The Real Victim in Mary Poppins

I recently re-watched Mary Poppins for the I-don't-know-how-manyth time, and noted something that I've noticed before but didn't give too much thought. Right at the top of the movie, Dick Van Dyke, as Bert, is dancing around as a street musician entertaining the crowd by coming up with impromptu poems about them. He pops a couple off to applause and laughter (while introducing the minor character of Andrew, who is a dog, and apparently, Mary Poppins speaks dog) until he comes across a nice old lady called "Miss Persimmon." Remember, dear Miss Persimmon?

That's the only picture that came up in a Google search for her. Look how happy she is to have been noticed. If you consider the formation of her name being "miss" instead of "mrs," that would indicate that she is an unmarried woman, and at her age, she would be referred to as an old maid. Who knows why? But at this moment, she's overjoyed that this young man not only acknowledged her, but can actually come up with a clever little poem just for her. Her day has been made.

What happens next? Well, the wind blows, and instead of launching into something clever about Miss Persimmon, Bert talks about the wind changing and something to happen that has all happened before. The crowd can see that he has clearly lost his mind, but before they can pop him off to the loony bin, he jumps into a lively rendition pre-reprise of Step in Time, dancing around the crowd like a maniac.

However, if you watch the background here, you'll notice that Miss Persimmon quickly turns and leaves the crowd entirely. She does not stay to watch his performance and is not there for the applause once he is done. You see, having been called out by the young Bert, she doesn't understand why he did not come up with something about here, and when he stares off and then launches into something else, she is devastated.

Miss Persimmon does not appear the rest of the movie. Granted, most of the people in that first scene don't either, but the point is that within the context of the movie, this poor little old lady had her feelings smashed in the first scene by one of the main characters, and probably spent the duration of the film crying in her brandy at home.

Next time you watch Mary Poppins, remember dear Miss Persimmon. She just wants to be loved.