Secrets and Independence Theme Analysis

The Secret Garden is organized around a number of secrets. Mary's very existence is a secret from most of her parents' friends; Colin experiences some of the same while also insisting that visual evidence of his illness should be kept secret from the Misselthwaite staff; and the biggest draw of the secret garden for Mary is that it's a secret. By exploring how secrets function in both positive and negative ways throughout the novel, The Secret Garden suggests that secrets do have their place—but that place is among children and even then, only when children use secrets to develop a sense of independence. Adults' secret keeping, on the other hand, will only ever bring suffering and loneliness, often at a child's expense.

Every instance in which adult characters in the novel keep secrets is described as either objectively bad or, in the case of a few (most notably that Ben Weatherstaff has been secretly tending to the secret garden for the last ten years), unhelpful in the long run. Specifically, the novel goes to great lengths to show how when adults keep secrets, children suffer. The narrator notes that Mary's mother never truly wanted a child, which is why Mary is kept away and separate from the rest of the household. Though it's worth noting that this is likely what saved Mary's life when cholera swept through her family's home—her seclusion meant she wasn't exposed to the disease—her seclusion also put her at risk of being missed entirely and left on her own longer than she already was, with potentially disastrous results. Similarly, the particulars of the death of Mrs. Craven trap both Mr. Craven and Colin in miserable situations. Because Mr. Craven blamed the tree branch that broke for his wife's deadly fall, he had the garden locked up, hid the key, and forbids anyone from mentioning the garden, his wife, and his son. He spends his time alone, brooding, while keeping Colin a secret from children his own age leaves Colin dangerously and damagingly isolated. In both cases, the novel makes the case that when adults keep secrets, especially ones that they never intend to expose, those secrets are damaging to them as well as everyone around them. Especially for Mr. Craven, it's also telling that keeping the garden a secret is ultimately ineffective—both in terms of easing his grief and in terms of the secret remaining a secret—as it suggests that aside from being damaging, keeping secrets like this isn't something that's capable of even accomplishing a desired result.

For the children, however, the secrets that they keep are magical things that allow them to connect with the natural world, with each other, and most importantly, help them develop a sense of independence. Mary spends only a few days in the secret garden by herself before she meets Dickon and discovers that she desperately wants to let him in on the secret. Then, after meeting Colin, she undergoes a similar shift as she decides to tell him about the secret garden and eventually, that she knows where the door and the key are. Sharing the secret garden with each other allows the children to develop their relationships with each other in a place where they can truly be themselves, away from the anxious and watchful eyes of the adults who believe that Colin is going to die. In this way, their secret allows them both the venue and the glue to strengthen their commitments to each other, to the garden, and eventually, to sharing the secret with others.

As Colin's health begins to improve, he vows to improve enough to impress Mr. Craven and make him proud—but he also believes that his recovery needs to be undertaken in secret, where his doctors and nurse can't see the progress and spoil the surprise for Mr. Craven. Because of this, Colin and Mary decide to pretend that Colin isn't improving and, at times, they pretend he's actually getting worse. They insist on wheeling Colin into the garden in his wheelchair and at several points they vow to not eat all of their meals as to throw their caregivers off the trail. Rather than this being a restrictive and damaging experience for them, playing pretend allows them to share when they're ready and only after they've brought the secret garden back to its former glory and turned Colin into "a real boy." And to their credit, this ruse works surprisingly well—Dr. Craven is perplexed by Colin's strange road to recovery, while Mr. Craven is thrilled to see his son healthy and strong. Mr. Craven is also pleased to discover that the garden is once again a beautiful and well-maintained space and this allows him to focus on the fact that the garden is responsible for Colin's health, not just for his wife's death.

Because of the ways in which the secrets that lead to the novel's happy ending differ from those that created the novel's conflicts in the first place, The Secret Garden suggests that there's a limit to how effective secrets can be: it implies that there must be a set end to the secret's life, or no good will come of it. However, the numerous good things that come from Colin's secret recovery process make it clear that keeping secrets can be an effective way for children to take control of their lives, practice being independent, and learn how to be good and trustworthy friends.