There are many ways in which one can read literary texts. One can interpret them at face value, or one can read various things into them. For instance, did you know that the stories about Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends comprise an allegory of male sexuality; in fact, a very old-fashioned one. With the exception of Kanga, all characters are male, and they each represent different aspects of male sexuality and associated desires, inhibitions, fears, prejudices, etc. The stories also include a typically male (albeit ancient) bipolar view of female sexuality: the caring Madonna (Kanga) and the always-accessible whore (the honey pot).
1. Winnie-the-Pooh is the personification of male (adolescent) sexuality. He is not quite sure what he wants, or even who he is. His actions are often hampered by his fears or his ignorance. Winnie-the-Pooh is in fact a symbol for the penis.
2. The Honey Pot, Winnie-the-Pooh’s favourite thing, represents the male fantasy of a vagina. It is the ultimate objectification of female sexuality. It is passive, will-less, and locked up in a safe place until male lust (i.e. Winnie-the-Pooh) wants a piece of it. As such, the Honey Pot is also a symbol for the whore.
3. Piglet is the unwilling virgin. He is the little kid who wants to be a big kid, like all his friends. Piglet represents the young adolescent’s frustrations and insecurities about never being sure if the others think he’s a grown-up or if they know he’s just a kid pretending to be a grown-up.
4. The Owl represents pretence. He wants to be wise. He tries very hard to appear wise. In fact, he has come to live the image he has created for himself. He is the guy who wants wants everyone else to think he knows all about what to do with the girls, but in reality he is just the same fumbling fool as the rest of us.
5. Eeyore is downbeat, cautious, self-pitying. He is always holding himself back, never allowing himself to enjoy things. He wants new experiences (i.e. date girls), but he is never likely to do so, because he fears what it might lead to. Eeyore is the personification of repressed sexuality.
6. Rabbit is that annoying acquaintance we all know, who is convinced that he is more experienced and mature than anyone else. He is different from the Owl, who knows his limitations but hides them, while Rabbit has no self-awareness at all. He wants to be in charge of all things around him, because he knows best, even when he doesn’t. In the bedroom, Rabbit is the one with the whip, always in fear of loosing control.
7. The Heffalump represents everything that our mothers warned us about, such as bad company, unhealthy living, strangers in cars, etc., as well as their consequences, like unwanted pregnancies, naughty diseases, and so on. Still, we’re all curious animals, and we’re strangely drawn to the Heffalump, perhaps because it is so taboo. The irony of the Heffalump is, of course, that it is no independent danger at all, but a part of our own beings. In fact, the search for the Heffalump represents all those trials and errors we make as young adolescents looking for love, identity, and adulthood. Hence the Heffalump is a symbol of puberty, or more specifically, an escalating awareness of our own sexuality.
8. Kanga represents the teenage mother. (Roo is her child.) Kanga is a mother because she wasn’t afraid of the Heffalump, or at least not afraid enough. But even so, she is a responsible mother. In fact, Kanga is a symbol for the Madonna. Her main role in the story is to control Roo’s unlimited lust for life, clearly in a vain attempt to stop him from repeating her mistake(s).
9. Roo, Kanga’s baby, is the fearless, life-enjoying optimist. He is totally without inhibitions and fears. He represents all our desires for constant adventure and joy. He is like a stereotypical hippie advocating free, boundless sex. He is always willing to jump into anything, as long as it looks fun. And if it doesn’t look fun, he’ll jump into it anyway.
10. Tigger is a wannabee adventurer who wants to enjoy life, but is too dumb to understand what or why things happen the way they do. As he lacks Roo’s naive self-confidence, he also lacks the courage to go all the way. He is the insecure boy who wants to hit on the pretty girls, but always gets cold feet in the last moment (eminently exemplified in stories by Tigger climbing into the tree and freezing). Tigger represents unfulfilled sexual desires, which makes him the eternal masturbator (symbolised by his constant bouncing up and down).
11. Christopher Robin is the only genuinely asexual character in the story. In a way, he is God. He gave life to all the characters. He is the moderator of their lives. He feels for them and cares for them. He is the benevolent, respectful leader we all wish we had.
I hope you can still enjoy Winnie-the-Pooh.
(Apologies to Bruno Bettelheim.)
Kia S. said,
Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 21:34
This is very scary. My English teacher read to us a section of a book called “The Pooh Complex” or something, and it was something along these lines.
jfmaho said,
Friday, July 10, 2009 at 11:37
It used to be a popular wayof analysing fables, especially after Bruno Bettelheim did it with a lot of famous children’s tales, such as Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and so on. He doesn’t discuss Pooh, so I did it for him, trying to emulate his analytic style.
However, it’s all a bit tongue-in-cheek.
(I’m not familiar with the Pooh Complex, but will check it out.)
Kia S. said,
Monday, July 20, 2009 at 3:51
Oops, it’s called “The Pooh Perplex” but I heard that overall it was a good book…tho I never read it cuz it kinda killed the innocent Pooh for me.
Well, if you ever read it, you should write a review for it and tell me how it is. =)
jfmaho said,
Monday, July 20, 2009 at 18:36
I wasn’t aware of that book, but I’ll certainly try to locate one and read it.
Thanks for the tip!
10000ninjas said,
Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 22:41
why is the only character expressed as benevolent a-sexual? what does this say aboout the author of this article?
jfmaho said,
Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 23:30
Hm. Interesting observation. I’ll have to think about that.
jfmaho said,
Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 23:32
The others aren’t exactly negatively depicted, though. Roo, for instance, is a very joyful and life-enjoying character.
Jas said,
Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 19:28
I really don’t like how you have a whole paragraph explaining how the honey-pot represents the vagina, with a reasoned argument, then at the end tag on that this also represents ‘whore’ as though it were a synonym for vagina? Also I can’t understand why you say Kanga ‘wasn’t afraid enough’, you are saying that she was foolish or wrong in her actions but there is never any suggestion that she regrets becoming a mother, embodied in her love of Roo (how joyful he is could even be saying sex is right as goodness has come from it).
jfmaho said,
Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 13:07
Equalling the honey-pot with a whore comes from the fact that the honey pot has no will of it’s own. It’s an object of satisfaction for Pooh, and one that is always available to him, on his terms and without ever saying no. It’s not that a vagina as such is a symbol for a whore, but rather the honey pot is an ambiguous symbol for a vagina, on the omne hand, and a whore, on the other.
As for Kanga, yes, she does love Roo and doesn’t regret having him. What I mean by “not afraid enough” is simply that her own mother probably warned her of all the dangers in the world, as stereotypical mothers might do. The Heffalump would represent those kinds of dangers, things like getting pregnant outside marriage or a relationship. She did get pregnant, so obviously she wasn’t afraid for that which the Heffalump represents, or maybe she was afraid but tested it anyway. Still, having Roo is of no regret to her, and she is a truly caring and loving mother.
Btw, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being a single mother. But the Pooh stories were written at a time when that would have been frowned upon.
(Anyways, I hope you’re not reading the above analyses too seriously. They’re merely the efforts of an amateur psychologist.)
Jas said,
Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 16:16
Thanks for replying, it’s good to hear you’re explanation. I’m writing an essay on the presentation of morality in Pooh so am researching the philosophies behind it, so if would reply again then i would very much like to hear your reasoning.
Well, this maybe gives the impression that the honey-pot only represents the whore and not the vagina at all, because the vagina is not “passive, will-less or locked up until males want a piece of it”? I still feel that the phrasing makes the two words interchangeable.
It seems like guesswork to say that her mother warned her of dangers, as there is no evidence to suggest it, but her pregnancy is never represented as a danger anyway so i’m not sure that this explanation fits. Even if it were frowned upon at the time the fact that Milne chose not to portray her being a single mother negatively should prevent us from assuming judgement on her based upon this.
poo said,
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 5:33
lmao this is the stupidest thing ive ever heard
MDA said,
Friday, March 23, 2012 at 17:52
so dumb, this is a bunch of bullcrap.