The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Published by HarperCollins, December 21, 2010
Genre: Fiction
Format: My brother's mommy gifted us a hardback copy; I watched the films.
I thought I'd read this book as a kid, sitting by a tree during a chaotic family reunion one summer, but I hadn't. I read The Secret Garden for the first time, night-by-night, with my daughter.
Gardens are archetypal settings across literature that often represent a place of safety and growth, and this is true for Mary and Colin, the two main characters and Dickon, who I would consider a mentor to each in the story. What could be more magical than finding a key and unlocking a secret world that you could bring to life?
I love magic in children's literature.
When I was a K-12 librarian shortly in Missouri, my favorite class was second grade, and some of my favorite moments were in reading DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux with them. A little mouse who is outcast from his family because he can't "mouse" like the rest of them. Instead, he finds beauty in honor, adventure, light, and a princess. Oh. My. I held out until first grade to read Despereaux with my girl. It has some tough, real moments. For example, a rat falls into the queen's soup, and the queen, the young princess' mother, dies. A serving girl, Miggory Sow, is boxed repeatedly on the ears by her keeper. Rats want to devour . . . everything. There's a definite darkness in the dungeon that might be too much for your kids. In one of my library hang out sessions in my early 20s, I read a book about helping kids through grief, and I was surprised to read the author/therapist recommend frankness from adults during a child's grieving process. "We are all sad because Grandpa is gone" is difficult but true.
The idea of directness falls in line with Grimm's Fairy Tales. In the original "Three Little Pigs," the wolf comes down the brick chimney into the cauldron fire and is stewed into wolf broth. The piggies actually sup him for dinner. Rather than be scarred for life by this image, kids are often comforted by the idea that yes, evil exists in the world, but yes, you can kick its ass. Ehem. Don't you think they can see through the "comforting" lies anyway? Thank you, Kate DiCamillo, for refusing to talk down to children and for creating a hero with the courage to face really hard moments. Being brave doesn't mean you're not scared, right? Thank you, FHB, for showing us the impact a safe, nurturing setting where we feel empowered can have on our growth and development as humans.
That's magic.
The garden (spoiler alert) in The Secret Garden is also magical. In this case, it has the power to draw together a trio of misfit youngsters and give them a home and a family of sorts. The book has some challenges. Burnett spent some time in England and was fascinated by the gardens and it seems--the accents, which I'm sure help characterize some of the Yorkshire characters, but might cause some readers to stumble. Burnett also uses "cripple" to identify Colin, Mary's cousin, and includes some views of India and Indian culture that could be disturbing.
I didn't take the time to read film reviews before I watched the 2020 The Secret Garden. It might as well be an entirely different story. The movie actually ends in a house fire that Mary saves her uncle from. What? The robin is almost completely absent from the film, replaced with a dog. Eh? I'm still on the hunt for a better film version of the story.
Some "magic" is weird. Sorry, Roald Dahl. When a "big, friendly giant" steals a little girl from her bedroom and takes her to a land where she has to hide or be eaten, I'm out.
But, I'll take a world where children are safe within the walls of a garden they discovered, ready to bring it back to life and in the process, restore themselves, too. I'll take a world where a mouse can make friends with an enemy and save the kingdom through compassion and bravery. More of all of that, please.
Thank you, authors, for these moments of hope and light.
BITS
“Sometimes since I've been in the garden I've looked up through the trees at the sky and I have had a strange feeling of being happy as if something was pushing and drawing in my chest and making me breathe fast. Magic is always pushing and drawing and making things out of nothing."
“The robin flew from his swinging spray of ivy on to the top of the wall and he opened his beak and sang a loud, lovely trill, merely to show off. Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off - and they are nearly always doing it.”
“But the calm had brought a sort of courage and hope with it. Instead of giving way to thoughts of the worst, he actually found he was trying to believe in better things.”
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DiCamillo is amazing. Burnett is worth the read for kids who might relate to the "contrary" or dissident type or anyone who loves animals or nature. How healing it is to be in the garden.
RATING
I hope everyone finds a place of peace today.
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