From Folktales to Fiction: Orphan Characters in Children's Literature

Library Trends, Wntr, 1999 by Melanie A. Kimball

Part of the story of The Secret Garden is about his redemption as well as the healing of the two children.

A major difference between this story and folktales is the way the main characters are rendered in a three dimensional manner. Literature can capture not only action, but also the feelings of the characters. We are privy to the psychic pain of both Mary and Colin and made aware of their fears, their gradual awakening to the world around them, and ultimately, the triumph of their physical and emotional healing.

HELPERS AND OTHER CHARACTERS

Just as folklore heroes and heroines were assisted in their quests, so Mary and Colin receive help from other characters in The Secret Garden. Chief among the helper figures is Dickon. In this story, he is clearly a human helper, but in a folktale he would more likely be a supernatural helper, probably a type of benign earth spirit. While he does not possess the outright magic that such a character would in a folktale, there is certainly something mystical about the way he interacts with nature and wild animals. "I believe Dickon knows some Magic, but perhaps he doesn't know he knows it. He charms animals and people" (Burnett, 1938, p. 299).

Other human helpers are Dickon's sister, Martha; Ben Weatherstaff, the old gardener; and Dickon's mother, Mrs. Sowerby. Martha, who works as a chambermaid for Mr. Craven, is the first person Mary meets after arriving at Misselthwaite Manor. Martha is an important conveyor of information. She tells Mary about the existence of the secret garden. She also tells Mary about Dickon and piques her interest in going outside. Later in the story, Martha facilitates Mary's initial secret meetings with Colin.

Ben Weatherstaff is a cantankerous plainspoken Yorkshireman. He is a reluctant helper figure, almost against his will. When Mary meets him, she is taken aback at his straightforward assessment of her:

   "Tha' an' me are a good bit alike," he said. "We was wove out of th' same
   cloth. We're neither of us good lookin' an' we're both of us as sour as we
   look. We've got the same nasty tempers, both of us, I'll warrant."

      This was plain speaking, and Mary Lennox had never heard the truth about
   herself in her life.... She had never thought much about her looks, but she
   wondered if she was as unattractive as Ben Weatherstaff and she also
   wondered if she looked as sour as he had looked before the robin came. She
   actually began to wonder also if she was "nasty tempered." She felt
   uncomfortable. (p. 51)

Mrs. Sowerby does not actually appear in person in the story until the penultimate chapter, but her presence is felt from the moment Mary first hears about her from Martha. Although an off-stage actor, Mrs. Sowerby provides the orphaned children with a live mother figure. She provides both figurative and literal sustenance by sending advice and food via Dickon. She also advises Mrs. Medlock (the housekeeper) and Mr. Craven about how better to take care of the children. She sends Mr. Craven a note that gives him the impetus to come home, thus providing the happy ending to the story. She is, albeit in a very practical manner, a Fairy Godmother figure.(3)