What explains this puerile shallowness? I see it as an expression of our cultural uncertainty about the social role of men. It's been an almost universal rule of civilization that girls became women simply by reaching physical maturity, but boys had to pass a test. They needed to demonstrate courage, physical prowess or mastery of the necessary skills. The goal was to prove their competence as protectors and providers. Today, however, with women moving ahead in our advanced economy, husbands and fathers are now optional, and the qualities of character men once needed to play their roles—fortitude, stoicism, courage, fidelity—are obsolete, even a little embarrassing.
The Peter Pan man-boy values personal pleasure and ease of life over and above anything else. He lacks a defined purpose in life, which results in him drifting through life fairly aimlessly. So long as the Peter Pan is comfortable, he is satisfied. Setting and achieving goals, being a quality spouse and parent, and helping others are each difficult tasks and require selflessness and putting others first over everything. In particular, they require a man to sacrifice comfort and ease in life for greater goods. The Peter Pan lacks the will to do these things well and thus comes to resent the job that makes him work so hard, the wife and kids that put demands on his time, and the moral law that makes demands on him. As a result, the Peter Pan either chooses not to go after such things or simply fails at them.
