When you've got a stuffed rabbit who becomes Real, then you know you've got a story with some magic in it. The big enchantment that's at work in this story is toys who talk and love and feel and become Real.
Basically, as the Skin Horse explains, a toy becomes Real when a child loves it for a really long time. It's one part nursery magic and one part good old-fashioned love power. In the end, the Velveteen Rabbit even gets a boost from the nursery magic Fairy who turns him into a wild rabbit. He's just not Real for the child who loved him—he's Real to the whole world.
Questions About The Supernatural
- Why is the Skin Horse the only one who understands the nursery magic?
- Why is it so hard for toys that break easily to become Real?
- How does the Velveteen Rabbit know he's Real? Why doesn't his run in with the wild rabbits shake his confidence in the power of nursery magic?
Chew on This
Once the Rabbit became Real with the Boy nothing could change that…which is why the Fairy comes to help him in the end.
The Rabbit doesn't truly understand the nursery magic and what it means to be Real until the Fairy turns him into a wild rabbit.