The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
"The House at Pooh Corner," authored by A. A. Milne, is the second and final book in the beloved Winnie-the-Pooh series, published in 1928. This work introduces a new character, Tigger, known for his energetic and impulsive nature, which adds a lively dynamic to the existing cast of characters. The narrative captures the themes of friendship, innocence, and the bittersweet nature of growing up, culminating in a poignant farewell between Christopher Robin and Pooh. In the story, Pooh and Christopher share a heartfelt moment as they contemplate the changes in their lives, symbolizing the end of childhood adventures while emphasizing the lasting memories they create together. The interplay of whimsical humor and deeper reflections on maturity is evident, particularly through the character of Eeyore, who offers a uniquely humorous perspective on their farewell. Milne’s writing reflects a profound understanding of childhood, even as he grapples with the passage of time and his own evolving interests as a father. Ultimately, "The House at Pooh Corner" serves as a touching conclusion to Milne's contributions to children's literature, highlighting the transition from playfulness to a more complex understanding of life.
On this Page
The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1928
Type of work: Short stories
The Work
After publishing a second book of poems, Now We Are Six, in 1927, Milne issued his second and last Pooh book in 1928. In many respects it is like his first one, although he introduces one new character, Tigger, whose bounciness signifies his impulsive and reckless character, to enliven the scene.
The last story, however, is very different. It is a goodbye to Christopher and the Hundred Acre Wood. It is the whimsically gloomy Eeyore, probably the funniest of all Milne’s creatures, who celebrates in a verse of his own construction Christopher’s “going.” The poem itself exemplifies one of the author’s favorite techniques: the speaker’s interruption of his own poem to complain about such things as the difficulty of finding appropriate rhymes or other suddenly discovered poetic weaknesses. When the poem is recited to the animals, Pooh alleges that it is better than the poem he had meant to contribute, to which Eeyore replies that “it was meant to be.”
As Christopher reads the poem later, the animals depart until only Pooh is left. He tells Pooh that they will take a walk together. When Pooh asks where, his answer is “nowhere,” and he tells Pooh that the thing that he prefers doing is “nothing.” Their walk, he points out, is a good example of “nothing.” Christopher talks of some of the things that he is learning, all unfamiliar to Pooh, and then, simulating a ceremony of knighthood, dubs Pooh his most faithful knight. Pooh, however, not understanding Christopher’s intention, supposes that his failure represents a failure of his own. Next Pooh is distressed to learn that Christopher will do “nothing” no more, or at least much less often because “they don’t let you.” Then the two trail off together. The House at Pooh Corner, as well as Milne’s contributions to children’s literature (other than a dramatization of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, which appeared in 1929) have come to an end after just a few short years in Milne’s writing career.
It seems clear that the fact of Christopher and Pooh going off together signifies both the end of childhood adventures and their imperishable persistence in memory. Milne apparently needed a young son to keep him in the Winnie-the-Pooh vein, and by 1928 the real Christopher was turning eight, beyond the toys and ways of his younger years, and would soon be attending a prep school. Milne admitted that his interest in children’s books was then fading. He thought that perhaps it would return when he became a grandfather, although, as it turned out, his only grandchild was not born until after his death.
As his son reported in his book The Enchanted Places (1976), Milne considered writing to be, among other things, a “thrill.” At a certain point the thrill of a certain kind of accomplishment fades. The writer may still accede to the demand for more of the same, and readers would certainly have welcomed more Pooh stories, but Milne chose to end when the thrill had passed.
Bibliography
Milne, Christopher. The Enchanted Places. New York: Penguin, 1976.
Milne, Christopher. The Path Through the Trees. New York: Dutton, 1979.
Milne, Christopher, and A. R. Melrose. Beyond the World of Pooh: Selections from the Memoirs of Christopher Milne. New York: Dutton, 1958.
Swann, Thomas Burnett. A. A. Milne. New York: Twayne, 1971.
Thwaite, Ann. A. A. Milne: The Man Behind Winnie-the-Pooh. New York: Random House, 1990.
Tyerman Williams, John. Pooh and the Philosophers; In Which It Is Shown That All Western Philosophy Is Merely a Preamble to Winnie-the-Pooh. London: Methuen, 1995.
Wullschlager, Jackie. Inventing Wonderland: The Lives and Fantasies of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, J. M. Barrie, Kenneth Grahame, and A. A. Milne. New York: The Free Press, 1996.