摘 要

《秘密花园》是美国著名小说家弗朗西斯·伯内特描写女主人公玛丽·伦诺克斯不断成长的作品，被视为儿童文学的经典之作。它讲述了体弱多病、性情古怪的十岁儿童玛丽和科林在爱心与魔力的感召下使秘密花园重焕生机，并使他们自己也重获健康快乐的故事。“魔法”作为作品的重要主题贯穿全文，对推动情节发展起到了关键作用。本论文介绍了“魔法”的定义后，发现了魔法的三种具体作用方式：自然界的魔法，人类的魔法以及人与自然和谐相处的魔法，由此展现出魔法对人具有治愈的功效，而且人的心灵从中得到了升华。本文分析了“魔法”的作用方式、意义以及影响，揭示了人们在融入大自然，感受大自然带来的变化的同时，能够通过自我意识的觉醒来克服自身的缺陷，实现身心健康、人与自然互惠共存。

关键词：弗朗西斯·伯内特；《秘密花园》；魔法；和谐

Contents

1.Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

2. Demonstration ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2

2.1 Natural magic --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

2.1.1 Natural recycling -------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

2.1.2 Magic in human body -------------------------------------------------------------------------5

2.2 Human magic --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

2.2.1 Optimism and curiosity -----------------------------------------------------------------------7

2.2.2 Spiritual nutrition to people -----------------------------------------------------------------8

2.3 Magic in harmony between human and nature --------------------------------------------9

2.3.1 Human’s return to nature ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

2.3.2 The reciprocal benefits to human and nature-------------------------------------------11

3. Conclusion -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

Note ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

Works Cited -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14

Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15

An Analysis of “Magic” in The Secret Garden

1. Introduction

Frances Hodgson Burnett (November 24, 1849--October 29, 1924) is a famous American novelist and children’s literature writer. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20^th century. She was born in Manchester, England, then emigrated to the American state of Tennessee in 1865. Her career as a writer began with the publication of That Lass o’ Lowrie’ s (1877), a best-selling novel. She published more than 40 novels in her lifetime, many of which are selected as the primary and secondary texts in English-speaking countries such as Britain, America, Canada and Australia. What really bestows her the fame is her works for children.

Frances Hodgson Burnett has many well-written works: A Little Princess, The Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Lost Prince, etc. However, it is The Secret Garden that is considered as her most successful novel. The inner secret of growing up or along with the inner secret of growth has been the main theme in many of Burnett’ s works. This female writer, who affects the entire 20^th century, is awe of the inner strength through growth. This kind of power comes from love and nature in The Secret Garden. Burnett gives these forces the color of magic in her beautiful, delicate and fantastic writing. She created the basic components of The Secret Garden when she decorated her garden in Long Island, New York in 1909. The book was initially published in the serial form beginning in 1910, and published in the book form for the musical. It was still granted the Tony Awards in 1991.

The Secret Garden tells the story of the growth of Mary Lennox, a British girl who has lost parents because of cholera in India and regains happiness after moving back to England. The theme of the novel is that when humans return to nature and experience the change of nature, they can overcome their defects through the awakening of self-consciousness to achieve a sense of well-being and mutual coexistence between man and nature. At the end of the book we can see that both the self-absorbed boy and the autistic girl have been revamped through the activity of reforming the abandoned garden and become healthy. In addition, they prompt adults to step out of their own worlds and communicate with the inner mind of humans. The word “magic” is often mentioned in the book. Actually, the self-improvement of the protagonist and the action itself are the most effective and immense magic.