What is the magic in The Secret Garden? | Homework.Study.com (2024)

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What is the magic in The Secret Garden? | Homework.Study.com? ›

Answer and Explanation:

One definition of magic that the novel provides is the conception of magic as a kind of life force—it enables Colin stand, and the flowers to work out of the earth.

Magic is always pushing and drawing and making things out of nothing. Everything is made out of magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us.

Shortly after arriving at Misselthwaite, Mary hears about a secret garden from Martha Sowerby, her good-natured Yorkshire maidservant. This garden belonged to the late Mistress Craven; after her death, Archibald locked the garden door and buried the key beneath the earth.

Chapter 22 Summary

Colin sends Mary to open the door for Ben. After she departs, Colin asks Dickon whether he had done some kind of magic that made it possible for Colin to stand. Dickon replies that Colin made the magic himself, the same magic that makes plants grow. Ben returns with Mary.

As characterized by The New York Times, The Magic Garden "was a cheerful, low-budget, inadvertently psychedelic half-hour show in which Ms. Janis and Ms. Demas sat on giant toadstools, spoke to flowers, sang songs and told stories."

Mary later uncovers the source of the strange sounds she has been hearing in the mansion: they are the cries of her supposedly sick and crippled 10-year-old cousin, her uncle's son Colin, who has been confined to the house and tended to by servants.

The Secret Garden emphasises the power of positive thinking: “thoughts – just mere thoughts – are as powerful as electric batteries – as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison”. This focus on the power of positive thoughts highlights Burnett's interest in New Thought and Christian Science.

Answer and Explanation: In The Secret Garden, the Magic is a mysterious force that manifests in the garden but is present in every person. Colin treats the garden like a temple and imagines that he is like a priest who can channel and command the Magic.

The main theme of The Secret Garden is healing. By tending to the garden, Mary and Colin heal their relationships with themselves and those around them.

Who does Mary Lennox marry? ›

Mary Lennox, the sallow, bad-tempered orphan heroine of The Secret Garden, has grown up. She's married Colin - now Lieutenant Craven - and they have a son, Jack.

Dickon informs his older sister and the rest of the manor staff of the good news. The staff watches in shock and joy as Lord Craven and the children come home together. The film ends with a voiceover of Mary stating that "If you look the right way, the whole world is a garden".

Mary's mother and aunt appear there in supernatural form to help and guide Mary. They also sometimes guide Uncle Archibald. The movie is well acted by an outstanding cast, but its themes and content make it unsuitable for children under 8 years. Parental guidance is also recommended for children aged 8-10 years.

Chapter 10 Summary

The sun shines all week, and Mary works in the garden daily. For the first time in her life, she is always happy. Now that she is doing something important to her, she realizes that meaningful work is only a different kind of play.

Dickon tells Mary that he had heard of the secret garden from Martha, but never imagined that he would step inside it. He begins to investigate which of the plants are alive, and remarks that the secret garden would make a marvelous nesting place for birds, as there are no people there to harm them.

Everything seems green and Mary notices new things growing in the flowerbeds. At the door to the secret garden, Mary sees a crow on the wall. Inside the garden she finds Dickon working, and he says that he woke up early and ran all the way here. He introduces Mary to his fox, Captain, and his crow, Soot.

The Secret Garden emphasises the power of positive thinking: “thoughts – just mere thoughts – are as powerful as electric batteries – as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison”. This focus on the power of positive thoughts highlights Burnett's interest in New Thought and Christian Science.

Answer and Explanation: In The Secret Garden, Colin Craven chants an invented invocation to the Magic that he believe resides in the garden. He believes that this Magic lives in people and that by believing, anyone can heal themselves from their illness. He chants for a long time to Ben Weatherstaff, Mary, and Dickon.

The secret garden, a walled garden at Misselthwaite that ten years ago was Mrs. Craven's pride and joy, symbolizes the late Mrs. Craven herself, though it grows into a symbol of Mary's growth over the course of the novel.

The main theme of The Secret Garden is healing. By tending to the garden, Mary and Colin heal their relationships with themselves and those around them.