blog




  • Essay / The secret garden and the path to physical and emotional well-being

    In The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a young girl discovers the importance of the relationship between humans and the natural world. As the novel begins, Mary Lennox, orphaned and contrary, is brought from her home in India to her mysterious uncle Archibald's mansion in England. It is there, on the moor and in a secret and enclosed garden, that Mary begins to heal her mind and body. In doing so, she exorcises the demons from Misselthwaite Manor and improves the lives of its inhabitants. In this article, I argue that The Secret Garden affirms that man's emotional and physical well-being is inextricably linked to his relationship with the natural world. Positive relationships cause health and good temperament, while negative relationships cause illness and bad temperament. This statement is evident in the dichotomy between Dickon Sowerby and Mrs. Medlock and in the healing process of Mary Lennox and Colin Craven. Ben Weatherstaff and Archibald Craven, however, deviate from this pattern. Despite their positive relationship with nature, they are described as being moody and moody. This apparent contradiction actually only qualifies the initial statement by providing the idea that a second factor is also necessary for a person's physical and emotional well-being. This second factor is the practice of the “Magic” of positive thinking. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Secret Garden asserts that a person's relationship with nature determines their physical and emotional well-being. Characters with positive relationships with nature are depicted as being healthy and in a good mood, while characters with a negative relationship with nature are depicted as being in a bad mood or bad mood. This is supported by the character of Dickon Sowerby and Mrs. Medlock. Dickon has the strongest connection to nature of anyone in the novel. When he understands the needs of flowers and trees, makes friends with wild animals such as blackbirds, crows, ponies and squirrels, and speaks to them in their native language, he is reminiscent of a leprechaun or to a woodland fairy. This positive relationship with nature is reflected in one's physical and emotional health. Dickon's physical descriptions in the novel consistently emphasize his strength, the reddish color of his cheeks and the bright blue of his eyes which highlight the life within him. Furthermore, he never gets sick because, as his mother says, “[He] sniffed too much fresh air for twelve years” to be able to sniff cold” (106). Dickon is also emotionally healthy. He always seems to be in a jovial mood and Mary claims that he is nicer than "any boy that ever lived...he's like an angel" (169). Dickon also practices the “magic” of positive thinking, the powerful tool of saying “great things will happen until you make them happen,” used by all children (237). This is seen in his optimism about the future of the seemingly dead garden. He says, “You would think it was dead wood, but I don’t believe it…there will be a fountain of roses here this summer” (104). Unlike Dickon, Mrs. Medlock has a decidedly negative relationship with nature. Mrs. Medlock is rarely seen leaving the manor, and she directly expresses her dislike of the moor when she says, "It is quite a wild and rather dreary place in my opinion" (21). This negative relationship with nature makes her emotionally ill, which makes her mean and mean. Mary's first impression of Mrs. Medlock is that she is "the most unpleasant personthat she had ever seen” (13). Mrs. Medlock lives up to this description by often ordering Mary in a harsh manner and threatening to "kick her ears" or "lock her up" if she does not obey (58). Dickon and Ms. Medlock illustrate the assertion that a person's relationship with nature, whether positive or negative, is linked to their physical and emotional well-being. The SecretGarden Makes claim that man's relationship with nature is linked to his well-being is also supported by the healing processes of Mary Lennox and Colin Craven. Mary begins the novel as a sickly, unpleasant and utterly miserable child, who loves nothing and is loved by no one. She spent her childhood locked in the nursery and playing in the hot dust of India so when she arrived in Misselthwaite, with its many lush gardens and the cold, wild moor, she hated it. However, since she has nothing to do inside and at the insistence of her servant Martha, Mary begins to explore outside during the day. As Mary strengthens her relationship with nature, running through the gardens, breathing the air of the moor, and befriending the robin, she begins to become stronger physically and mentally. Mary gains weight, has thick, healthy hair, loses the color of jaundice upon its completion, and begins to be a kind and pleasant girl, to the point where she altruistically decides to share her secret garden with Colin, in order to also help to heal. . Mary also practices the "magic" of positive thinking in her attempts to help Colin heal. This can be seen when Mary fiercely repeats, as Colin tries to get up, "You can do it!" I told you you could! You can do it! You can!" the narrator explains that "she was telling Colin that because she wanted to do Magic and keep him standing" (227). The character Colin Craven's healing process also supports the novel's main claim. Colin is Mary's cousin and the son of Archibald Craven He has been ill and bedridden all his life and is convinced that he will die before adulthood. He tells Mary when they first meet, "I hate fresh air and I don't want to go out" (127) Colin also begins the novel as unpleasantly as Mary. He earns himself the nickname "The Little Raja." » for the way he orders everyone around and he often becomes so agitated that he throws himself into hysterical tantrums. Just like Mary, Colin finds that the more he strengthens his relationship with nature, going out to nature every day. wheelchair garden to weed and sow, the stronger and more pleasant it becomes. At the end of the novel, not only does Colin discover that “nothing stands in his way anymore,” but he is also finally able to walk (252). Like Mary, Colin believes in and practices the “magic” of positive thinking. Colin says, "I'm sure there's magic in everything...the magic of this garden made me stand up and know that I'm going to live to be a man" (239-240). He practices Magic by repeating to himself several times a day: “Magic is in me! Magic heals me! I'm going to be as strong as Dickon! (240). While The Secret Garden seems to argue that a person's positive relationship with nature makes them physically and emotionally healthy, the characters of Ben Weatherstaff and Archibald Craven seem to contradict this idea. Both characters have positive relationships with nature, but neither is initially shown to be in good spirits or health. Ben has one of the strongest connections to nature in the novel. He is a gardener in Misselthwaite and therefore spends all day outside. Additionally, like Dickon, he befriended amoorland animal. He calls the robin, “the only friend I have” (40). However, despite his positive connection with nature, Ben is often described in unpleasant terms as "surly", "sour", and "uncompanyable" and suffers from painful rheumatism (34; 40; 42). Similarly, Archibald Craven has a positive connection to nature as he surrounds himself with “fjords and… valleys,” “blue lakes,” and “mountain sides” (283). Despite this positive relationship, however, he is physically ill, with "a drawn face and twisted shoulders," and so deeply distressed "it was as if he were poisoning the air around him with sadness" (283). While the characters of Ben and Archibald seem to contradict the novel's assertion that a positive relationship with nature results in emotional and physical well-being, these characters actually only qualify this assertion by providing a second assertion. The second statement states that to achieve well-being, a person must practice the “magic” of positive thinking in addition to maintaining a positive relationship with nature. A person cannot be well doing only one or the other, both are necessary. Dickon, Mary and Colin embrace this “magic”. Colin says at the end of the novel when explaining to his father how he was cured: “It was the garden that did it…and Magic” (295). Colin recognizes that maintaining a positive relationship with nature and practicing “Magic” are necessary for good emotional and physical health. Neither Ben nor Archibald initially practice this “Magic” and that is why, despite their positive relationship with nature, they do not feel well physically and emotionally. The “Magic” described in this novel is called by several names; Magic, science, religion, the “great good thing” and the “creator of joy”. At its core, "Magic" is the idea of ​​positive thinking which says: "letting a sad or bad thought enter your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ enter your body", and that " surprising things" This can happen to anyone, when an unpleasant or discouraged thought comes to mind, who just has the sense to remember it in time and push it away by introducing a pleasant and resolutely courageous thought" (278 -279; 281-282). Children believe and practice this power to "say that beautiful things will happen until you make them happen", and the narrator of The Secret Garden also seems to believe in its power because at the beginning of the chapter "In the Garden" in pages 281 and 282, the narrator's tone shifts from his usual lyrical tone to a didactic tone to describe the nature of this power and summarize how it contributed to the healing of Marie and Colin (237). Neither Ben nor Archibald practice this power. This is because Ben doesn't believe in "Magic" and Archibald simply isn't aware of it. Towards the end of the novel, however, both characters begin to believe in or practice "Magic". While the children believe that "Magic" will help Colin walk safely around the garden, Ben, "being a stubborn old party and not entirely trusting in Magic... had decided that if he was sent away, he would climb and look over the wall so that he would be ready to limp back if there was a trip” (244). In another instance, when Colin insists that the "Magic" is behind his back, Ben snaps back, "You said the Magic was behind my back." The doctor calls it rheumatism” (244). As the novel continues, Ben's disbelief in "Magic" begins to be questioned as he observes Colin's miraculous recovery. This change in Ben is visible in the penultimate chapter. Ben begins the chapter without “particular respect” for the..