WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:03.000 The Secret Garden isn't just a children's story 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.620 about a hidden paradise. It's a masterful exploration 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:07.860 of how nature's magic transforms the human spirit 00:00:07.860 --> 00:00:11.980 from winter into spring. The Secret Garden was 00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:14.320 written in 1911 by, or published, I should say, 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:17.640 in 1911 by Francis Hodgson Burnett, and I have 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:19.579 a lot to say about it. I really like this book. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:21.359 I was covering it chapter by chapter, but I'm 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:23.059 just going to cover it in one go now with this 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:25.739 episode. This is technically fortress fiction, 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:30.399 or I guess... Whatever. It's technically episode 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:32.200 15, even though it's not episode 15. But here 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:38.979 we go. So I, real quick, I really liked, like, 00:00:39.100 --> 00:00:42.299 kind of five key areas. One is character parallels 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:44.119 and contrast. So the character work is really 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:46.259 good. Environmental transformation is the second. 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:49.340 Spiritual dimensions, symbolic elements, and 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:53.039 universal appeal. I will go back through these 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:55.520 and talk about each of them for a minute or so, 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:57.859 and we'll see how much we enjoy them. By the 00:00:57.859 --> 00:00:59.520 way, when I say each of these, each of those 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.740 has a couple little notes under it. So here we 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:07.260 go. Let's see. So Colin and Mary, they have similar 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:08.939 backgrounds, but different manifestations of 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:11.659 neglect. So they obviously parallel each other 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:13.400 in multiple ways. Multiple characters in the 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:15.620 book mention how they're similar to each other. 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:18.540 They're both their cousins whose mothers were 00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:22.379 sisters. I suppose both of their mothers are 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:26.680 described as beautiful. And Colin's mother died 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:29.599 when he was born, or shortly thereafter. And 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:34.000 so he was orphaned of his mother. And Mary Lennox 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.359 was orphaned when her mother and father got yellow 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:41.379 fever, I think it was. No, it was cholera. Cholera 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:43.459 killed them in India. They were stationed out 00:01:43.459 --> 00:01:47.019 there in India. I think kind of like being part 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:50.819 of the whole regency system, they were, you know, 00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:53.640 a duke, duchess, whatever, kind of landed gentry, 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:56.500 and they were sent to be out there. That's what 00:01:56.500 --> 00:01:58.719 it sounds more like to me than her father being 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:00.200 an officer, but I could be misremembering that. 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:02.319 However, it doesn't actually matter. The point 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:04.420 is, they both lost their parents. Before they 00:02:04.420 --> 00:02:06.359 lost their parents, or consequently because of 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:08.639 the losing of their parents, or rather the... 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:11.379 Let me back up a little bit. The station of their 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:13.659 parents allowed both of them to become very spoiled. 00:02:15.050 --> 00:02:19.590 Mary's mother didn't want her, and she didn't 00:02:19.590 --> 00:02:22.129 want her interfering with her parties and her 00:02:22.129 --> 00:02:25.069 social activities, so she left her to be tended 00:02:25.069 --> 00:02:29.250 to by the maids, or the nannies, the nurses, 00:02:29.310 --> 00:02:31.490 who took care of her completely, and they let 00:02:31.490 --> 00:02:34.490 her be a tyrant because they would be yelled 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:38.939 at. punished, presumably, by her mother, Mrs. 00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:42.439 Lennox, if Mary was in her way and ruining things 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:43.740 for her. So they did everything they could to 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:47.379 keep the little girl at bay and pacified, basically. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:50.300 Colin, on the other hand, after his mother's 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:52.900 death, his father felt like he couldn't look 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:55.659 at his son. He'd wished that he had died. He 00:02:55.659 --> 00:02:58.139 was sad that his son had lived, and therefore 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:01.840 he gave him things, and he gave him people to 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:03.819 tend to him, but he never himself tended to his 00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:06.400 son or cared for him, and it was too hurtful. 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:08.039 Well, anyway, the reasons don't really matter 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:09.759 right now, but you have these two people who 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.900 grew up isolated from their parents, from their 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:17.280 loved ones, in a very real way. Even though Mary's 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:18.939 parents were living until the cholera took them, 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.699 they were both growing up in this way, almost 00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:24.819 orphans already, and they were growing up... 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:27.580 completely spoiled and being able to control 00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:29.199 there were little tyrants who were able to control 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.000 people around them uh through whatever means 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:35.400 and that damaged both of them it caused them 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:40.520 to both be lesser people um despite the fact 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:41.939 that they are great in their own ways that they 00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:43.439 come from families of great lineage and great 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.240 wealth and whatnot none of those things really 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:48.620 matter because uh you can have all the material 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:50.819 good in the world but if you're hollow inside 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:55.280 and if you're rotten uh to the core then Nobody 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:57.080 wants to be around you. And you really do have 00:03:57.080 --> 00:03:59.939 nothing, which I think is illustrated very nicely 00:03:59.939 --> 00:04:03.800 in this story. So that's a way in which they 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:07.680 parallel each other, Colin and Mary. And Colin 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:09.919 and his father, Mr. Craven, I don't remember 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:11.139 his name, Archibald. Archibald, that's right. 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:16.850 They are both isolated from each other. They, 00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:19.389 supposedly Colin has the same maladies as his 00:04:19.389 --> 00:04:20.870 father where he's going to be a hunchback and 00:04:20.870 --> 00:04:23.149 all these different things. Even though his father 00:04:23.149 --> 00:04:25.350 is like backpacking across Europe and climbing 00:04:25.350 --> 00:04:26.750 mountains and hiking and things like that. I'm 00:04:26.750 --> 00:04:28.569 not sure how exactly a cripple is doing that 00:04:28.569 --> 00:04:32.129 sort of thing, but he's a sickly man because 00:04:32.129 --> 00:04:37.089 he's, well, because he wants to be, or he doesn't 00:04:37.089 --> 00:04:39.050 want to be healthy, I guess is the problem. And 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:41.430 Colin has never learned to want to be healthy 00:04:41.430 --> 00:04:44.259 and to... seek more for himself or demand more 00:04:44.259 --> 00:04:46.279 for himself or try more for himself up until 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:50.220 this point because of previously discussed neglect. 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:57.720 And Dickens' family is like a foil to the Cravens 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:01.519 and the Lennoxes because they are poor Yorkshire 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:05.620 folk and they have a crude manner of speech and 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:07.339 you could say a crude manner of acting. They're 00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:09.779 not great lords and ladies, but they do have 00:05:09.779 --> 00:05:12.910 great things. His mother is a great lady. despite 00:05:12.910 --> 00:05:16.689 not having a title or any wealth. She's raised 00:05:16.689 --> 00:05:19.949 12 kids. And she's a wonderful woman. She's very 00:05:19.949 --> 00:05:25.449 warm. And the chief servant, housemaid, whatever, 00:05:25.649 --> 00:05:29.370 at Craven's estate, Mrs. Matlock says that she's 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:31.769 this incredible person who she absolutely adores 00:05:31.769 --> 00:05:35.709 and who is instrumental. It's acknowledged that 00:05:35.709 --> 00:05:39.850 she's instrumental in the... healing and the 00:05:39.850 --> 00:05:42.569 transformation of both Colin and Mary. And that's 00:05:42.569 --> 00:05:44.009 stated in different ways throughout the book. 00:05:44.329 --> 00:05:47.610 And it's through the effects of her children 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:50.069 mainly, but it just shows you what kind of mark 00:05:50.069 --> 00:05:52.769 a mother can leave on her children because she's 00:05:52.769 --> 00:05:55.990 so good. And I was going to say holy, which yes, 00:05:56.009 --> 00:05:58.110 she is holy, but just we'll get to that later. 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:02.220 she's so good and kind and loving and she gives 00:06:02.220 --> 00:06:06.300 that same warmth to her children and They're 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:08.120 able to share with other people despite their 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:10.779 poverty and despite what they lack they're able 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:13.800 to give so much from the goodness of their heart 00:06:13.800 --> 00:06:17.240 and I would say Because of the goodness of the 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:19.620 heart that has been imbued into them by their 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:23.500 mother and they've grown up chicken jowl hungry 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:26.980 not having uh what they wanted or needed to eat 00:06:26.980 --> 00:06:29.279 but they grew up loved they grew up with parents 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:32.879 who were there in body and spirit and heart i 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.879 guess here's spirit and heart and maybe the father 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:37.740 was away working a lot maybe the mother's away 00:06:37.740 --> 00:06:39.399 working a lot but the love is still there and 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.379 it's still felt by people um it's unclear to 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:48.360 me whether uh uh their mother uh is at home or 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:51.899 not i think she's a working woman um doing whatever 00:06:51.899 --> 00:06:55.360 in the village. So anyway, regardless, they have 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:57.120 the love and they have the family, Dickon and 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:59.560 his family, that Mary and Colin don't. Despite 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:01.439 all their greatness, they're lacking. They are 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:06.399 poor. And Dickon, this poor moor boy, is rich. 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:09.459 And his sister is rich to an extent, too, having 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:11.220 been raised in the same family. And it's really 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:14.060 wonderful how this small cast of characters, 00:07:14.220 --> 00:07:16.360 you've got the gardener as well, Ben Weatherstaff, 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:19.240 and you've got some other people. Mrs. Matlock, 00:07:19.300 --> 00:07:23.300 and a few others. And they really work to texture 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:25.699 the story. There's a nurse, there's the doctor 00:07:25.699 --> 00:07:28.600 who's Colin's uncle, Archibald's brother, Dr. 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:32.120 Craven. They're secondary, and they have a lot 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:34.040 less time and a lot less focus, but you can also 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:36.800 see some good character work being done with 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:38.899 them as well, and how they're contextualized. 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:43.759 And not only does Hodgson do this great foiling 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:47.350 and paralleling work with the... with these characters 00:07:47.350 --> 00:07:53.470 but um she also what was i going to say i don't 00:07:53.470 --> 00:07:55.610 know but she makes a character out of birds which 00:07:55.610 --> 00:07:58.490 is very interesting to me and very fun there's 00:07:58.490 --> 00:08:00.709 even a chapter near the end of the book where 00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:02.810 it's from the perspective of a robin and his 00:08:02.810 --> 00:08:04.970 mate and that's pretty pretty special i think 00:08:04.970 --> 00:08:10.050 so we have those character dynamics that are 00:08:10.050 --> 00:08:12.329 set up and used to tell the story but we also 00:08:12.329 --> 00:08:14.470 have the environment and status of the environment 00:08:14.470 --> 00:08:19.290 and mary and collins let's say perception of 00:08:19.290 --> 00:08:23.290 the environment to consider as well uh india 00:08:23.290 --> 00:08:25.970 is described in very unflattering terms the more 00:08:25.970 --> 00:08:29.069 is initially described in very unflattering terms 00:08:29.069 --> 00:08:31.689 in the early chapters chapter three chapter four 00:08:31.689 --> 00:08:34.570 even i think i was saying that it felt like a 00:08:34.570 --> 00:08:37.509 horror like this was a gothic horror book and 00:08:37.509 --> 00:08:41.389 part of what uh made that the case was the uh 00:08:41.389 --> 00:08:46.129 the bleak wilderness um that the more was it 00:08:46.129 --> 00:08:48.669 was uh you know deciduous everything was you 00:08:48.669 --> 00:08:51.350 know in sticks instead of being fully leaved 00:08:51.350 --> 00:08:54.409 and uh it was just not very attractive and it 00:08:54.409 --> 00:08:57.049 was not very inviting and there were these horrible 00:08:57.049 --> 00:08:59.610 howling winds haunted sounding winds that went 00:08:59.610 --> 00:09:02.629 over the more and they scared mary she never 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:04.690 had never experienced anything like that in india 00:09:04.690 --> 00:09:08.899 um and yeah it really did have this tone of like 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:11.259 horror but now that i'm thinking back on it now 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:12.460 that i have this different perspective on it 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:14.500 after finishing the book it's almost like it's 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:19.379 the uh the horror is uh uh it's it's what goes 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:21.399 on in here that's hard it's not the chains it's 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:24.259 the horror is inside because she was empty she 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:27.039 was hollow she was lifeless like the more or 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:28.779 like the more seemed to be but there was still 00:09:28.779 --> 00:09:30.940 life in the more just like there was still life 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:33.419 in her which again it all links back to each 00:09:33.419 --> 00:09:36.500 other it's uh hutchins is a very interesting 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:38.700 job. Very good job. I'm not trying to take it 00:09:38.700 --> 00:09:40.899 away from her. She did a very good job of layering 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:44.279 the storytelling and it's really cool how she 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.200 does that and I appreciate that. We also have 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.720 this dichotomy of people who are always indoors, 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:53.200 like Mary and her mother and whoever else. They 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:54.580 were always indoors. They wouldn't really go 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:58.139 outside because the humidity and whatever else 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:00.039 in India was so hot and so oppressive for them. 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:04.419 It was not something that they could do. uh mary 00:10:04.419 --> 00:10:07.179 was said to be yellow and sickly and thin because 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:09.419 of that she didn't get exercise she didn't have 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:13.919 good appetite um call him the same thing he doesn't 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:15.860 go outside he thinks being outside will be unhealthy 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:19.210 for him and it's not uh it's quite the opposite 00:10:19.210 --> 00:10:21.309 but that's what his perception is that was his 00:10:21.309 --> 00:10:24.210 father's perception is uh even his uncle craven 00:10:24.210 --> 00:10:27.850 um dr craven rather uh has that perception and 00:10:27.850 --> 00:10:29.909 yet there's a big doctor from london who comes 00:10:29.909 --> 00:10:33.090 to the moore uh to misselthwaite manor and says 00:10:33.090 --> 00:10:34.909 that that's what he means that's what he needs 00:10:34.909 --> 00:10:36.730 he needs to get rid of his mac brace he needs 00:10:36.730 --> 00:10:38.289 to get up he needs to get out of bed he needs 00:10:38.289 --> 00:10:39.809 to be acting like an old boy running around getting 00:10:39.809 --> 00:10:41.710 fresh air and exercise and things like that and 00:10:41.710 --> 00:10:44.200 he'll be healthier and you know sure enough that 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:45.740 is what happens in the book but we don't find 00:10:45.740 --> 00:10:50.059 that out until it starts happening um so it's 00:10:50.059 --> 00:10:51.840 just you know kind of deepening that indoors 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.720 outdoors uh dichotomy and you know being trapped 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:57.519 inside being cooped up inside and not being able 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:00.220 to go outside or not or not feeling like you 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:03.000 were able to go outside is uh not something good 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:06.559 for for anybody in this story uh when you're 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:08.580 able to get outdoors it's a good thing However, 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:11.159 the indoors are not treated as a horror show 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:13.940 either. With the perspective of the people changing, 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:16.500 the indoors become a better place and a good 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:18.240 place. I believe Mary felt trapped. Mary felt 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:19.919 like the manor was scary because it was so large. 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:22.259 However, she and Colin at one point go exploring 00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:26.519 the inside of the manor, and they find all sorts 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:28.000 of wonderful things, and they have lots of fun, 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.200 and it's a very enjoyable experience for them 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:31.899 because their mindset has changed by that time, 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:34.879 not because of anything different about the home 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:42.000 or the house changing, rather. And to go along 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:44.620 with that, that doesn't happen until spring is 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:47.659 upon them. Perhaps spring is there, maybe there 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:50.620 are spring showers that are causing them to stay 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:52.480 inside and they're able to have fun that way. 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:55.940 But again, when Mary arrives at Missile 3, it's 00:11:55.940 --> 00:12:01.000 in its... I was going to use a French word, and 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:02.240 I don't even know if it's the right word, and 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:03.940 I don't... I can't even say the word right now, 00:12:03.980 --> 00:12:06.299 but it's in my mind. Maybe you know what it is. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:10.340 If you do, let me know, because I don't think 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:11.399 I'm going to say it, and I'm not going to flash 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:14.580 it on the screen. Anyway, oh, nadir is what I 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:18.460 was going to say. Anyway, I feel like it's, everything 00:12:18.460 --> 00:12:20.600 is dead, everything is dying. That's when she 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:25.860 arrives at myself. Wait. Over time, she progresses. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:27.740 By the time spring is fully in bloom, I don't 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:29.500 think they reach summer in the book. I think 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:33.299 it's just the passage of a partial year, winter. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:36.860 Did she arrive in fall or winter? I don't quite 00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:42.480 remember, but regardless. Once... She might have 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:45.700 arrived in fall, late fall. But anyway, it doesn't 00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:49.379 really matter. By the time she's ready, by the 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:50.799 time Colin's ready, by the time they're both 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:54.970 well, it's deep into spring. And that's when 00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:57.750 Archibald returns and when things go much better 00:12:57.750 --> 00:12:59.409 for everybody in the book. And we have this happy 00:12:59.409 --> 00:13:02.029 ending that it must be, yeah, when like spring 00:13:02.029 --> 00:13:04.269 is in full bloom, that there's this rebirth of 00:13:04.269 --> 00:13:07.029 father and son, which I will get to. And I'll 00:13:07.029 --> 00:13:08.210 touch on when I talk about the spirituality, 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:11.549 which is actually coming next because this section 00:13:11.549 --> 00:13:13.370 didn't take as long as I had anticipated it would. 00:13:13.690 --> 00:13:15.649 But yeah, definitely as the seasons progress 00:13:15.649 --> 00:13:19.860 from cold and dead and dormant. uh and new life 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:22.120 awakens again so does the life of these characters 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:24.600 awaken and their interior life awakens as well 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:31.279 so there's this idea in here this is a very spiritual 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:34.429 dimension of the book I wasn't sure exactly where 00:13:34.429 --> 00:13:36.129 it was coming from. I kind of figured early on 00:13:36.129 --> 00:13:38.090 that it was a little bit Christian. Hodgson does 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:40.190 have a book. It's called, it has something to 00:13:40.190 --> 00:13:41.610 do with Pilgrim's Progress, but it's like Two 00:13:41.610 --> 00:13:43.970 Pilgrim's Progress is, or something like that. 00:13:44.350 --> 00:13:47.990 And that's kind of fun. I'm a big fan of Louisa 00:13:47.990 --> 00:13:51.970 May Alcott's Little Women, which references directly 00:13:51.970 --> 00:13:55.950 Pilgrim's Progress and may in fact kind of be. 00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:58.580 well not really i'm not going to say that anyway 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:00.779 it very directly references pilgrim of progress 00:14:00.779 --> 00:14:07.059 so uh which is christian allegory um and again 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:08.639 i don't think this is allegory i think this is 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.740 parallelism or something else um but it's it's 00:14:11.740 --> 00:14:14.759 very fun but anyway let me go into it uh so nature 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:19.200 is seen as a healer and as a divine messenger 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:24.039 in a couple ways nature is a healer because the 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:27.639 well dickens health is and his like hardiness 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:30.179 is kind of attributed to him spending so much 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:32.659 time on the more even the color of his eyes the 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:35.179 sky blue color of his eyes or the blue gray color 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:37.580 of his eyes is attributed to the more and him 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:39.759 spending so much time on the more and out more 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.299 so much time looking up at the sky so it's almost 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:49.080 like the idea is that by spending time in a natural 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:51.620 environment one is influenced by the natural 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:54.080 environment and one is altered and changed by 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:55.960 the natural environment which i think It's probably 00:14:55.960 --> 00:15:00.100 scientifically proven by now. It may not be super 00:15:00.100 --> 00:15:01.759 mainstream science, but I think it's something 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.860 true, and if it's not something true on the cellular 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:06.360 level, it's definitely something that we can 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:09.679 see is true generally speaking. People are affected 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:11.679 by the environments that they're in and can be 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:14.259 shaped and improved by the environments that 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:16.600 they're in, or the environment you're in can 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:20.460 have deleterious effects on you, as we saw above 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:23.779 with Colin and... and Mary, what environments 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:26.000 they were in and how it caused them to wilt. 00:15:27.100 --> 00:15:30.960 As far as being a divine messenger, the Robin 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:34.080 is a bit of a character in this book and Mrs. 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:38.419 Robin. And you can see them as being divine messengers 00:15:38.419 --> 00:15:43.419 sent by God to help these children. How else 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:45.519 would the Robin have shown, been able to show 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:48.980 Mary? where the key was to the garden, if not 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:51.139 divine providence. How else would Mary have found 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:53.419 the door for the garden had she not been where 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:56.039 she needed to be? And that breath of wind had 00:15:56.039 --> 00:15:59.159 come, that breath of spirit, you could say, had 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:04.139 come and blown aside the vines just as she needed 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:07.259 them to so that she could see the door. It feels 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:09.919 very magical, but it also feels very divine and 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:15.360 godly. And there's this very interesting blending, 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.080 contrast, complementation, or complementing of 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.340 magic and Christian imagery put here together. 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:23.259 They're seen as complementary things, not contradictory. 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:25.600 The Christianity actually doesn't really come 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:27.519 in, I think, until the very final chapter, or 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:29.919 maybe it's the penultimate chapter. It's specifically 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:31.559 called out. They talk about church. They talk 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:32.820 about a particular hymn. I don't remember what 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:36.220 it is, but it's beautiful. Beautiful little chunk 00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:41.500 of a hymn capped off by the Trinity. And anyway, 00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:47.980 it's just like, it's really interesting how This 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:50.340 was written in 1911. I don't know when it's supposed 00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:52.539 to be set. Maybe somewhere around then. These 00:16:52.539 --> 00:16:57.220 are children. I don't know that Collins received 00:16:57.220 --> 00:16:59.340 any formal education. He knows how to read, and 00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:00.980 he's kind of an autodidact. He's read a lot of 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:03.120 books himself, books on science and books on 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:04.940 nature and books on lots of other things. And 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:07.619 he feels like he's going to become a scientist, 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:09.519 and he's going to share scientific knowledge, 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:12.559 and he's going to be a scientific lecturer who 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:16.180 lectures on the nature of magic and the science 00:17:16.180 --> 00:17:22.400 of magic. But he's open to ascribing this divine 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:25.809 power to magic as well. And the way he speaks 00:17:25.809 --> 00:17:30.490 of magic, the way he speaks of magic and the 00:17:30.490 --> 00:17:32.410 way that Mary perceives magic and the way that 00:17:32.410 --> 00:17:35.450 magic kind of handles this, it's like this unexplained 00:17:35.450 --> 00:17:39.390 phenomenon that is observable and reliable and 00:17:39.390 --> 00:17:43.950 repeatable. And that some people have access 00:17:43.950 --> 00:17:45.750 to or know how to manipulate and some people 00:17:45.750 --> 00:17:51.049 don't. And in a childish kind of way, there is 00:17:51.049 --> 00:17:53.700 no, there's a... I don't know if it's Arthur 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:55.319 C. Clarke or if it's other science fiction author, 00:17:55.460 --> 00:17:59.019 but any sufficiently advanced technology will 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:03.980 appear to be magical or magic. It's an old saying 00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:05.900 from, I don't know, the pulp sci -fi days, maybe, 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:07.779 perhaps. I don't know. I haven't sourced that 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:11.200 myself, but look into it. And I could see that. 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:13.160 I could see that, and I could see that here, 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:16.500 that any natural phenomenon that's special enough, 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.960 magical enough, beautiful enough, amazing enough, 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:26.950 can be seen as... magic and um the idea of magic 00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:30.549 or the activity of magic can mask the divine 00:18:30.549 --> 00:18:33.750 that's actually hidden and secret behind it and 00:18:33.750 --> 00:18:38.250 i think that's what we see here um you could 00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:41.109 argue that the garden has a garden of eden the 00:18:41.109 --> 00:18:43.109 secret garden has a garden of eden or paradise 00:18:43.109 --> 00:18:48.849 uh aspect to it uh quality to it Maybe it has 00:18:48.849 --> 00:18:51.630 that imagery reflected in it. It's definitely 00:18:51.630 --> 00:18:54.349 not heavy -handed. It might be metaphorical. 00:18:54.430 --> 00:18:56.369 It could kind of be allegorical. I was thinking 00:18:56.369 --> 00:18:59.009 about his mother falling off the tree branch 00:18:59.009 --> 00:19:02.170 and dying, Colin's mother, that is, and then 00:19:02.170 --> 00:19:05.009 his father closing and sealing the garden. If 00:19:05.009 --> 00:19:06.369 you don't know, if you're not familiar, I think 00:19:06.369 --> 00:19:10.970 it's Genesis 2, that after Adam and Eve had sinned 00:19:10.970 --> 00:19:13.269 by eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge 00:19:13.269 --> 00:19:15.349 of good and evil, they were banished, and there 00:19:15.349 --> 00:19:19.339 was a... angel a cherub an angel with a flaming 00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:24.980 sword uh that guarded the way to the garden and 00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:28.960 prohibited them from getting out and in a way 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:32.299 you could see that when well and of course through 00:19:32.299 --> 00:19:35.299 that sin death came into the world and it was 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:38.660 through the woman uh the most plain reading of 00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:41.960 it even though there's a lot of uh interesting 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:44.619 takes on that interesting uh different perspectives 00:19:44.619 --> 00:19:46.400 on that that you can have that are very much 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:51.019 orthodox let's say um but anyway mrs craven dies 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:55.740 in the garden and then her husband pulls away 00:19:55.740 --> 00:19:58.420 from it puts himself into exile so to speak they 00:19:58.420 --> 00:20:00.839 were exiled into the land of nod or no that was 00:20:00.839 --> 00:20:02.960 actually uh kane they were exiled out of the 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.920 garden regardless and the way was sealed and 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:10.920 um it was the you know the door was locked and 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:13.309 the key was hidden and it was very much you know 00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:14.990 barred and closed off from anybody entering it 00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:18.589 until this little girl um and this is where the 00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:20.589 analogy breaks down or the uh the metaphor for 00:20:20.589 --> 00:20:22.529 it breaks down then this innocent little girl 00:20:22.529 --> 00:20:25.349 who's actually rather nasty little thing is somehow 00:20:25.349 --> 00:20:31.869 guided um by nature by god uh to find a way back 00:20:31.869 --> 00:20:34.789 into this garden and through entering into that 00:20:34.789 --> 00:20:38.029 garden she's able to or she it's less that she's 00:20:38.029 --> 00:20:41.299 able to and it's more that she happens to facilitate 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:45.519 um the redemption and the healing and the coming 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:49.279 back to life of this young boy her cousin um 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:52.779 she's kind of like a redeemer for uh if you will 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:54.440 if you want to go even farther with the christian 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:56.740 imagery although there's a strong concept within 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:59.880 the jewish texts alone the kinsman redeemer um 00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:01.859 or the blood avenger really and that has more 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:03.920 to do with uh well something else that's not 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:05.619 really related so we won't go into that right 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.160 now but i do think it's interesting there's a 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:10.680 lot of interesting spiritual uh, biblical imagery 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:13.960 in here, but, and you could argue that some of 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:16.119 it's Christian, but I think it could be Jewish 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:18.420 as well, but, you know, the main thing is that 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:20.299 it's biblical, and I think that's really interesting. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.380 Um, so moving on from that, there's, uh, really 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:26.119 strong symbolic elements, like, I've been talking 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:27.900 the whole time about symbolic elements in this 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:31.440 story, um, so the key that's hidden to the garden, 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:33.960 as I alluded to earlier, uh, once it's available 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:36.440 and accessible, it unlocks the garden. Mary goes 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:38.500 into the garden, she... sees its beauty she's 00:21:38.500 --> 00:21:41.059 astonished by it we learned later that ben weatherstaff 00:21:41.059 --> 00:21:43.440 had actually climbed a wall and would go into 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.380 the garden and prune it and tend to it of his 00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:48.440 own volition he wouldn't use the gate because 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:51.819 the master had forbidden it however he had the 00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:54.500 choice to fight against that and until the rheumatoid 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:56.519 got him or the rheumatism got him he was going 00:21:56.519 --> 00:21:58.920 in there and tending to the garden pruning and 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:01.359 such to help it to flourish even in the absence 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:04.119 of his lady who he had basically sworn to take 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:09.069 care of it too before her death But eventually, 00:22:09.250 --> 00:22:13.130 like I said, Mary is kind of supernaturally guided 00:22:13.130 --> 00:22:15.509 to the key to the garden, and then she unlocks 00:22:15.509 --> 00:22:19.650 it. It completes her transformation. She meets 00:22:19.650 --> 00:22:23.490 Dickon, who, again, he's almost like this cherubic 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:28.369 figure, like if you think about Lot being taken 00:22:28.369 --> 00:22:32.289 out of Sodom and Gomorrah. I guess it was just 00:22:32.289 --> 00:22:34.529 Sodom, actually, being taken out of Sodom by 00:22:34.529 --> 00:22:36.250 this angel who helped guide him out and save 00:22:36.250 --> 00:22:40.019 him. Dickon can kind of be seen as that kind 00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:42.980 of figure as well. And he is this very peculiar 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:48.299 boy, this animal charmer. He's very special. 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:50.500 He's very magical presence in the book, even 00:22:50.500 --> 00:22:52.859 though he seems to be positioned as only being 00:22:52.859 --> 00:22:55.079 human, but he has almost these supernatural qualities 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:57.700 in and of himself, which is really interesting. 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:02.769 And, you know, like... I'm comparing him to an 00:23:02.769 --> 00:23:06.730 angel, but being that nature and God are kind 00:23:06.730 --> 00:23:08.369 of conflated in this story in an interesting 00:23:08.369 --> 00:23:10.970 way, because if God is the one and only thing 00:23:10.970 --> 00:23:13.710 there is, then all nature is God at its root 00:23:13.710 --> 00:23:16.930 and its source. And there really is nothing else, 00:23:16.950 --> 00:23:18.869 so it would make sense then that this person 00:23:18.869 --> 00:23:21.390 would be the messenger, like an angel, which 00:23:21.390 --> 00:23:22.930 that's what angel means, it means messenger, 00:23:23.130 --> 00:23:27.750 if you go back to the Hebrew. So really, Dickon 00:23:27.750 --> 00:23:31.059 is this messenger of the nature. And he's this 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:34.500 messenger of God guiding these two to where they 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:36.119 need to be, guiding them onto this path of redemption, 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:37.980 which is really fascinating. And of course, I 00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:41.059 mentioned earlier, the Robin acts as a messenger 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:45.640 and again, an angel and a guide to them, assisting 00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:48.420 them through all this and taking the Robin, have 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:51.640 their own conversation. And when we get the chapter, 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:55.240 it's maybe the third of the last chapter where 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.119 we get to see the Robin's perspective, him and 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:01.059 his wife, him and Mrs. Robin. He seems to indicate 00:24:01.059 --> 00:24:03.859 the Robin that he and Dickon do really speak 00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:06.220 the same language. So that's even more interesting 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:10.859 and like I Know it's it's a very fantastical 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:11.920 and very interesting that we're getting this 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:13.700 Robin this, you know common birds perspective 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:19.859 on the whole matter and he even sees this Transformation 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:21.880 on these children and like he knows that they're 00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:24.140 going to be fine because they're doing what they 00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:25.759 should be doing and they're where they should 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:28.960 be which is outside nature enjoying it um and 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:31.839 being part of it uh and he promises his wife 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:33.480 that their children their eggs when they hatch 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.420 they'll never be as you know silly or goofy as 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:37.019 these uh you know human children or whatever 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:39.259 and it's just really uh really interesting that 00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:41.900 kind of again that's another area where that 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:44.980 you know analogy or that symbolism kind of breaks 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:50.440 down and um anyway so Again, this is not perfect, 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:53.559 and I'm doing a lot of this off the cuff, so 00:24:53.559 --> 00:24:55.920 you'll have to forgive any little issues that 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:58.619 I have here, but I'm trying my best. So here 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:01.220 we go. I want to speak to the universal appeal 00:25:01.220 --> 00:25:04.839 of the book. I think it speaks across religious 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:09.720 boundaries. I am not Christian. I am definitely 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:13.700 on the Jewish side of things, and despite the 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:16.039 explicit Christian... things here at the end 00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:19.079 um i have no issue with any of that because the 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:22.359 way it's presented is so open and so optimistic 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:26.200 and so welcoming uh to these people uh the children 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:28.920 in particular benoit as well um that like there's 00:25:28.920 --> 00:25:30.559 really no issue with it there's nothing this 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:32.779 isn't a preaching book it isn't a crit it isn't 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:36.039 a christian book it is a book that has some christian 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:38.420 things in it but really they're the most universal 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:42.549 of christian things um they speak of again god's 00:25:42.549 --> 00:25:44.970 sovereignty god's connected to nature um how 00:25:44.970 --> 00:25:48.490 god speaks through nature and uh really what 00:25:48.490 --> 00:25:51.730 i think helps it the most is that colin really 00:25:51.730 --> 00:25:53.809 has no nature no knowledge of god no knowledge 00:25:53.809 --> 00:25:56.990 of church um no knowledge of the the christian 00:25:56.990 --> 00:26:01.049 culture he's uh existed in this interesting space 00:26:01.049 --> 00:26:05.609 and of isolation really um he's been quarantined 00:26:05.609 --> 00:26:08.670 and that gives him a very different perspective 00:26:08.670 --> 00:26:11.859 he has a open curious perspective and he's interested 00:26:11.859 --> 00:26:14.940 in these different things but he almost has uh 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:18.200 like he's very captivated by the the ideas of 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:21.680 magic and when mary is coaxing him or helping 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:24.559 him soothing him to go to sleep early on she 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:26.680 tells him stories of india and the magic that 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:28.519 she heard of there or saw there herself snake 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:31.559 charmers and things like that and there's almost 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:35.660 this uh animistic viewpoint um which is very 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.549 universal people all over the world different 00:26:38.549 --> 00:26:42.430 cultures older cultures um more indigenous cultures 00:26:42.430 --> 00:26:46.490 will have will feature animism as part of their 00:26:46.490 --> 00:26:52.569 worldview and i actually don't want to uh speak 00:26:52.569 --> 00:26:55.150 out of turn so i copied from the wiki what animism 00:26:55.150 --> 00:26:56.789 is specifically and i will read that definition 00:26:56.789 --> 00:27:02.079 for you now uh animism uh is from the latin anima 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:05.279 meaning breath or spirit or life is the belief 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:07.660 that objects places and creatures all possess 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:10.920 a distinct spiritual essence animism perceives 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:12.799 all things animals plants rocks rivers weather 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:15.720 systems human handiwork and in some cases words 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:18.619 as being animated having agency and free will 00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:22.420 animism is used in anthropology of religion as 00:27:22.420 --> 00:27:25.220 a term for the belief the belief system of many 00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:27.259 indigenous peoples, as I made reference to, in 00:27:27.259 --> 00:27:28.940 contrast to the relatively more recent development 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:32.859 of organized religions. Animism is a metaphysical 00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:35.140 belief which focuses on the supernatural universe, 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:37.599 specifically on the concept of the immaterial 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:41.099 soul. Although each culture has its own mythologies 00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:43.599 and rituals, animism is said to describe the 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:45.259 most common foundational thread of indigenous 00:27:45.259 --> 00:27:47.579 peoples' spiritual or supernatural perspectives. 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:49.940 The animistic perspective is so widely held and 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:51.759 inherent to most indigenous peoples that they 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:53.740 often do not even have a word in their language 00:27:53.740 --> 00:27:55.819 that corresponds to animism or even religion. 00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:58.900 The term animism is an anthropological construct. 00:27:59.539 --> 00:28:01.859 But I do definitely believe the children's perception 00:28:01.859 --> 00:28:08.240 of nature and magic and this... like, nascent 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:10.200 conception of the spiritual world is definitely 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:14.700 rooted in an animistic, like, worldview or perspective. 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:18.859 And I think that without context, without upbringing, 00:28:19.079 --> 00:28:24.319 that it's very natural for children to tend to 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:30.279 or to have an innate animistic perspective. So 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:31.660 it definitely makes sense within this context. 00:28:31.900 --> 00:28:36.799 If you allow me to get... a little more uh religious 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:40.980 here on you there's a story from it's a midrashic 00:28:40.980 --> 00:28:42.259 story i don't know if it's from the talmud of 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:44.799 the gemara specifically but that abraham the 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:47.180 father of the abrahamic faiths of judaism and 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:51.500 such um he actually at a very young age i think 00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:54.279 by the time he was three had looked at observed 00:28:54.279 --> 00:28:56.500 and perceived how all the different ideology 00:28:56.500 --> 00:29:00.480 idol idolatrous practices i don't know how to 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:05.609 say that um that he was exposed to worked in 00:29:05.609 --> 00:29:08.049 the world his father was an idol maker and um 00:29:08.049 --> 00:29:11.230 he looked at all these different idol making 00:29:11.230 --> 00:29:16.170 uh an idol following idol worshiping religions 00:29:16.170 --> 00:29:18.789 and practices and cultures around him and said 00:29:18.789 --> 00:29:20.950 none of these are right and there's this great 00:29:20.950 --> 00:29:24.410 story that i'm being urged to tell being compelled 00:29:24.410 --> 00:29:27.230 by some spirit some animal spirit close to me 00:29:27.230 --> 00:29:31.509 that um One time Abraham's father went out, his 00:29:31.509 --> 00:29:33.730 name was Abram at the time, or Abram at the time. 00:29:33.769 --> 00:29:37.190 His father went out on a trip and he left his 00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:41.230 son in charge of the idol shop. And when he came 00:29:41.230 --> 00:29:44.589 back, all the idols had been smashed except for 00:29:44.589 --> 00:29:46.589 the largest one. And there was a hammer in the 00:29:46.589 --> 00:29:50.750 hand of the largest idol. And his father said, 00:29:51.029 --> 00:29:54.329 what happened, son? Who smashed all these idols? 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:58.279 Abram said, look, Dad, it's that one right there, 00:29:58.339 --> 00:30:01.220 the one holding the hammer. What? He said, yeah, 00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:03.740 this lady came in and she brought soup and offering 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:07.160 to these idols. And all the idols started fighting 00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:10.819 over who would get the offering. And one by one, 00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:12.819 they started fighting. And this big idol got 00:30:12.819 --> 00:30:14.259 mad because he's the biggest and the strongest. 00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:16.019 He grabbed this hammer and he crushed all the 00:30:16.019 --> 00:30:18.400 other idols and destroyed them. And here he is. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.460 He's holding the hammer. So that's proof. And 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:23.750 his father said, you know, there's no. such thing. 00:30:23.750 --> 00:30:25.809 You know, that's not possible. I carved all of 00:30:25.809 --> 00:30:28.210 these idols by my hand. And then he said to him, 00:30:28.250 --> 00:30:31.509 then why do you worship them? And it goes on 00:30:31.509 --> 00:30:34.690 from there. Um, that's a very fun story, but, 00:30:34.690 --> 00:30:38.289 uh, it illustrates a point of, I guess, spiritual 00:30:38.289 --> 00:30:41.029 sophistication and spiritual perception that 00:30:41.029 --> 00:30:43.089 children have that I don't know that they're 00:30:43.089 --> 00:30:46.450 always credited with. Um, but I definitely, uh, 00:30:46.630 --> 00:30:49.769 see it. And, uh, I think it's evidenced here. 00:30:49.849 --> 00:30:51.539 I think it's something that Hodgkin put into 00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:54.480 this book, and I think that's interesting. Going 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:58.720 back up to my notes from that description, I 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:01.119 think the universal feel of the book is why it 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:03.359 continues to resonate with modern readers, and 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:05.380 again, I think you could be completely secular, 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:08.279 I think you could be Catholic, Christian, Jewish, 00:31:08.519 --> 00:31:11.039 Muslim, whatever, and you would still be charmed 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:15.039 by this book, because as a person of faith, you 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:18.559 think that God loves you, and loves the world, 00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:21.359 and created it. for you, to some perspective. 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:24.819 Now, to somebody who's not religious, that might 00:31:24.819 --> 00:31:27.480 sound ridiculous because you're saying, what, 00:31:27.539 --> 00:31:30.480 God created the world for you? But yeah, God 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.900 did create the world for you. There's another 00:31:33.900 --> 00:31:38.200 saying that, well, I won't get into that right 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:40.859 now, but to have this perspective that God loves 00:31:40.859 --> 00:31:42.619 you so much that he created the world and filled 00:31:42.619 --> 00:31:45.140 it with all these wonderful things is part of 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:48.700 it. And you're being very distracting. Hold on. 00:31:49.180 --> 00:32:00.299 What are you trying to say? Say it louder. You 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:05.799 know what you think? Okay, yes. If you believe 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:07.799 in God, you know that the world, that he created 00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:10.359 the world for you, at least in part for you. 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:12.680 Not that you think, it's that you know. I guess 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:14.380 that's what it is to have faith, right? Anyway, 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:20.420 so, yeah, if you know that, then it doesn't matter 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:23.039 how different Mary and Colin are from you. You 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:25.619 can see that they have a bit of the truth that 00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:27.700 you know, or they're learning that bit of the 00:32:27.700 --> 00:32:29.079 truth. They're getting in on the secret that 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:31.059 you have, that your mother and father have given 00:32:31.059 --> 00:32:33.240 to you, that whoever has given to you. And it's 00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:34.940 kind of exciting to see them get in on the secret, 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:37.759 which is a whole other thing. There's this cult 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:43.039 idea of this secret and this, like this keeping 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:44.700 secrets and like this wonderful secret that the 00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:49.079 garden is. colin's growing health is that uh 00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:53.420 becomes a large focus of or a large motivator 00:32:53.420 --> 00:32:57.160 for colin and uh it is for mary for a little 00:32:57.160 --> 00:32:59.619 while but then it really becomes colin's passion 00:32:59.619 --> 00:33:02.160 and he's very happy that he has this secret uh 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:04.519 that he can let other people in on and then by 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:06.799 the end of it he well he starts off being very 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.039 exclusive about it but then by the end he wants 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:12.980 everybody in on his secret um which is that he 00:33:12.980 --> 00:33:20.930 will live forever uh that the garden and like 00:33:20.930 --> 00:33:24.849 that he's healthy in the whole and that he has 00:33:24.849 --> 00:33:29.049 this joy in this life yeah the more I think about 00:33:29.049 --> 00:33:30.869 the more this is like you can definitely see 00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:33.569 like the Christianity in it but it definitely 00:33:33.569 --> 00:33:37.369 goes beyond that to the to the foundation which 00:33:37.369 --> 00:33:41.390 I think is impressive so yeah it would make sense 00:33:41.390 --> 00:33:44.319 or it does totally make sense why this has such 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:47.140 a long -lasting appeal um because it is such 00:33:47.140 --> 00:33:49.299 a beautiful story it's very meaningful and it's 00:33:49.299 --> 00:33:53.160 so thematic and it hits on so many different 00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:56.299 levels that like i thought i'd really analyze 00:33:56.299 --> 00:33:58.180 this book and thought about it really well but 00:33:58.180 --> 00:33:59.640 as i'm talking about it i'm discovering more 00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:02.779 layers to it and more little bits of it little 00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:04.880 uh it's like walking through a garden and being 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:06.240 surprised by all the beautiful things that are 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:08.460 developing there that's kind of what this feels 00:34:08.460 --> 00:34:10.780 like going through it again thinking about it 00:34:10.780 --> 00:34:13.369 talking about it so Anyway, that's pretty much 00:34:13.369 --> 00:34:14.969 all I have to say on this book. I would love 00:34:14.969 --> 00:34:17.889 to hear your thoughts on it. Oh, before I go, 00:34:17.989 --> 00:34:20.110 I want to let you know there are a few other 00:34:20.110 --> 00:34:24.690 famous works by Francis Hodgen Burnett, and I 00:34:24.690 --> 00:34:29.469 want to just give some kind of credits that I 00:34:29.469 --> 00:34:31.630 didn't give at the top of this. So, Secret Garden 00:34:31.630 --> 00:34:34.349 is a children's novel written by Francis Hodgen 00:34:34.349 --> 00:34:36.750 Burnett, first published in book form in 1911 00:34:36.750 --> 00:34:39.210 after serialization in the magazine, or in the 00:34:39.210 --> 00:34:42.739 American magazine, from November 10th. to August 00:34:42.739 --> 00:34:47.039 of 1911. Set in England, it is seen as a classic 00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:49.320 of English literature, of course. The American 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:51.260 edition was published by the Frederick A. Stokes 00:34:51.260 --> 00:34:54.820 Company, with the illustrations by M. L. Kirk, 00:34:55.019 --> 00:34:57.880 and the British edition by Heinemann, with illustrations 00:34:57.880 --> 00:35:03.820 by Charles Heath Robinson. Other works by her... 00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:06.900 that I've heard of are A Little Lord Fauntleroy 00:35:06.900 --> 00:35:10.820 from 1886 and A Little Princess, or Being the 00:35:10.820 --> 00:35:13.920 Whole Story of Sarah Crewe Now Told for the First 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:15.900 Time. That was published in 1905. I love how 00:35:15.900 --> 00:35:20.019 long old book titles were at some point. It's 00:35:20.019 --> 00:35:21.400 very fun. And then The Secret Garden was published 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:23.539 six years after that in 1911, but she wrote a 00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:25.099 lot of books. Other than that, you can check 00:35:25.099 --> 00:35:26.519 them out. These are not endorsements. It's just 00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:28.780 a little, maybe you'd like to know what other 00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:31.019 works this author has made, so you can check 00:35:31.019 --> 00:35:34.820 them out for yourself. and I ask you to continue 00:35:34.820 --> 00:35:36.980 on this journey with me of fortress fiction as 00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:40.039 I well I didn't even tell you this book 100 % 00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:42.400 is a hard recommend it definitely has a place 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:44.880 of honor in the fortress fiction it deserves 00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:48.059 a place of high honor in the fortress fiction 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:52.460 and I absolutely loved it and I am i've already 00:35:52.460 --> 00:35:55.039 encouraged my other my children to read it and 00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:57.159 i've suggested that if they can't read it then 00:35:57.159 --> 00:35:59.639 i will read it to them because it's that worthwhile 00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:02.480 it's definitely a great family book it's a great 00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:05.719 individual book and i think a lot of people will 00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:07.219 love this book i think a lot of people will benefit 00:36:07.219 --> 00:36:09.059 from this book if they haven't checked it out 00:36:09.059 --> 00:36:11.840 yet and uh now i know why because it's beautiful 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:14.000 and i just talked for the last over 30 minutes 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:17.360 about how wonderful this book is and If you'd 00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:19.579 like to join me as I talk about other books, 00:36:19.619 --> 00:36:22.079 that would be great. You can check out my backlog 00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:24.059 of fortress fiction where I talk about some really 00:36:24.059 --> 00:36:25.739 wonderful books and a couple of terrible books. 00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:29.199 And I make no bones about telling you what books 00:36:29.199 --> 00:36:31.179 I think are awful. If you want to find out, though, 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:34.280 check out the show notes at mjmunoz.com. And 00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:36.440 yeah, you can look for fortress fiction. You 00:36:36.440 --> 00:36:40.099 can find the books there that I liked and didn't 00:36:40.099 --> 00:36:43.559 like. I'm doing this for many reasons. One, I 00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:47.739 really enjoy books and I want to have a, uh, 00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:52.820 I want to have as many books in my bucket. No, 00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:54.719 it doesn't make sense. I want to read a lot of 00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:55.940 good books and I want to be able to recommend 00:36:55.940 --> 00:36:58.619 a lot of good books to people and tell them these 00:36:58.619 --> 00:37:00.019 are good books. These are bad books. If you're 00:37:00.019 --> 00:37:01.840 like me, you'll value these books. If you're 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:03.400 like me, you probably won't value these books. 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:04.820 So maybe steer clear of them. Don't waste your 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:06.820 time on them. And I feel like I do very honest 00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:08.380 and very forthright reviews where I talked about 00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:11.949 the good and the bad of these books. Um, There 00:37:11.949 --> 00:37:13.869 really was no bad in The Secret Garden that I 00:37:13.869 --> 00:37:19.989 can think of. Maybe the Yorkshire accent could 00:37:19.989 --> 00:37:21.889 be bad. You can see that it's bad because it's 00:37:21.889 --> 00:37:25.070 spelled out and written as Yorkshire, and it's 00:37:25.070 --> 00:37:27.469 kind of crazy, but it's not a bad thing. It's 00:37:27.469 --> 00:37:30.929 actually pretty fun. Anyway, but I'm also working 00:37:30.929 --> 00:37:34.889 on my own books. I'm an author who wants to write 00:37:34.889 --> 00:37:37.010 a ton of books, and my first book that I'm writing 00:37:37.010 --> 00:37:40.349 that I have almost ready for publication. It's 00:37:40.349 --> 00:37:41.909 called Mockwing Mayhem. It has nothing to do 00:37:41.909 --> 00:37:43.750 with the Secret Garden except for the Secret 00:37:43.750 --> 00:37:48.750 Garden has a lot of spiritual aspects and has 00:37:48.750 --> 00:37:52.130 a lot of hidden divinity in nature. And in Mockwing 00:37:52.130 --> 00:37:54.130 Mayhem, there are magical bugs who battle monsters. 00:37:54.369 --> 00:37:56.449 These magical bugs come from the stars. They 00:37:56.449 --> 00:37:58.289 come from God pretty much directly, who they 00:37:58.289 --> 00:38:02.090 call Luz. And they also call the Maker. And the 00:38:02.090 --> 00:38:04.150 Maker sent them here to protect children from 00:38:04.150 --> 00:38:06.760 evil things that would hurt them. and things 00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:08.699 that would prey upon them, their potent emotions. 00:38:09.280 --> 00:38:12.079 And in Mockwing Mayhem specifically, a Mockwing, 00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:14.920 which is a type of one of these monsters, finds 00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:17.000 out where a bunch of these grow bugs live, which 00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:19.159 those are my magical bugs that battle the monsters, 00:38:19.380 --> 00:38:20.980 finds out where all the grow bugs live, or not 00:38:20.980 --> 00:38:24.199 all of them, but a family of them live, and it 00:38:24.199 --> 00:38:27.400 sends its brethren, or it brings its brethren 00:38:27.400 --> 00:38:28.980 with it to where they live to try to kill them 00:38:28.980 --> 00:38:31.480 all, because that's what evil things do. And 00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:33.440 then the grow bugs have to fight for survival, 00:38:33.500 --> 00:38:36.329 particularly... Two of them who are in training 00:38:36.329 --> 00:38:38.050 still and they haven't been tested by battle. 00:38:38.650 --> 00:38:43.809 They try to save their master. And the catch 00:38:43.809 --> 00:38:46.150 is that even if they save their master from one 00:38:46.150 --> 00:38:47.889 of the monsters that's attacking her, they have 00:38:47.889 --> 00:38:50.190 a whole fox to deal with still. And if you want 00:38:50.190 --> 00:38:51.730 to know how that turns out, then you have to 00:38:51.730 --> 00:38:54.150 read Mockwing Mayhem. You can sign up on my website 00:38:54.150 --> 00:38:58.889 for the newsletter and you can find out. when 00:38:58.889 --> 00:39:00.590 the book comes out you can get some bonus material 00:39:00.590 --> 00:39:03.750 some short stories or a short story and some 00:39:03.750 --> 00:39:06.530 bonus material that go with the book as a little 00:39:06.530 --> 00:39:09.130 extra as a little bonus for people who sign up 00:39:09.130 --> 00:39:10.429 early and you can find out when it's going to 00:39:10.429 --> 00:39:13.659 come out and you can get it check it out for 00:39:13.659 --> 00:39:15.139 yourself and enjoy it for yourself because I 00:39:15.139 --> 00:39:16.480 think it's a very good book. It's a middle grade 00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:20.360 book. And yeah, I think it's very good. I've 00:39:20.360 --> 00:39:22.340 worked on it a lot and I keep working on it, 00:39:22.360 --> 00:39:24.099 keep improving it. And I think it's getting better 00:39:24.099 --> 00:39:25.420 and better. I've been reading it to my kids. 00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:26.980 They're biased, of course, but they seem to like 00:39:26.980 --> 00:39:31.719 it. And that's nice. So you like it a lot? Okay. 00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:33.539 They like it a lot, but again, they're biased. 00:39:33.659 --> 00:39:35.739 So you got to check it out for yourself. And 00:39:35.739 --> 00:39:37.139 you can do that by signing up for the newsletter, 00:39:37.280 --> 00:39:38.619 getting the free short story, and getting the 00:39:38.619 --> 00:39:41.219 free guide to Mockwing Mayhem in the World of 00:39:41.219 --> 00:39:42.820 the Grobugs. Until next time, folks, take care 00:39:42.820 --> 00:39:43.280 and be well.