Home Reading Book Report

No. 1

Emely D. Paghunasan II-Einstein Date Submitted: October 15, 2012

1|Page

I. Title

The Secret Garden

II. Author
Frances Hodgson Burnett
2|Page

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 29 October 1924) was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden (published in 1911), A Little Princess (published in 1905), and Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885-6). The following are her accomplished books: Children I Have Known, Giovanni and the Other, The Dawn of a Tomorrow, Edithas Burglar, Emily Fox-Seton; Being the Making of a Marchioness and the Methods of Lady Walderhurst, Esmeralda, A Fair Barbarian, Haworth's, The Head of the House of Coombe, His Grace of Osmonde, In Connection with the de Willoughby Claim, In the Closed Room, Kathleen, A Lady of Quality, Robin, That Lass O'Lowrie's, The Woman Who Saved Me and many other. Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, near Manchester, England. After her father died in 1852, the family eventually fell on straitened circumstances and in 1865 immigrated to the United States, settling near Knoxville, Tennessee. There, Frances began writing to help earn money for the family, publishing stories in magazines from the age of 19. In 1870 her mother died and in 1872 she married Swan Burnett, who became a medical doctor after which they lived in Paris for two years where their two sons were born before returning to the US to live in Washington D.C. There she began to write novels, the first of which (That Lass o' Lowries), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular writer of children's fiction, although her romantic adult novels written in the 1890s were also popular. She wrote and helped to produce stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess. Burnett enjoyed socializing and lived a lavish lifestyle. Beginning in the 1880s, she began to travel to England frequently and bought a home there in the 1890s where she wrote The Secret Garden. Her oldest son, Lionel, died of tuberculosis in 1892, which caused a relapse of the depression she struggled with for much of her life. She divorced Swan Burnett in 1898 and married Stephen Townsend in 1900, and divorced him in 1902. Towards the end of her life she settled in Long Island, where she died in 1924 and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery, on Long Island. In 1936 a memorial sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh was erected in her honour in Central Park's Conservatory Garden. The statue depicts her two famous Secret Garden characters, Mary and Dickon.

III. Characters
A. Major

3|Page

 Mary Lennox She is one of the major characters in the novel. Mary Lennox had a

thin face little thin body and sour looking girl that makes her the most disagreeable is sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, England. Mary changes drastically in the a girl who is full of spirit and surrounded by friends. The story began that she was the central character, but is later displaced by Colin.

child ever seen. She is a ten-year-old girl, after the death of her parents in India, she novel The Secret Garden. She evolves from a spoiled, unloved and unloving creature to

Colin Craven - The other major character, Colin Craven is Archibald Craven's tenyear-old son and heir. He was born shortly after the death of his mother, and his father could not bear to look at him because of his resemblance to her. It is feared that he will

grow to be a hunchback like his father, and he has been treated as an invalid since his birth. Colin's childhood has been entirely bedridden, and his servants have been commanded to obey his every whim. As a result, Colin is extremely imperious and

gloomy; when we first meet him, he is certain he is going to die. By the story end, he had also undergone a transformation. He will have become a vigorous optimist, and magical properties inherent in the secret garden. will have won his father's love. Both his and Mary's conversions are affected by the

B. Minor
Dickon Sowerby He is alternately described as "a common moor boy" and "a Yorkshire angel"; he is two years older than Colin and Mary, Dickon has lived on He has rosy cheeks, rough curly hair, and blue eyes precisely the same color as the sky over the moor; he even carries a set of pan-pipes. He has the power to charm tamed, and he counts a fox, a crow, and two wild squirrels among his pets. His power to tame creatures works on Colin and Mary as well, and is one of the Martha and the son of Susan Sowerby. central causes of their wondrous transformations. He is the younger brother of Martha Sowerby - Mary's friend and maidservant, Martha is distinguished by her charming frankness and levelheaded approach to all aspects of life. Her simplicity and kindness are a great help to Mary upon the latter's arrival at people of Yorkshire. both animals and people. All the creatures who come close to him are instantly

the Moor his entire life, and has a uniquely intimate relationship with the land.

Misselthwaite. In her very ordinariness, Martha represents the goodness of all the Ben Weatherstaff - Ben Weatherstaff is a gruff elderly gardener who is only

permitted to stay at Misselthwaite because he was a favorite of the late Mistress

4|Page

Craven. He introduces Mary to the robin redbreast, and helps the children keep

the secret of the garden. Ben himself clandestinely tended the garden during the Although he is rather rough, Ben's essential kindness is fundamental to his Archibald Craven - The master of Misselthwaite Manor, who suffers from a character.

ten years in which it was locked, out of love and loyalty for the Mistress Craven.

crooked spine and general ill health. He has been in a crushing depression ever of his time abroad, since he wants to see neither his house nor his son, Colin,

since the death of his wife, ten years before the novel begins. Archibald spends most because these remind him of his late wife. At novel's end, he undergoes a change of heart after his wife comes to him in a dream. Master Craven comes to embrace his Susan Sowerby - The mother of Martha and Dickon (as well as of twelve other children), Susan Sowerby functions as a symbol for the concept of motherhood itself. She is all-nurturing, very kind, and caring. Both Mary and Colin express respective transformations. son when he realizes that this latter is in perfect health.

the wish that she were their mother; stories of her sustain each of them before their Lilias Craven Mr. Archibald Craven late wife, who died ten years ago the year when Colin come to life. Her spirit is associated with both roses and the secret garden. Her portrait hangs in her son's room beneath a rose-colored curtain, and of women.

she is described by all who knew her as the gentlest, sweetest, and most beautiful Mrs. Medlock - The head of the servants at Misselthwaite Manor, Mrs. Medlock is distinguished by her punctilious obedience of all of Master Craven's odd rules. Beneath her rigid exterior, she like all the people of Yorkshire, is basically kind despite of being very strict at all times. She and Susan Sowerby were friends in their childhood. She had also admire Susan in some aspects.

Dr. Craven - Archibald's brother and Colin's uncle, he is after the inheritance of

Misselthwaite thats why he tends to make Colin suffer much and hope the death of Colin. He is a bit stuffy and officious, and both Colin and Mary laugh at him at every opportunity.

IV. Summary

5|Page

Mary Lennox is a sour looking girl and lives with her rich parents in India. No one has ever really cared for her and hardly anyone knows she is even there. One day a cholera epidemic breaks out and nearly everyone dies. Mary hides in the nursery and when she wakes up the next morning, there is no one left. She is sent to England where her uncle, Archibald Craven, lives. Mrs. Medlock is sent to take her to Misselthwaite Manor. Normally the 500 year old Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire moors isnt a place for a child to grow up. There are about a thousand rooms, hundreds locked, so no one can go in. There is a big mystery about a secret garden that had been locked up ten years ago. A young housemaid called Martha has to look after Mary. First Mary doesnt like her much, but because Martha is so nice and funny she soon starts liking her. Martha gives her a skipping rope, so Mary can play in the many gardens of Misslethwaite Manor. In the gardens she meets Ben Weatherstaff, an old gardener, and his robin. The robin becomes Marys first friend. He shows her the key to the secret garden and also the door hidden under thick ivy. As soon as she enters the garden, it becomes her own little mystic world. One day she hears cries and looks for the person. It isnt the first time she has heard it, but every time she wanted to look somebody stopped her and gave her some explanation. In a room behind a tapestry she finds a boy, Colin Craven, her cousin. He cant walk nor stand up, and everybody thinks that hes going to die. His father has never wanted to see him because he resemble of his dead mother. With Dickon, Marthas brother, and Mary he goes into the secret garden in a kind of a wheel chair, and learns to walk. They all say its Magic that made all these wonders possible: Colins walking, Mary had change into a nice girl, her looks become better and also her attitude. He hears his wife calling to him in a strangely vivid dream, and when he asks where she is, she replies that she is in the garden. He awakes to find a servant by his bed with a letter to him from Susan Sowerby. She asks to go back and see the childrens progress. After reading the letter Mr. Craven decided to back to Misselthwaite. In the garden, Colin and Mr. Archibald finally gain their relationship as a father and son. Soon they lived happily with Mary.

V.

Quotes
"Mary: [after seeing Colin and Mr. Craven hugging] Nobody wants me!"

6|Page

Colin: I'm not sour!"

Mary: Please don't send me away, I won't do any harm. Mr. Craven: Harm? What harm can a child do?"

"Colin: I'm going to die. Mary: From what? Colin: From everything

"Mary: Can I have a bit of earth? Mr. Craven: A bit of earth? Mary: To plant seeds in. To make things grow.

"Ben Weatherstaff: But aren't your legs all crooked? Colin: Who says my legs are crooked? Mary: Nobody says that."

"Colin: What do you say in India when you want people to go? Mary: You say, I have spoken, all depart."

"Mary: What do you know about dying? Colin: My mother died! Mary: Both my parents died!"
7|Page

"Martha: I've got a present for you. My mother sent it over. [She hands Mary a skipping rope] Mary: What's it for? Martha: You've got tigers and elephants in India, but have you not got skipping ropes?"

"Ben Weatherstaff: [pointing to a robin] Look at him. Cheeky little blighter. I can't think why, but he's decided to make friends with you. Mary: With me? I never had any friends before. Ben Weatherstaff: That I believe."

"Mary: Are you my servant? Martha: I'm Mrs. Medlock's servant, and she's Lord Craven's, but I will be doing some upstairs housekeeping and waiting on you a bit. Mary: Waiting on me makes you my servant, then."

"Mary: [after seeing Colin and Mr. Craven hugging] Nobody wants me! "Mary: You don't know anything about anything; none of you - nothing!

VI.

Comments / Suggestion

8|Page

I would like to share what Ive read, learned and comments as I have read the story. From the very start of the story it is kind of boring because my interest doesnt suit the central theme. It is fantasized so that children will enjoy reading it but I hardly understand the message of the story. As I have watched the movie adaptation of The Secret Garden I immediately understand the novel and the whole story. I suggest that you must watch the movie first before reading the novel because the movie adaptation helps you understand the story but at the same time the content of the book gives you more important information. The story has many moral lessons that are good to share especially to the children and all ages. The story truly gives a message to the reader that makes the novel unforgettable. I would like to recommend this book to many other people so that they will learn a lot as they read the novel entitled The Secret Garden.

9|Page