When the Bough Breaks Parentless Children in Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess and The Secret Garden

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Wallace, Miriam

Keywords

Frances Hodgson Burnett, Mother Figures, Orphans

Area of Concentration

English

Abstract

The thesis explores the relationship between parentless children and their ability to survive without a parent figure. The first chapter, A Little Princess, shows how Sara Crewe is able to survive, first without mother or father then as a penniless orphan, by telling stories to herself and others to nurture both her spirit and body. Sara�s storytelling, particularly her imagining herself as a princess in the face of adversity, allow to keep her dignity and noble spirit intact until she is rewarded with a new father figure. Her storytelling also serves as a comforting mother aspect toward herself and other girls at her school. The second chapter on The Secret Garden shows how the garden of the title serves as a parent figure to Mary and Colin while they learn the process of mothering themselves. In both books the children are rewarded by the return of a father figure, the mother figure being already present in the character of Sara and in the garden itself.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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