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1-Page Summary of The Secret Garden
Overall Summary
Mary Lennox is a disagreeable ten-year-old girl. She’s born in colonial India and her mother doesn’t want her, so she hands Mary off to an ayah (nursemaid). The servants keep Mary away from her parents and give her anything she wants. However, this all changes when cholera infects the house. Everyone forgets about Mary for two days until finally two officers find out that she exists and are upset—her parents have died of cholera and they weren’t sure whether or not Mary existed too. After living briefly with an English clergyman, Mary is sent to England where Mrs. Medlock becomes her caretaker at Misselthwaite Manor, Mr Craven’s estate. She tries to be aloof but also finds herself drawn into stories about the manor as well as stories of Mrs Craven’s death which turned Mr Craven into his solitary self today—a hunchback who spends most of his time locked up in his room writing music that no one will hear because he thinks it isn’t good enough yet.
The next morning, Mary wakes up to find a maid, Martha, starting a fire in the grate. She is angry when she realizes that Martha thought she was going to be black and Indian. When Mary learns that she has to learn how to dress herself, her mood becomes even worse. Martha shoos her outside and mentions that there’s a garden with no door since Mrs. Craven died ten years ago. While walking around the grounds, Mary talks curtly with an old gardener named Ben Weatherstaff and explores the kitchen gardens alone until she notices a robin perched on one of the trees near him. The robin is friendly towards Ben so he introduces it as his friend and tells Mary about its name: Robin Redbreast. Over time, they become friends as well because Mary feels lonely without anyone else around her for company except for Ben who doesn’t talk much either but will at least listen if you want someone to do so which makes them good friends just like their bird friend Robin Redbreast who sits on his shoulder all day long listening or talking back whenever he wants too. One evening while talking with Ben about the locked garden belonging to Mr. Craven (who used to sit under roses covered by tree branches), where his wife used too sit before dying after falling off from said tree branch breaking, suddenly hears someone crying but then finds out it’s actually only coming from some other nearby scullery maid complaining of having toothache pain due being hit by something hitting against teeth hard enough hurting badly enough making cry loudly in pain over such sudden unexpected surprise attack during working hours inside house laundry room located downstairs basement far away from upstairs main floor living quarters bedrooms sitting rooms dining rooms kitchens pantries closets stairwells hallways etc…
The next day, it’s raining. Mary explores the house and hears crying again. Mrs. Medlock catches her before she can investigate further. One morning, Martha talks about Dickon who is able to befriend animals with his charm and wit. She promises that while she’s at home later, she’ll ask her mother if Mary might visit their cottage on the moor someday soon since Mary wants to see more of the moors than just where she lives at Misselthwaite Manor. Lonely, Mary wanders through the grounds and finds Ben Weatherstaff who shows her some budding plants in a garden he tends to near a rosebush that has thorns on its branches but no roses growing from them yet because they’re still dormant for another few weeks or so until spring arrives fully into Yorkshire, England. The robin joins them too as they talk about how spring will bring life back into nature once it comes after winter ends this year around May time during summer in northern Europe.
