On The Modernist Themes In The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett is an accomplished writer in the field of children's literature with more than twenty children's books. Her masterpiece The Secret Garden tells a story of a small girl's journey from alienation to harmony with nature. Some previous researches on this novel have been made through different perspectives, such as children's education, the author's tendency to feminism, colonial history, and the relationship between people and environment. And some critic argues that this novel greatly influences the production of "The Waste Land" and Lady Chatterley 's Lover. Yet no one has made an in-depth analysis of its themes.Therefore, this thesis intends to explore the themes of The Secret Garden. The novel, as a popular children's book, represents three important themes in modernist literature—absurdity in a modern society, the pursuit of a personal spiritual Utopia and the attention to psychology.The paper is divided into six parts as follows:The part of "Introduction" presents a brief biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett and a brief introduction of The Secret Garden and the previous critical reviews on this novel.Chapter One "Modernism and Modernist Literature": This chapter aims to make a general introduction of modernist literature and discuss the recurrent themes in modernist literature—the absurdity confronted by modern society, the pursuit of individual Utopia and the attention to psychology.Chapter Two "Absurdity of Modern Society in The Secret Garden": This chapter examines the problems of the three characters to reveal the absurdity confronted by them. Mary suffers from alienation, Colin invalidity, and Mr. Craven disillusionment.Chapter Three "The Pursuit of "Individual Utopia" in The Secret Garden": This identifies the secret garden as the individual Utopia created by the author and analyzed the Sowerbys to illuminate the important traits of the Utopia—essentially love and harmony.Chapter Four "Attention to Psychology in The Secret Garden": This chapter elucidates how the author presents and dissolves the psychological problems. Through the establishment of harmony with nature in the secret garden, Mary and Colin obtain their physical health and spiritual growth, and by the power of nature, Mr. Craven gathers his courage and goes back home. "Conclusion": This part summarizes the thesis and points out the limitations of the author.