Pyjamas in Stories

I've been a homeschooling mother for a very long time now, but still remember the great sense of relief and freedom when we first started. Sometimes friends would say, 'It would never work for us, because we're not disciplined enough. We'd probably wear our nightclothes all day.' I would reply, 'Yeah, it's great. That's one of the best things about this lifestyle.' The occasional day of not getting changed is a pleasure rather than a sign of slackness. Even now, I find it hard to think of a nicer, more refreshing treat than being able to sit in bed in my night clothes reading books past lunch time. 

If you want to give it a try, consider these stories of heroes who wore pyjamas. Some had very eventful things happen to them. One thing they didn't seem to do much of was sleep. Even though they were wearing their pyjamas, they didn't let life pass them by. Some even managed to make their pyjamas their trademark and fashion statement. If you want to be a rebel and stay in your night attire, you're in good company.  

I'll start with some kids' classics, since children probably spend longer in their pyjamas than adults. (This is no doubt because many parents send them to bed at early hours.)

Bananas in Pyjamas
Any Aussie kid from the nineties would remember these two instantly. They were based on an old poem by Carey Blyton, and took on a life of their own in the form of B1 and B2, who lived on Cuddles Avenue along with their neighbours, the teddies, and Rat in a Hat. Nobody ever divulged why they chose blue and white striped pyjamas as their everyday clothes. I assume it was for comfort and style. They were certainly snazzy pieces of fruit.

Wee Willy Winky
He's an eerie little chap if ever there was one. In the old nursery rhyme written by William Miller in 1841, he runs through the town after 10 o'clock in his nightgown, tapping at the windows and crying at the locks to make sure all little children are in bed. I guess it stands to reason that he considers the nightgown his uniform, given the nature of his work.

The Night Before Christmas
The dad who narrates this famous poem from the 1820s was wearing his night attire because he'd been in bed, and sprang out in time to witness a visit from Saint Nicholas. They even wore head gear, because 'Mamma in her kerchief and I in my cap, had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.' I'm glad we've moved on from wearing hats to bed because it sounds like a pointless exercise. One thing that hasn't changed though, is the image of jolly old Santa Claus in his sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. Almost 200 years later, I doubt the author, Clement Moore, had a clue that his concept of Christmas Eve night would become traditional.

Peter Pan
The Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael, wore their nightclothes at crucial parts of the story, because darkness was when Peter Pan, the amazing magical boy, would fly through their nursery window to visit. They were supposed to be asleep. When Peter manages to convince them to fly away with him to his home in Neverland, it's a spur of the moment decision. They leave in what they're already wearing, which of course is their night clothes.

Tom's Midnight Garden
 There is a time portal in the old Victorian house where Tom is staying with his aunt and uncle, and he just happens to discover it because he's creeping around after dark. So whenever he lands himself in the Victorian era, he's always in his pyjamas, which doesn't stop him having adventures with his new friend, Hatty. In fact, since she's never seen pyjamas before, she assumes that boys from the twentieth century wear strange, stripey flannel clothes, with shirts and pants that match. My review is here.

OK, the children don't get to have all the fun. Here's some pyjama wearers who have made their way into general folklore and classics. 

The Sound of Music
It's got to be one of the twentieth century's most famous movies, and gives us one of the cosiest, loveliest pyjama scenes. When Maria first joins the VonTrapp family as their governess, the seven children are wary, stand-offish and cheeky with her. But when a loud thunderstorm scares them on her first night, they all rush into her bedroom in their nighties and pyjamas. Not only does Maria ease their fear, but also wins them over by singing, 'These are a Few of my Favourite Things.' Who can forget 'raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens'?

Harry Potter
Poor Ron Weasley has a really rough day on his seventeenth birthday, all before he even changes out of his pyjamas. First, he accidentally eats a chocolate that's been filled with love potion, and intended for Harry. The antidote turns out to be laced with poison which almost kills him. Harry manages to cram a bezoar down his throat in the nick of time, and Ron ends up in hospital on what should be his special day when he comes of age. And all this accidental consumption happens before he even gets dressed. Some days are just not worth waking up.

Jasper Jones
This is a sad and eerie coming of age story, set in an Australian country town in the 1960s. Two boys, Jasper and Charlie, discover the body of one their classmates, Laura Wishart, hanging from a tree in her nightie. It's that nightie which adds the finishing touches to the horror and mystery of her death, as it seems whoever killed her managed to somehow lure her out of bed. Jasper's afraid he himself will be blamed for the crime, and the boys set out to do some quiet sleuthing of their own, to discover who really did it. My review is here.

Emily Climbs
In this charming novel by L.M. Montgomery, Emily's friend Perry decides to give her a gratitude kiss during a late night visit. At that exact moment, bossy Aunt Ruth snaps on the light and stands gaping at them in her nightgown. Emily has a lot of explaining to do, to make her suspicious aunt believe that the incident was more innocent than it looked. When Aunt Ruth finds out the wonderful things Perry had been up to that night, she's suddenly mortified that he saw her in her nightgown.

The Pickwick Papers
One of Mr Pickwick's young companions, poor Nathaniel Winkle, finds himself accidentally shut out of their lodging place in his nightshirt. It's not only embarrassing but dangerous, since the British winter cold has the potential to freeze anyone who isn't dressed appropriately. But Winkle, for all the impressive images he wishes to project, is accident prone, and just the person something like this would happen to. My review is here.

The Moonstone
The story is one of the great Victorian mysteries by Wilkie Collins. Rachel Verinder's magnificent birthday diamond has been stolen on its first night in the house, and the detective proves that the thief must surely have a bit of scuffed paint on his clothing. While he's busy demanding a look at everyone's wardrobe, the maid Rosanna Spearman hides a nightgown belonging to Mr Franklin Blake, her crush. It turns out to have the paint mark on it, but he's mystified, because he knows he's innocent, yet nobody else was wearing it! My review is here.

The Fountain Overflows
This Edwardian family story takes place when fashionable men were just making the transition from nightshirts to the new fad, pyjamas. The Aubrey children visited an old lady who thought PJs were emasculating. Her opinion was shared by many others from the old school. They couldn't imagine anything sillier than fellows wearing a shirt and pants to bed, just to look trendy, when nobody would even see them. How horrified they might have been to imagine this would be more than a passing craze. My review is here.


So there you have them. If you can think of any others, please let me know, so I can add them to the list. You might also like to check out Intriguing Stories about Insomnia, since it sort of goes together with this post. Many of those characters are wearing their pyjamas too, for obvious reasons :)