The Secret Garden
Read the following passage carefully:
"Mistress Mary did not mean to put out her hand and clutch his sleeve but she did it. "I've stolen a garden," she said very fast. "It isn't mine. It isn't anybody's. Nobody wants it, nobody cares for it, nobody ever goes into it. Perhaps everything is dead in it already; I don't know."
She began to feel hot and as contrary as she had ever felt in her life.
"I don't care, I don't care! Nobody has any right to take it from me when I care about it and they don't. They're letting it die, all shut in by itself," she ended passionately, and she threw her arms over her face and burst out crying—poor little Mistress Mary.
Dickon's curious blue eyes grew rounder and rounder.
"Eh-h-h!" he said, drawing his exclamation out slowly, and the way he did it meant both wonder and sympathy.
"I've nothing to do," said Mary. "Nothing belongs to me. I found it myself and I got into it myself. I was only just like the robin, and they wouldn't take it from the robin."
"Where is it?" asked Dickon in a dropped voice.
Mistress Mary got up from the log at once. She knew she felt contrary again, and obstinate, and she did not care at all. She was imperious and Indian, and at the same time hot and sorrowful.
"Come with me and I'll show you," she said.
She led him round the laurel path and to the walk where the ivy grew so thickly. Dickon followed her with a queer, almost pitying, look on his face. He felt as if he were being led to look at some strange bird's nest and must move softly. When she stepped to the wall and lifted the hanging ivy he started. There was a door and Mary pushed it slowly open and they passed in together, and then Mary stood and waved her hand round defiantly.
"It's this," she said. "It's a secret garden, and I'm the only one in the world who wants it to be alive."
Dickon looked round and round about it, and round and round again.
"Eh!" he almost whispered, "it is a queer, pretty place! It's like as if a body was in a dream."
Question: Based on Dickon's character as revealed in this passage and his reaction to seeing the garden, what might his role be in the garden's future? Justify your prediction with textual evidence.
💡 Writing Tips
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Focus on what this specific passage tells you about Dickon's personality, particularly his responses to Mary's emotional state and his reaction to the garden itself. Consider what qualities are needed to nurture a neglected garden. How might his wonder and sympathy translate into action?
📝 Sample Answer
Based on this passage, Dickon's role in the garden's future will almost certainly be one of active support, sensitive nurturing, and perhaps a magical collaboration with Mary. His character is revealed as inherently empathetic and deeply connected to nature.
His immediate response to Mary's passionate confession includes "wonder and sympathy," indicating an understanding that goes beyond simple curiosity. When he is led to the garden, he moves "softly," feeling "as if he were being led to look at some strange bird's nest." This reverence for hidden, wild places suggests he will treat the garden with extreme care. His hushed whisper, "Eh! it is a queer, pretty place! It's like as if a body was in a dream," demonstrates a profound appreciation for its unique beauty and neglected charm. These reactions strongly predict that Dickon will become an invaluable partner to Mary, using his natural intuition and knowledge to help bring the 'secret garden' back to life, honoring its fragile magic and Mary's deep connection to it.
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