabbits in the garden.  The velveteen rabbit was worn out, soiled, his stitches showed through, he looked as worn out from unceasing affection as skin horse.  But when the live rabbits invite him to play, the velveteen rabbit looks down upon himself and says, "I would love to play with you, but I have no legs."  Thus, the velveteen rabbit faces a dichotomy.  Am I real?  Are live rabbits real?  Am I nothing more than a cheap facsimile?**

After the little boy acquires a contagious disease, and the doctor orders immediate burning of all his intimate objects, including the velveteen rabbit, only then is the paradox resolved by the nursery fairy.  The velveteen rabbit overhears the doctor say his friend must go to the seashore, for the climate, to heal.  The velveteen rabbit thinks he is about to embark on a grand adventure to the seashore with his friend, so he ignores the fact that he was placed outdoors in a rubbish pile.  The velveteen rabbit notices it is getting dark and cold too, and though the house lights have come on, nobody has come from the house to fetch him.  But the velveteen rabbit shrugs off the chill and loneliness, and the fact that he is not in a warm bed and safe with his friend.  No matter, in the morning, he and his friend are going to leave the drab city and voyage to sunny warm seashore climes to restore their health.  The velveteen rabbit never realizes he is to be burned early next morning.***

The nursery fairy makes her appearance!  Velveteen rabbit asks, "Who are you?"  Nursery fairy replies, "I am your nursery fairy."  Velveteen rabbit asks, "Why are you here?"  Nursery fairy replies, "I am here to make you REAL!"

Nursery fairy does make the velveteen rabbit a living, breathing, rabbit.  Nursery fairy settles the issue at once and ends all doubt.  When the boy returns from the seashore all cured and is strolling the garden path with his nurse, the velveteen rabbit looks up at them from a thicket.  The boy exclaims, "that rabbit looks just like my old velveteen rabbit!"  And the velveteen rabbit is happy, alive, breathing, and REAL!

Yes, a very simplified summary.  The Velveteen Rabbit is rated among the top five of all childhood literature.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read the book.  There is no more.

Goodbye,
🐇

*In the Velveteen Rabbit, the velveteen rabbit is ignored or tormented by the mechanical toys until the nurse throws him to the boy at random; "here take bunny"!  Then the boy and bunny become inseparable companions.

**For reasons not apparent skin horse is not made real by the nursery fairy.  I thought skin horse was a stick horse.  Skin Horse has a limited mentality and a limited outlook on life, otherwise, he would have been much more pessimistic and cynical.  The skin horse never evolves beyond the level of an inanimate object.  The velveteen rabbit has a much greater range of experience than skin horse, thus there is always an aura about the velveteen rabbit of conflict, depersonalization, stress, and skepticism.  The velveteen rabbit searches for his own identity even when facing his own certain destruction.

The arrival of the nursery fairy at the critical moment does have strains of dues ex Machina.   But most children would probably react to the surprise appearance of the nursery fairy in awe and wonder, not with cheap adult cycnism.  Perhaps, Margery Williams thought up the nursery fairy concept on the spur of the moment.  With a little more foresight the nursery fairy could have been developed into a powerfully moving character.  Nevertheless, overall, The Velveteen Rabbit is a troubling thought-provoking childhood literary classic.

***The velveteen rabbit is very lucky.  The doctor ordered the immediate destruction of the rubbish, but the workmen decided to do it first thing in the morning.

🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇