Flashcards for The Secret Garden

Archibald Craven

Archibald Craven is the somber, grief-stricken master of Misselthwaite Manor and Colin's absent father.

character

Ben Weatherstaff

Ben Weatherstaff is the gruff, straightforward gardener at Misselthwaite Manor.

character

Colin Craven

Colin Craven is the pampered, tyrannical invalid son of Archibald Craven, kept away in a secluded part of Misselthwaite Manor.

character

Dickon Sowerby

Dickon Sowerby is a twelve-year-old boy from the Yorkshire moors, the younger brother of housemaid Martha.

character

Dr. Craven

Dr. Craven, Archibald Craven's cousin, serves as the attending physician at Misselthwaite Manor.

character

Lilias Craven

Lilias Craven is a haunting yet crucial figure in The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

character

Martha Sowerby

Martha Sowerby is a straightforward Yorkshire housemaid at Misselthwaite Manor, who brings warmth and practicality to her role, acting as the first human connection between the lonely Mary Lennox and the vibrant world beyond.

character

Mary Lennox

Mary Lennox starts off in The Secret Garden as one of literature's most intentionally unlikable child protagonists.

character

Mrs. Medlock

Mrs. Medlock is the head housekeeper at Misselthwaite Manor and the first authority figure Mary Lennox meets when she arrives in England.

character

Susan Sowerby

Susan Sowerby is a mother of twelve from Yorkshire who serves as the novel's moral and spiritual guide, even though she makes only one physical appearance — during the pivotal garden scene towards the end.

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The Robin

The Robin is a small red-breasted bird who acts as a magical guide and represents living nature throughout The Secret Garden.

character

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

This line is spoken by Mary Lennox — or attributed to her reflective narration — near the end of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1911), as the transformation of both the garden and its young caretakers reaches its peak.

Mary Lennox (narrative voice) · Chapter 27 (In the Garden)

“I don't want to make it tidy. It wouldn't seem like a secret garden if it was tidy.”

This line comes from Mary Lennox, the young protagonist of the novel, as she starts caring for a walled garden that has been neglected for years at Misselthwaite Manor.

Mary Lennox

“It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place anyone could imagine.”

This line appears early in Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1911) when young Mary Lennox first stumbles upon the hidden walled garden at Misselthwaite Manor.

Narrator (close third-person, Mary's perspective) · Chapter 9 – "The Strangest House Anyone Ever Lived In" / First discovery of the garden

“Perhaps it had been the garden which had done it—and Mary herself and the secret.”

This reflective line appears near the end of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1911), presented by the narrator as Colin, Mary, and Archibald Craven reunite at the garden's door.

Narrator · Chapter 36 – 'It Has Come!'

“Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow.”

This gentle yet impactful line comes from Ben Weatherstaff, the gruff old gardener at Misselthwaite Manor, as he speaks to young Colin Craven during their secret meetings in the hidden garden.

Ben Weatherstaff · Late chapters (approx. Ch. 27)

“Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way—or always to have it.”

This insightful comment comes from Susan Sowerby, the warm and practical mother from Yorkshire to Dickon and Martha, in Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1911).

Susan Sowerby

“One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that 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 reflective passage is from Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1911) and is spoken by the novel's omniscient narrator during a key moment—often linked to Chapter 27—when young Colin Craven starts to embrace the idea of "Magic" and positive thinking.

Narrator (Frances Hodgson Burnett) · Chapter 27

“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done—then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.”

This quote is delivered by Colin Craven, the son of Archibald Craven, towards the end of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1911).

Colin Craven · Chapter 27 – 'In the Garden'

“She made herself stronger by fighting with the wind.”

This line is from Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved novel The Secret Garden (1911) and refers to Mary Lennox, the story's initially sickly and disagreeable protagonist.

Narrator (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

“I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get hold of it and make it do things for us.”

This line is spoken by Colin Craven, a boy who once spent his days bedridden and filled with self-pity but has now transformed dramatically thanks to his time in the secret garden.

Colin Craven · Chapter 27 – 'In the Garden'

Spring and New Growth

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, spring and new growth represent psychological and spiritual renewal—the belief that even neglected, seemingly lifeless things can be brought back to life with care and attention.

The Key

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the key to the locked garden represents the opportunity for transformation, healing, and discovering hidden potential.

The Moor

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the Yorkshire moor symbolizes wild, untamed nature—both forbidding and life-giving.

The Robin

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the robin represents guidance, friendship, and the awakening of life.

The Secret Garden

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the walled garden represents a powerful symbol of renewal, healing, and nature's restorative ability.

Symbolism

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the locked garden serves as the novel's key symbol, representing themes of neglect, grief, and rebirth all at once.

Irony

In The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett uses irony effectively through the character of Colin Craven, a boy who believes he is an invalid destined for an early death.

Foreshadowing

In The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett skillfully employs foreshadowing to create a subtle sense of inevitability regarding the garden's healing power.

Personification

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, personification drives the transformation of the neglected garden from just a backdrop into a character with its own desires and emotional depth.

Imagery

In The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett employs imagery as the novel's driving force for transformation, intertwining the garden's revival with the growth of its child characters.

Motif

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the motif of locked and unlocked spaces shapes the novel's emotional landscape.

Extended Metaphor

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the locked, neglected garden serves as a powerful metaphor for the inner lives of the three main characters — Mary, Colin, and Archibald Craven — from the very beginning to the end of the novel.

Pathetic Fallacy

In The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett masterfully employs pathetic fallacy, allowing the Yorkshire moor and the walled garden to reflect Mary Lennox's emotional state.

Tone

In The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett wields tone as a dynamic tool that shifts in tandem with Mary Lennox's inner journey.

cholera

A deadly infectious disease spread through contaminated water, causing severe vomiting and diarrhea; here it is the epidemic that kills Mary's parents and household in India.

noun · Chapter 1

ayah

A native Indian nursemaid or nanny employed by a British colonial family to care for their children.

noun · Chapter 1

bungalow

A low, single-storey house of the style common in British colonial India, typically with a wide veranda.

noun · Chapter 1

contrary

Stubbornly disagreeable and difficult to deal with; wilfully doing the opposite of what is wanted or expected.

adjective · Chapter 2

moor

A wide, open stretch of wild, boggy upland covered with heather and coarse grass, as found in the north of England.

noun · Chapter 3

wuthering

Describing the sound or force of a strong, blustering wind sweeping across open moorland; used here to evoke the wild northern landscape.

adjective · Chapter 3

scullery

A small back room or outhouse attached to a kitchen, used for washing dishes and other rough household work.

noun · Chapter 4

Yorkshire

Relating to the dialect, customs, or character of Yorkshire, a county in northern England; used here to describe the broad, unfamiliar speech Martha uses.

adjective · Chapter 4

wick

In Yorkshire dialect, meaning lively, alive, or full of energy; used to describe something teeming with life.

adjective · Chapter 10

missel thrush

A large European thrush known for singing boldly in stormy weather; it builds its nest early in the year and is noted for its fearless song.

noun · Chapter 11

rajah

An Indian prince or ruler; used here figuratively to describe a boy who behaves with the imperious, commanding manner of royalty.

noun · Chapter 14

imperious

Arrogantly domineering and expecting instant obedience, as if one has the authority of a ruler over others.

adjective · Chapter 14

tantrum

An uncontrolled outburst of rage and distress, especially one involving screaming and thrashing, typical of a spoiled or frightened child.

noun · Chapter 17

hysterics

A fit of uncontrollable crying, screaming, or laughing caused by extreme emotion or panic, beyond the person's ability to stop.

noun · Chapter 17

magic

In this text, a natural, almost mystical life-force believed to flow through living things and the earth, capable of healing both bodies and minds.

noun · Chapter 23

soot

Black powdery carbon deposited by smoke; here used in the context of the sooty, industrial north of England and its contrast with the garden's life.

noun · Chapter 4

crocuses

Small early-spring flowers that push up through the soil before most other plants, used in the novel as the first signs of the garden coming back to life.

noun · Chapter 7

trowel

A small hand tool with a flat or curved blade used for digging, planting, and turning soil in a garden.

noun · Chapter 12

hummock

A small rounded mound or raised patch of ground, often covered with grass or moss, found on moorland or in a garden.

noun · Chapter 3

skipping-rope

A length of rope swung over the head and under the feet repeatedly as a children's exercise or game; used here as a symbol of Mary's growing health and energy.

noun · Chapter 10

queer

Strange, odd, or difficult to explain in the period sense; used throughout the novel to mean unusual or puzzling, without any modern connotation.

adjective · Chapter 2

sallow

Having a pale, yellowish, unhealthy complexion, suggesting poor health or a life spent indoors away from fresh air and sunlight.

adjective · Chapter 2

blusterous

Noisily windy and stormy; describing weather that is rough, gusty, and blustering, characteristic of the Yorkshire moors.

adjective · Chapter 3

physic

Medicine or a medicinal remedy; in older usage, any drug or treatment given to restore health, often a purgative.

noun · Chapter 14

wraith

A ghost or pale, shadowy apparition of a person, suggesting something barely alive or almost transparent with illness or grief.

noun · Chapter 13