The Secret Garden: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

One morning, Mary wakes up to gray, cloudy skies and knows she can't go outside. She asks Martha what her family does on days like this, and Martha explains that some kids play in the cowshed, while Dickon goes outside rain or shine. She says that he's rescued half-drowned foxes and crows on days like this. Mary listens intently. She's very interested in Martha's home life and family, especially Mother and Dickon.

Mary insists that she has nothing to do, as she can't sew or knit. Martha suggests she read and says that it'd be wonderful if Mrs. Medlock would let Mary into the library, but Mary has a better idea. She's not afraid of Mrs. Medlock, as Mrs. Medlock only looks in every day or two, and so she decides to explore the house after Martha leaves. Mary wanders into a long corridor and looks at all the pictures. Most of them are portraits, though some are landscapes. She notices a portrait of a little girl who looks a lot like her, and she wonders where the girl is now.

Mary tries a handle on the second floor and it turns. She finds herself in a bedroom with furniture that looks a lot like what Mary had in India, with another portrait of the stiff little girl over the fireplace. Mary opens several other doors and in one room, she finds a cabinet filled with a hundred little ivory elephants. She plays with the elephants for a while and then, she hears rustling. In a sofa cushion, Mary finds a mother mouse and six baby mice.

Eventually, Mary gets tired and decides to return to her room. She loses her way several times and finds herself at the end of a corridor next to a tapestry. She hears the crying sound again and in her anxiety, she puts her hand on the tapestry. She discovers that it's covering an entrance to a hallway that, at this moment, contains Mrs. Medlock. Mrs. Medlock is upset to see Mary, tells Mary that she didn't hear crying, and drags Mary back to her own room. Mary sits in front of the fire and angrily tells herself that she did hear someone crying.