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A review by krennthief
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was truly a remarkable book. Of course, due to the era it was written in, there were a lot of elements that aged extremely poorly (period-appropriate Britishisms like Orientalism and other racism, some ableist attitudes), but a lot of these issues can certainly be viewed nowadays as flaws with the characters, as the emotion of the story remains ineffably true and timeless.
This is very much a story about the intense difficulties immense grief can bring about. Neglect, abandonment, depression, and the perpetuation of physically debilitating ideas and conceptions that prevent us from healing. Mary and Colin, the privileged, yet effectively orphaned cousins, needed each other to heal. They needed each other to grow the garden, which for all intents and purposes is reflective of each of the kids' physical and mental state.
I really appreciated how flawed the primary characters were, but I have somewhat complicated feelings on the idyllic, almost magically flawless secondary characters (aside from Colin’s dad, but we’ll get there). On the one hand, Martha and Dicken and her family feel like a weirdly fetishistic manifestation of a variation of the “Magical [Insert Culturally Mysticized Group Here, in this case we’ll go with Poor Servants]” trope, pushing much of Mary and Colin’s character development by flawlessly introducing them to the majesty of nature by being a little mysterious and ambiguously arcane about it. Much of their actions were in service to the privileged characters (after all, it is their job), but that inherent power dynamic made some of their interactions feel unbalanced and cloying. On the other hand, they did often criticize the cousins and put them in their place, engendering a sense of humility and much-needed care and comfort in them to everyone’s benefit. Additionally, considering each child’s circumstance, I would not say that the kind-hearted Poor Folk providing them the tenderness they were deficient of is perplexing—quite the contrary, even! All this to say, Mary and Colin’s privilege is something to consider, but it should not prevent a modern reader (of leftist persuasion!) from understanding and appreciating the pathos of this story.
I had so much more to say but uh?? The app navigated away from the review editing field before I hit save and all of that’s gone!!! Very bad!!!!
Okay, lemme sum it up briefly because I have Taco Bell waiting. Master Craven’s distant and avoidant behavior was bad, but the penultimate chapter from his perspective was instrumental in the emotional payoff when he sees Colin happy and healthy.
Mary taking a backseat after her arc’s resolution felt weird, but I suppose it makes sense considering Colin’s arc beginning almost half a book later, shifting focus to him.
And if I had to use any single word to describe this book, hmm I’m probably gonna have to call it queer.
This is very much a story about the intense difficulties immense grief can bring about. Neglect, abandonment, depression, and the perpetuation of physically debilitating ideas and conceptions that prevent us from healing. Mary and Colin, the privileged, yet effectively orphaned cousins, needed each other to heal. They needed each other to grow the garden, which for all intents and purposes is reflective of each of the kids' physical and mental state.
I really appreciated how flawed the primary characters were, but I have somewhat complicated feelings on the idyllic, almost magically flawless secondary characters (aside from Colin’s dad, but we’ll get there). On the one hand, Martha and Dicken and her family feel like a weirdly fetishistic manifestation of a variation of the “Magical [Insert Culturally Mysticized Group Here, in this case we’ll go with Poor Servants]” trope, pushing much of Mary and Colin’s character development by flawlessly introducing them to the majesty of nature by being a little mysterious and ambiguously arcane about it. Much of their actions were in service to the privileged characters (after all, it is their job), but that inherent power dynamic made some of their interactions feel unbalanced and cloying. On the other hand, they did often criticize the cousins and put them in their place, engendering a sense of humility and much-needed care and comfort in them to everyone’s benefit. Additionally, considering each child’s circumstance, I would not say that the kind-hearted Poor Folk providing them the tenderness they were deficient of is perplexing—quite the contrary, even! All this to say, Mary and Colin’s privilege is something to consider, but it should not prevent a modern reader (of leftist persuasion!) from understanding and appreciating the pathos of this story.
I had so much more to say but uh?? The app navigated away from the review editing field before I hit save and all of that’s gone!!! Very bad!!!!
Okay, lemme sum it up briefly because I have Taco Bell waiting. Master Craven’s distant and avoidant behavior was bad, but the penultimate chapter from his perspective was instrumental in the emotional payoff when he sees Colin happy and healthy.
Mary taking a backseat after her arc’s resolution felt weird, but I suppose it makes sense considering Colin’s arc beginning almost half a book later, shifting focus to him.
And if I had to use any single word to describe this book, hmm I’m probably gonna have to call it queer.