Vockeroth 1

Sayde Jayne Vockeroth"

Dr. Hollie Adams "

English 305 "

October 15, 2014"

"
Evangelizing With the Reader: A Comparison Between Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret
Garden with Christian Beliefs and Biblical Analogy "

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, is a story of Magic and faith, told through

the narration Mary Lennox’s life. The garden can be seen as a symbol of many aspects of

scripture and doctrine, which is shown through contrasting the text with the bible. These parallels

include the secret garden and the garden of Eden, as well the promised land. The garden can also

be seen as the medium through which Magic can be reached, also making the garden a symbol of

Jesus Christ and his miracles. While there are many interpretations of what the “Magic” could be

my ultimate claim about the novel is that Burnett’s text was created as an allusion of biblical

stories and parables, to teach Christine doctrine through the Magic (God) and the secret garden

itself. Through analyzing the text and scripture, and by contrasting the themes of both, The Secret

Garden can be seen as a way for Burnett to share her faith and the powers of “Magic”, through

the story of Mary Lennox and her cousin Colin Craven.

In Genesis, after the story of creation, comes the story of the Garden of Eden. Similar to

the secret garden, Eden was seen as a haven where access to God (Magic) was prevalent. This

parallels the garden being seen (at the beginning of Burnett’s text) as a place for Mr. and Mrs.

Craven to relish. Both the secret garden and the garden of Eden are “pleasing to look at” (New

International Version, Gen.2.8), though they are also both places of sorrow (Burnett 29). Also in
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the book of Genesis is the fall of Adam and Eve, where the original sin is created and mankind is

punished for the discovery of evil. A punishment of the sin created is the curse of death; as God

created Adam from dust, he cursed that as “[people] were made out of the dust… [they] will

return to it” (Gen.2.19). Throughout The Secret Garden Colin fears death and often shares this

fear with Mary (Burnett 128). The secret garden is locked up after the death of Mrs. Craven,

similar to the original sin keeping Adam and Even from Eden. These parallels between the secret

garden and the garden of Eden, show Burnett’s faith and Christian teachings which are

referenced throughout the text.

While the secret garden and the garden of Eden are comparable by the “gardens [being]

locked up” (Burnett 29), this can also parallel the secret garden with the old testament story of

the promised land. Due to sin, the Jewish people were locked from the promised land for forty

years, left to wonder in the desert. The secret garden was locked for ten years, keeping both Mr.

Craven and Colin from the Magic that it contains. In Genesis 12:7 God shares on his plans for

the promised land by telling the people “to [their] descendants [he’ll] give this land”; this can be

compared to Mary, Mr. Craven’s niece, being the one who first enters the garden as a descendant

of the Craven family.

While the garden can be seen as an allusion to these stories of the divine lands in the old

testament, it can also be seen as the medium through which the Magic is reached. Before finding

the garden, Mary had only been exposed to the dark magic of India which is depicted through her

stories of snake charmers (Burnett 126), which correlates with the portrayal of Satan and his dark

magic in the bible, coming to Adam and Eve as a serpent (Gen.3). While exposed to dark magic,

she is a dark person whom “never cared much for anyone” (Burnett 4), and is often regarded as
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“sickly” (Burnett 1). Colin too is known as a spoiled boy, who does not treat others well and is

often ill. Thus, showing it is through the garden they access the Magic, possibly suggesting the

garden is a metaphor for Jesus Christ. John 14:6 says that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the

life…no one can come to [God] except through [him]”. It is through the seeking and tending of

the garden that Mary and Colin become well and develop into kinder people. Just as the bible

tells of the strength that comes from having a relationship with the Lord, Colin and Mary’s

strength comes from their nurturing of the place their Magic lies.

Through seeing the garden as a symbol of Christ and how God (Magic) works through

him, the miracle of the children and their healing becomes clear. Before finding the garden, Colin

does not want to live (Burnett 114) and those around him do not believe there is chance of him

living (Burnett 123). As the story progresses he begins to believe “[he will] live forever” (186),

and on page 239 he recognizes the reality of the garden and that through it “[he is] well”. Mary

too becomes healthier throughout the story and is seen as becoming “joyful” (Burnett 244). She

never cares for anyone until she finds the garden and chooses to help Colin discover the Magic

(Burnett 115); together they grow in the Magic, the garden being their medium. The life of Jesus

is shown through many parables of Miracle, and how through the powers of God (Magic) he is

able to heal the sick and bring joy to the wounded. An example of biblical miracle occurs in the

book of Mark where a boy is ill of seizures due to the demons he allows into his life. Through

asking Jesus to “help [his] unbelief” (Mark.9.14) he is healed, for the bible claims that “those

who believe in [Jesus] shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John.3.16). It is seen as a

miracle that Mary is able to reach Colin, as Martha related it to “walking straight into a lions

den” (Burnett 121), an obvious allusion to the biblical story of Daniel, who is thrown into the
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den of a lion, though by the grace of God, is saved and the lion does not kill him (Dan.6.23).

Similar to Colin welcoming Mary and embracing the Magic through her example.

Dickon, a character who Mary sees as being “like an angel” (Burnett 147), is of the only

characters in the story who directly talks about church (Burnett 240), suggesting he knows God

and it is his faith which makes him kind and in good health (a theme of both the bible and the

novel.) This can be explained through the book of Matthew where Jesus says “it is not the

healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…[just as] I have not come for the righteous but for the

sinners” (Matt.9.12). It is through this analyzation of the bible that Burnett’s novel can be read as

a proclamation of her faith and a way to teach others (primarily children) about scripture and

God’s power. She seems to share of the importance of being a witness of God’s power to

nonbelievers, as Dickon is to Mary and Colin; this also brings to light why she chose to write of

God through analogy.

Burnett’s novel can be read as a story of two nonbelievers who are cursed with the dark

magic and evil that Satan is shown to posses people with in the parables of the bible. Biblically,

this darkness can only be ended through the powers of miracle preformed by God through Jesus

Christ. It is through comparing The Secret Garden to Christian doctrine that one can see the

purpose behind her text and sharing it with others. Through her writing, Burnett is able to

evangelize with the reader and teach them of the glory she believes comes only from God and his

word (the bible). This is why The Secret Garden can be seen as a parallel of the bible and

Christian beliefs as shown by the miracles and allusions to biblical stories and Christian

perspectives, through Burnett’s story and characters.

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Works Cited

"
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New York: Signet Group, 2003. Print.

New International Version. Grand Rapids: Biblica, 2011. Print.

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