Study notes: The Secret Garden
Mary Lennox arrives in Yorkshire rude, lonely, and sure she dislikes everyone. She finds a locked garden and a cousin, Colin, who has been kept in bed and told he will not live. With Dickon, a boy who knows the moor, they bring the garden back and start going outside. Burnett is interested in fresh air, friendship, and children who were badly left alone. The garden is a real place in the book, even when the children talk about magic.
Themes
Neglect can look like bad manners. Work outside changes a mood. Secrets can be kind or harmful.
People to follow
Mary, Colin, Dickon, and Ben Weatherstaff the gardener.
Talk about
- Why is Mary unkind at the start?
- What does the garden give them that adults did not?
- Is Colin’s recovery a fairy tale or a picture of getting stronger outdoors?
Public-domain text.