The Secret Garden

by

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Secret Garden makes teaching easy.

Susan Sowerby / Mother Character Analysis

Susan Sowerby is Martha and Dickon's mother. Because Martha refers to her only as "mother" when she speaks about her to Mary, Mary also uses "mother" to talk about Mrs. Sowerby until she meets her months later. Martha admires her mother, as she's an exceptional baker and a loving parent to her twelve children. This admiration is shared; both Mrs. Medlock and Colin's nurse discuss how skilled Mrs. Sowerby is at raising children. They specifically latch onto her insistence that a girl like Mary should be allowed to run outside and develop independently, rather than be put in the care of a nurse or governess. She even writes to Mr. Craven saying just this, and he takes her advice seriously. In her conversations with Dickon, Mrs. Sowerby shows herself to be kind, curious, and respectful of the private world that Dickon inhabits. She takes a keen interest in Colin and Mary's development and begins sending along baked goods and fresh milk. This allows Colin and Mary to pretend they're not hungry for their meals at the manor, thereby throwing their caregivers off the scent of Colin’s dramatically improving health. Eventually, Colin and Mary invite Mrs. Sowerby to the secret garden, where she shows them how a mother would care for them by hugging them, listening with interest to what they have to say, and feeding them nourishing foods. She's taken with Colin's understanding of Magic and she agrees that regardless of what a person calls it, it represents a belief in the divine and is therefore good. Following this, she writes to Mr. Craven and encourages him to come home.

Susan Sowerby / Mother Quotes in The Secret Garden

The The Secret Garden quotes below are all either spoken by Susan Sowerby / Mother or refer to Susan Sowerby / Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Healing, Growth, and Nature Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

She walked away, slowly thinking. She had begun to like the garden just as she had begun to like the robin and Dickon and Martha's mother. She was beginning to like Martha, too. This seemed a good many people to like—when you were not used to liking.

Related Characters: Mary Lennox (speaker), Dickon, Ben Weatherstaff , Susan Sowerby / Mother, Martha, The Robin
Page Number: 78
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

"You are just what I—what I wanted," he said. "I wish you were my mother—as well as Dickon's!"

All at once Susan Sowerby bent down and drew him with her warm arms close against the bosom under the blue cloak—as if he had been Dickon's brother. The quick mist swept over her eyes.

"Eh! Dear lad!" she said. "Thy own mother's in this 'ere very garden, I do believe. She couldna' keep out of it. Thy father mun come back to thee—he mun!"

Related Characters: Colin Craven (speaker), Susan Sowerby / Mother (speaker), Mary Lennox , Dickon
Related Symbols: The Secret Garden, Roses
Page Number: 336
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Secret Garden LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Secret Garden PDF

Susan Sowerby / Mother Quotes in The Secret Garden

The The Secret Garden quotes below are all either spoken by Susan Sowerby / Mother or refer to Susan Sowerby / Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Healing, Growth, and Nature Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

She walked away, slowly thinking. She had begun to like the garden just as she had begun to like the robin and Dickon and Martha's mother. She was beginning to like Martha, too. This seemed a good many people to like—when you were not used to liking.

Related Characters: Mary Lennox (speaker), Dickon, Ben Weatherstaff , Susan Sowerby / Mother, Martha, The Robin
Page Number: 78
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

"You are just what I—what I wanted," he said. "I wish you were my mother—as well as Dickon's!"

All at once Susan Sowerby bent down and drew him with her warm arms close against the bosom under the blue cloak—as if he had been Dickon's brother. The quick mist swept over her eyes.

"Eh! Dear lad!" she said. "Thy own mother's in this 'ere very garden, I do believe. She couldna' keep out of it. Thy father mun come back to thee—he mun!"

Related Characters: Colin Craven (speaker), Susan Sowerby / Mother (speaker), Mary Lennox , Dickon
Related Symbols: The Secret Garden, Roses
Page Number: 336
Explanation and Analysis: