Her Own Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett was born at Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England, on 24 November, 1849. As a superior children's author, Frances Hodgson Burnett published more than twenty children's books in her life. Among them, Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden still appeal to the young readers today.The Secret Garden was published in 1911. Since its publication, The Secret Garden has appeared in numerous editions in different languages. With its mythic plot and appealing young characters, this novel remains one of the best-loved stories for children. In this juvenile classic, the heroine, Mary Lennox becomes an orphan in an epidemic of cholera in India. At the age of ten, she moves to the Misselthwaite Manor in the Yorkshire moor in England, where her uncle, Archibald Craven, lives. In the Misselthwaite Manor, under the guidance of the robin, a magical bird, Mary finds the secret garden, which has been deserted for ten years. Due to her persistence and determination, Mary turns the dead garden into a flourishing garden. At last, the novel ends with the happy reunion of the family in the secret garden.This thesis intends to interpret The Secret Garden, one of the classics of children's literature in the light of the feminist theories of Virginia Woolf's feminism and Cixous'sécriture féminine.The paper is divided into five parts as follows:The part of"Introduction"presents a brief biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett and a brief introduction of The Secret Garden. Lastly, it explores the possibilities of analyzing The Secret Garden in the light of the feminist theories of Virginia Woolf's feminism and Cixous'sécriture féminine.Chapter One"Mary Lennox—An Ideal Female Adolescent": First of all, this chapter explains the androgynous characteristic of Mary Lennox, who is an ideal female adolescent under the pen of Frances Hodgson Burnett. Then, by exploring the similarities between Mary Lennox and Frances Hodgson Burnett in the love of garden, in the rich imagination and in the talent of storytelling, this chapter intends to prove that Mary Lennox is the embodiment of Frances Hodgson Burnett, who shares the traits of the feminist writers.Chapter Two"The Secret Garden——Mary's Own Sovereign": This chapter gives a detailed description of the growth of the secret garden, which is Mary's own sovereign. The secret garden can be interpreted as the place where the feminist writers can obtain the creativity.Chapter Three"The Secret Garden——A Novel of Unique Form": This chapter points out that The Secret Garden is a novel of unique form because of the extraordinary characters who go beyond the stereotypes, because of the plot which crosses the dividing line between the adventure story and the domestic story, and because of the use of the Yorkshire dialect which is considered the most suitable language for Burnett to express the genuine self."Conclusion": This part summarizes the thesis by emphasizing the significance of using the feminist theories of Virginia Woolf's feminism and Cixous'sécriture féminine to interpret The Secret Garden.