The Secret Garden

Mistress Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And marigolds all in a row...

Mary Lennox is a troubled 10-year-old girl who was born in India to selfish, wealthy British parents who had never wanted her and were too wrapped up in their own lives to love or care about her. She was taken care of primarily by servants, who pacified her as much as possible to keep her out of her parents' way. Spoilt and with a temper, she is unaffectionate, angry, rude and obstinate, untill one day a cholera epidemic spreads through the household taking the lives of all save little Mary. After being found alone in the otherwise deserte place, she is taken to live with Archibald Craven, an uncle she has never met, at his home called Misselthwaite Manor, Yorkshire, England.

Not much changes for Mary at first, but soon Martha Sowerby, her good-natured maidservant, attempts to start a bond with the child. She offers her a jump rope and encourages her to enjoy the life outside of the house. Though reluctant at first, Mary begins to take her maid's advice and spends more and more time outside, eventually discovering a locked door hiding by a wall of ivy, a door that seems to hide one very mistrious flower garden...

My entry for the 33rd contest over at named Books into Moves, where I chose Frances Hudson Burnett's The Secret Garden. To speak about this story any more would be telling and would only spoil the story for all who have yet to read it. Though already addapted in a live-action movie in 1993, I chose this book because I feel it hold a rare and uplifting message. The story of a mostly neglected little girl that finds an equally neglected flower garden seems like a common little tale, but the story's core rests on the journey towards the slow healing of both garden and caretaker.  

This books has been there for me when I was going through hard times and its message helped me pick myself up more than once ever since. It helped me realize that no matter how hard it gets, with a little bit of time, you can find that the little things will sometimes be enough for them to get better again. 

If anyone wants, I also put together a short playlist to go with it over at 8tracks. Thank you all for taking the time to look, and wishing all the other contestants all the luck! 

REBLOG ON TUMBLR: here
artwork © Jessica P. (2013)
The Secret Garden © Frances Hodgson Burnett

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