I’ve been subconsciously reading a few classics. Don’t worry, Northanger Abbey is right around the corner to wrap up my Jane Austen adventures. I’ve been enjoying revisiting books from my childhood. The Secret Garden was one of the first Classics that I ever read. I still have that book sitting on my shelf even though I read this one on Kindle. Something about re-reading the books we’ve read as children as an adult feels like a good thing for the most part. I’m just hoping most books will transcend time and still have that enjoyment despite having grown up.
Let’s stop this rambling and check out The Secret Garden! 🙂
The Secret Garden
by: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Ten-year-old orphan Mary Lennox comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.-Goodreads
The Secret Garden takes us on a journey with Mary Lennox who travels from India, a place with a different culture to a big manor in Yorkshire where she has a new way to live. Mary Lennox is character with a lot of room for improvement and development. Its a story really great for kids, showing us the wonders of the outdoors and friends and going at the core of exploration and learning new things. The culture references might seem a little prejudice as it portrays India rather negatively. However, Mary is a character the learns a lot as she realizes that Colin, a sick boy, has a similar manner to who she was when she was in India and how she wants to better herself when she has to be more independent.
What does make The Secret Garden a fun read is the contrast of its characters. Colin is frustrating at first and gives us a reminisce of Mary when she first arrived. They are both stubborn but with a lot of growth as their world is increasingly expanded due to being exposed to the outside world. The emphasis on nature and fresh being positive to a child’s growth is an important message here. Its also about accepting shifting your views and onlook on life and the mental component of how you view yourself. It seems like a deep message but the simple idea that still lingers here and works is that positive thoughts fuel a healthier and happier lifestyle. It generates more energy and more smiles and laughter and sometimes, the right people will be able to bring that out as a support but also, you have to have that motivation to think and feel that way for it to really work.
The Secret Garden is magical in its own way. The writing is a little dragged out at various parts. Perhaps it doesn’t transcend time as well as other children’s book (like The Little Prince) but it still packs a lot of nice messages and is meaningful. I believe that positive thinking and fresh air is an important part of bringing up a child (even if I don’t have children of my own) and this book does a fantastic job at portraying that even if it extends a little to talk about the healing power of the whole ordeal but to me, the deeper meaning here is that if we mentally become happier and thinking happier thoughts, our bodies will heal as well. Its definitely a great little children’s novel and a fun time that made me want spring to drop by and the ground to thaw so that I could go out and do some gardening myself.
Have you read The Secret Garden?
Tranquil Dreams 