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The essay below explores a short extract from The Secret Garden by Frances. Hodgson Burnett. A critical analysis will demonstrate aspects of historical.
Typology: Summaries
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Hodgson Burnett. A critical analysis will demonstrate aspects of historical context, ideology of the author, concepts of childhood, stylistic devices used, narrative voice, devices conveying mood and character, themes and how the scene moves the story forward.
the importance of the British Colony of the time.
„I didn‟t know about them in India‟
Commonly highly regarded in this period, Hodgson Burnett reinforces the importance of the British Empire. Mary Lennox had recently moved back from India after the death of her parents. India was a part of the British Empire and „was woven into the fabric of British life and hence into the fabric of British children‟s fiction‟ (Kutzer, 2000, pp.11). Like Mary Lennox had moved from India to England, the author had moved to America when she was just 14 years old (Carpenter & Shirley, 1990, pp.6).
From another perspective the author pushes the reader to see India as a negative place for a child to grow up in. This can be seen with Mary‟s innocent tone of not knowing about flowers in India – something Hodgson Burnett believes childhood should contain.
her own experiences.
„When you see a bit of earth you want,‟ with something like a smile, „take it, child, and make it come alive.‟
Her childhood was a struggle from being a wealthy middle class family, to a poorer family after the death of her father. Mr Craven‟s ideology of bringing the earth back to life, closely links to the author‟s ideology, alike to many of her stories which represented the theme of „rags to riches, and so did her real life‟ (Carpenter & Shirley, 1990, pp.10). The slight pauses within the sentence reinforce the solidity of making something flourish again. The ideology of the garden is also represented here, as a personal link , her days as a young girl in America spending time learning the names of trees and bushes and birds; in the words of Hodgson Burnett herself described as the „Dryad Days‟ (Carpenter & Shirley, 1990, pp.22). Mary Lennox‟s personality echoes the author‟s desire to explore nature and the earth.
The author‟s explicit concepts of childhood are represented through Mary Lennox as a whole. Mr Craven reinforces how a childhood should be.
„She must be less delicate before she begins lessons. Give her simple, healthy food. Let her run wild in the garden. Don‟t look after her too much. She needs liberty and fresh air and romping about.‟
Her effective use of the word „delicate‟ shows children of the time, especially Mary are becoming sensitive to the environment. It is evident that she believes children should be enriched outdoors with „simple, healthy food‟ to allow them to enjoy the wonders of nature. Mr Craven is to the point with short sharp sentences, allowing Mrs Medlock to understand Mary should not need looking after every second of the day. Hodgson Burnett believes that Mary should be „free‟ with „fresh air‟ and exploring. This is how she sees that a good childhood should be.
Implicit concepts of childhood are expressed through the portrayal of a disagreeable child and the nature a child needs to flourish in life.
„She had felt her a tiresome charge and had indeed seen as little of her as she dared.‟ ( Mary Lennox is described as an „unattractive, unlikeable and disagreeable‟ (Keyser, 1983, pp.1) child hence Mrs Medlock made no attempt to spend time with Mary if she did not have to. Instead of presenting Mrs Medlock as a compassionate woman who spent time with Mary to encourage her to flourish as a child, the author reinforces the fact that Mary does not belong to anyone. She can be seen as showing the representation of parents at the time; and that however „unattractive‟ Mary may be, a parent should be able to nurture their child through childhood. This may also be the reason Hodgson Burnett uses the metaphor of the garden as the parent Mary needed to encourage her growth and exploration through life.
The stylistic device of the metaphor of the garden is tremendously important
„A bit of earth,‟ he said to himself, and Mary thought that somehow she must have reminded him of something. When he stopped and spoke to her his dark eyes looked almost soft and kind.‟
The garden metaphorically represents something so much more for both Mary and Mr Craven. For Mary the garden is something that will nurture her mind and allow her to grow with the same ingredients as the garden needs. For Mr Craven it is a connection to his late wife, a memory. The memory that grows throughout the story will be nurtured by Mary who brings the garden back to its former glory. A link to the historical context is seen by the emerging psychological connection to one‟s conscious and unconscious mind, Mary has an environmental connection to the garden as she „takes the first steps towards proper girlhood and woman hood. She will trade her sickliness for health, her yellow skin for white and her Indian nature for an English one‟ (Price, 2001, pp.4), as she develops alongside the garden.
References :
Keyser, E. (1983) „Quite Contrary: Frances Hodgson Burnett‟s The Secret
Kutzer, M.D. (2000) „Empire‟s Children: Empire and Imperialism in Classic