Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

Water is a potent symbol: It purifies and cleanses, and no living thing can exist without it. When Peter is in the Just Deserts, the lack of water is one of the great dangers he and Sir Tode face. However, water’s power can also destroy. In the novel, large bodies of water frequently menace and threaten Peter. Peter is found floating in the sea as an infant, in danger of drowning; he is raised in a port town where his mentor abuses him. When he first uses the golden eyes, he almost drowns in a lake full of magical wish bottles. Later, we learn that Incarnadine’s grand plan is to flood the chasm that separates the palace from the Just Deserts, using it to sail forth in conquest. Only through heroic effort does this flood ultimately purify the kingdom instead of doom it, cleansing it of the king’s evil and freeing the minds and souls of its enslaved subjects.

The vast expanse of the ocean also suggests unlimited possibilities. When Peter and Sir Tode set forth on their quest, the sea stretches out to the horizon. They see not danger but adventure. Water carries Peter to the Vanished Kingdom and to a new life.