With the alteration of the children, the lateral theme of the story is also unveiled through the implicit and sporadic narration about the background of the secret garden. A tragic love story, which is more or less an epitome of the unforsakeble burden of the adults, is involved. Fortunately, the ending of this love story has turned out to be a happy one, thanks to the magical power of the garden, which stems from nature and love per se. Therefore, to a certain extent, The Secret Garden is not only a book on magic solely for growing children, but also a book on destiny for adults. .
The power of the inside world, arising out of nature and love, constitutes the flourishing and mysterious magic world in The Secret Garden, created by Mrs.Burnett, who originated modern psychological technique for the composition of children's literature.
2 Advocacy of return to nature.
The Secret Garden is bound to nature through Mrs.Burnett's intention in composition at the very beginning. She was fond of plants from her childhood and devoted herself to horticulture after divorce from Dr.S.M.Burnett. There were several fenced gardens around her residence in Britain, one of which used to be her outdoor study where she wrote everyday. In 1909, Mrs.Burnett drew her inspiration of the design of the story about the secret garden from the garden of her own house that she was adorning in Long Island, NY. The first edition of The Secret Garden was published in 1911 and won her not only vast sales but also high reputation from the critics in both Britain and America. .
The story of the secret garden is an innocent and fascinating one, with abundant exquisite depiction about the beautiful landscape of the countryside. In her delight in the beauty of the countryside as the seasons pass, Mrs.Burnett displays a sensibility to the everyday details in nature which is akin to many female writers'. Her ability to describe the small things of nature is hard to match.
