Do we like them?

Do we like Tinker Bell?

A character from Peter Pan (1904)

Our score: 5 out of 10. Devoted, brave and very funny, but jealous enough to put a friend in real danger. We'd back her loyalty and keep an eye on her temper.

Tinker Bell is the fairy at Peter Pan's side in J.M. Barrie's story. Barrie made her a tinker of the fairy folk, one who mends pots and kettles. In the play she arrives with Peter at the Darling nursery in London. Her fairy dust then helps Wendy, John and Michael fly off to Never Land, where pirates, Lost Boys and a boy who won't grow up are waiting.

She is tiny, proud and quick to take offence. Her feelings come out all at once, whether that's love, loyalty or a fit of jealousy. In the story she can speak only in tinkling bell sounds, so the other characters have to work out what she means. Her loyalty to Peter is total, and it is exactly what makes her jealous of anyone who gets close to him.

That jealousy is her big flaw. When Wendy arrives, Tink sees a rival and sets a trap that nearly gets the girl killed. Peter is furious and casts her out. Even so, her love for him wins in the end, and she takes a genuinely brave risk to protect him. She is no saint, but a friend who goes that far for you is hard to dislike.