Alan Alexander Milne was born in London in 1882. While he studied mathematics, he made his reputation as a playwright and a writer for the satirical magazine Punch. Milne fought in World War One and returned to England traumatised. He went to live in the East Sussex countryside with his young family to recover.
Milne wrote his world-famous children’s books on Cotchford Farm near Ashdown Forest. Set in the fictional Hundred Acre Wood, Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) recounted the adventures of a young boy named Christopher Robin and his animal friends. The stories were based on Milne’s own son and his stuffed toys.
CHARACTERS
Winnie-the-Pooh, named after a real bear that lived in London Zoo, is the title character. His companions are fussy Rabbit, gloomy donkey Eeyore, hyperactive tiger Tigger, kind kangaroo Kanga and her baby Roo, wise Owl and timid Piglet. The books, illustrated by artist Ernest H. Shepard, made Milne a household name. They inspired films about the characters and also about Milne’s life.
TAOISM
Over the past hundred years, A. A. Milne’s peculiar but profound wisdom has brought people comfort in troubled times. His Pooh books have inspired philosophical texts and even studies in psychological disorders. In his 1982 book The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff offers an introduction to the Eastern belief system of Taoism using the fictional characters of the stories to explain its basic principles. A bestseller for forty-nine weeks, its follow up The Te of Piglet (1992) was also successful.
CONTROVERSY
Not everyone is pleased to associate themselves with the loveable characters, however. In 2018, the film Christopher Robin starring Ewan McGregor was banned in China after a series of memes compared the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Pooh bear. Other leading political figures also appeared in the memes, including Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as Eeyore, and Barak Obama as Tigger.
A DAY OF REFLECTION
Today, thousands of people follow Twitter accounts claiming to be the author A. A. Milne. They feature quotes from the Pooh books to reflect upon. On Winnie-the-Pooh Day on January 18, fans are invited to put Milne’s timeless wisdom into action. Suggested activities include reading the Pooh books and eating something tasty, perhaps followed by a nap.
character DISORDERS
In 2000, the Canadian Medical Association published a report entitled “Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood.”In it, each character from the Pooh books is diagnosed with a mental disorder. The tongue-in-cheek report was intended to raise awareness of prevalent mental health issues.
Winnie the Pooh has an eating disorder. He is addicted to honey. He is also impulsive and obsessive when it comes to honey, which he eats straight from the pot.Piglet has generalized anxiety disorder. He is always nervous or scared and has low self-esteem.
Eeyore has depression because he is always sad. Owl has dyslexia and short-term memory loss because he often misspells and misreads words and forgets things. He may also have narcissism, as he believes he is wiser than the others. Tigger has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder because he cannot sit still and rapidly switches moods. Rabbit has obsessive-compulsive disorder because he is extremely orderly. Kanga has social anxiety disorder because she is extremely overprotective of Roo, who displays symptoms of being on the autism spectrum. Christopher Robin has schizophrenia because his ‘friends’ appear depending on his mood.