THE SECRET GARDEN
AUTHOR: Frances Hodgson Burnett
ORIGINAL PUBLICATION: In 1911
PUBLISHED (this edition): 2011
ORIGINAL COUNTRY: United States
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English
PRINTING COUNTRY: Mexico
ISBN: 978-607-11-0511-0
NUMBER OF PAGES: This edition contain 302 pages
EDITORIAL: Grupo Santillana, Alfaguara
VILLAIN: Our fears
GENDER: Fiction- Mystery, Historical
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Mary Lennox, daughter of an English government employee and a beautiful woman, was born in India. Her detachment from a girl to her parents didn't influence positively to her character, and even more when her servants gave her everything so long as she did not disturb her parents.
One day the Cholera, attacks and kills her parents. Nobody looks for her, leaving Mary alone until the police find her and take her to a safe place.
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During the trip by boat to take Mary Lennox to England is accompanied by several children in the same situation as her. However, Mary proves to be more sullen than any child, and they earning her the title of Miss Mary Quite Contrary.
Story's review with some spoilers
THEME:
CARE ABOUT NATURE: the innocence of the children, make the garden restored to life. In the garden they will find the happiness they had never known.
FACE THEIR FEARS: because, despite circumstances that have happened in life, we must face them and reborn once more.
CONFLICT:
KEEP THE SECRET OF THE GARDEN: During the time that Mary, Colin and Dickon stayed on the garden they must keep the secret away of adults.
BE YOUR SELF: The personalities of Mary, Colin and Mr. Craven are the main ones that should improve. Mary does it with the help of Dickon, Colin and Martha. Colin does it for Dickon and Mary. And the Lord Archivald with the joy of Mary and his reunion with Colin.
Arriving at her destination in England, she is picked up by the housekeeper of her uncle Mrs. Medlock, who warns her that she would be alone at home. It also informs him of the sentimental situation of Mr. Craven and describes the place where she will live from that moment.
Through the moor the journey to the house of his long and weary uncle, first by train and then a carriage through the moor where nothing more grows than some herbs and a strong wind travels.
They arrived at the house not very high around a paved patio receives the Mr. Pitcher, the butler, that takes it to her room. The uncle still does not want to see her.
Martha was the maid of Mary Lennox, young, kind, friendly, and smiling, very different from servitude in India, where patrons were not addressed. Martha tells Mary about the existence of a garden closed more than 10 years ago, where Mr. Craven's wife died. She gets so curious that the same morning Mary goes to look for it.
Ben Weatherstaff, the gardener, and his friend the robin, are mentioned in the gardens of the house, who mention him to Martha's brother.
It has been several days and she would like to know more about the house. So that same morning she leaves the corridors looking for an adventure and begins to explore going from room to room, watching great paintings and magnificent furniture ... But he takes a bad road and discovers that someone else is crying.
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After the failed attempt to tell Martha what she had heard, goes back through the houses in search of an answer.
When Mrs. Medlock finds Mary walking along the corridors, she returns Mary back to her bedroom just before she discovers who the person was.
The days go by again, and Mary involuntarily starts to care about other people, she cares about people and appreciates Martha, her mother and her brother even if she does not know them, and she waits for the arrival of spring as she started to feel happiness.
And for a day, a dog that moved the earth uncovered the key of The secret garden that Mary will discover.
For a moment, and by the expression of the robin, he knows that she has found the keya to the garden she had sought so long; she carefully guards it and returns to the house, where a surprise awaits her. Martha's mom has sent her a jump rope and when Mary sees the rope she does not know what it is, Martha teaches her to use it and will be now one of Mary's favorite games.
After that, Mary returns to the garden to get the lock. The Robin guides her and they found it between the creepers of a wall, in which she put the key and it opened. At last she was inside the secret garden...
It was a large garden, but run down and old; she stayed there for a while observing every detail.
When she returned Mary told Martha that she wanted to make a garden and Marta proposed her to send her brother a letter, because he knew about gardening. Mary and Marta made a letter to him and hoped to receive an answer soon.
The next day Mary returned to the garden and as she was walking towards it, she found a blue-eyed boy with a beautiful appearance. It was Dickon, Marta's brother. He could talk to the animals and especially to the robin, she trusted him and showed him the secret garden, he was amazed and the two spend a long time walking and planning how to take care of him, watching the different animals that have been there for some time.
Upon returning home she tells her experience to Martha of meeting Dickon, and Martha takes advantage of the situation by reminding her that that day she would have to see her uncle for the first time and Mary was thrilled. Knowing Mr. Craven turns out to be a good man, although somewhat sad and bitter; this authorizes her to have a garden and visit Martha's mom whenever she wants. That night Mary rises and follows the cry that she had heard before, Mary enters into a room and met Colin, he son of Mr. Craven, who looks ill that does not leave his room and almost no one sees.
They talk for a while and she tells of the existence of the secret garden that was sealed 10 years ago, he is interested and asks her to look for it because he wants to met it.
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The next day Mary tells Martha that she knew Colin, Martha is very frightened because the snakes have the order not to talk about him to anyone, Colin send to call Martha and receives it with the appearance of a rajah ordering that when he wanted to see Mary she needs to visit him.
After a week of rain Mary goes to the garden and finds Dickon accompanied by a crow and a fox, his friends. Mary tells him about Colin and his plans to get him out of the house, so they spend all day working and playing, and when Mary returns to see Colin, she finds him furious because she wasn't to see him. She tried to explain herself and shouted that she should get up, what a selfish one! and so they had a good fight time until she left.
At night Mary wakes up by a fierce tantrum from her cousin and the servants going for Mary to calm him, she goes, challenges him and convinces him that he has no hump, Colin calms down and asks Mary to take her to Garden the next day.
On arriving that day he meets Dickon and they decide that Colin can not wait and they told Colin the true about it.
The doctor, surprising, will see Colin finding him much better, thanks to his cousin.
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She announces to Colin that spring has arrived. the enthusiastic child take him to his first visit in the garden, and there he has the feeling of living forever with his new friends.
Ben discovers them by looking at the top on the walls and calls Colin an invalid child. He, offended, asks for his presence in the garden and then asks Ben to tell him about his mother. Ben gladly does so and at the end of the talk Colin wants to plant a rose just in the evening.
He announces his friends he is going to performed an experiment to strengthen himself and called it "magic".
Exercise and make them very hungry , so they do not know at home, eat potatoes and eggs in the garden. The doctor and Mrs. Medlock do not understand how they look so healthy without eating. On rainy days the children do not go out and decide to walk around the house, Mary returning to Colin's room, and discovers that her aunt's portrait was discovered. When she met him, that portrait was covered. However, Colin now wants his father to love him and be more cheerful.
The children were weeding in the garden, when Dickon's mother brought them food and explained that what was magic for Colin was God for other people.
They agreed that Mr. Craven should know how well his son was before anybody else told him.
Mr. Craven was traveling the world trying to forget his sorrows. In a moment he dreams with his wife telling him to go to the garden and the next day receives a mysterious letter from Mrs. Sowerby telling him to come back.
On the way back, he goes to the gardens and walk into Colin who runs from inside the house, father and son are reunited and Colin realizes everything that has happened walking home together.
Finally Mary has managed to reestablish the connection between them, and now she is part of a real family.
SETTING
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CHARACTERS
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At first, she was a disagreeable-looking child. In India, his Aya and other native servants obeyed her and gave her own way in everything. She wasn’t an affectionate child too and have never cared much for any one. Not a timid child, hard little voice, a little sharply, odd, determined Little person, thin face and thin body, thin light hair, sour expression, hair yellow.. But when she discovers the secret garden, something in herself starts to change.
Sharp, delicate face colored like the ivory and he have grey eyes too big that had black lashes all around them, a lot of hair which tumbled over his forehead in heavy locks and made his thin face seemed smaller. He looked like a boy who had been ill.
A funny looking boy about 12 years old. He look very clean and his nose turn up, and his cheeks were as red as poppies, round blue eyes, wide red curving mouth and his smile spread all over his face. With curly, roust –colored hair. Strong and clever.
She is the sister of Dickon, kind and friendly. When Mary comes from India, Martha gradually gaining her trust until they became friends.
Had a surly old face face, he speaks Yorkshire, Oldweather-beaten face, only himself, and sometimes can be sarcastic. Has only the Robbin, which lives in old roses-trees.
The mother of Martha, Dickon and other 12 children. She and her family are poor, but despite all that they are kind and live like they were the most happy family in the world.
She wear always dark colours and a collar fastened with a brooch with a picture of a man’s face on it. Stout woman with very red cheeks, sharp black eyes. During the first chapters she shows us her indifference towards the actions of Mary Lennox.
Wasn’t so much hunchback as a man with high, rather cooked shoulders, black hair streaked with white, his face would have been handsome if it hasn’t being so miserable. He looked as if the sight of her warred and fretted him and as if he didn’t know what in the world to do with her. Unhappy face, black eyes.