As for the presentation itself, I included slides on all of the things that Anthony wanted me to research (as aforementioned in my previous blog post). The topics were wide-ranging, but I did find a common theme throughout most of the research I did, with a general thesis statement for my dramaturgy project as a whole being: "The Secret Garden is an rejuvenating transformation from fragile dependency into exuberant self-liberation."
I'll include a link to my entire presentation in this blog post, but I'll go a little in-depth on some of the information I presented on here, as well.
One of the topics Anthony wanted me to research was the connection between the events of the play/book and the Christian Science & New Thought movements. Christian Science is a movement that originated in late 19th Century England. Its central text is the book “Science and Health” by Mary Baker Eddy, published in 1875. The basic principle of the movement is the idea that illness can be cured through prayer and devotion to God. New Thought is a similar movement which began in the United States during the 19th Century. Many attribute the origins of the movement to the writings of Phineas Quimby (who was inspired by Eddy’s writings). Its central philosophy is “This purpose and these principles emphasized the immanence of God, the divine nature of man, the immediate availability of God’s power to man, the spiritual character of the universe, and the fact that sin, human disorders, and human disease are basically matters of incorrect thinking.” (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica).
Cover of the central text of the Christian Science movement, "Science and Health," by Mary Baker Eddy (she was Mary Baker Glover when she published the book, but later re-married Asa Gilbert Eddy), published in 1875.
In both the book & the play, Colin, Dickon, and Mary celebrate the magic of the garden and perform chants about it. This can be seen as an analogy for the principles of prayer healing found in Christian Science. Colin’s ability to literally cure his ailment through mental positivity connects directly with the principles of New Thought. Mary becomes a better person and “heals” from changing her perspective to a more positive one. Frances Hodgson Burnett herself was influenced by Christian Science during the late 1880s, so I believe the connection between these movements and the novel is deliberate. It's not overt enough to be propaganda-like, but some of Burnett's messages in this piece can be seen as endorsements of the ideals and philosophies associated with these movements.
Picture of Phineas Quimby, primary founder of the New Thought movement. Quimby was inspired by Eddy's writings and the Christian Science movement in general.
Anthony also wanted me to compare The Secret Garden with the Netlflix series, The Haunting of Hill House. He said that the themes of trauma, mental health, and the occult as they are presented in that show have some connections with the vision he had for The Secret Garden. It also has some similarities with the visual aesthetic that Anthony said he was adopting for the show.
The Haunting of Hill House is based on/inspired by the horror novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, published in 1959. The basic premise of the novel is that a doctor interested in paranormal activity and the occult invites several people to live in a house with him and supernatural horror ensues. The Netflix show is an anthology series, and it began airing in 2018 (only the first season is based on the book). The show does have some similarities to The Secret Garden. Mary comes to a new unfamiliar house, she hears wailing and screaming at night, and the people who live there act pretty suspiciously about things at first; this has a lot in common with the plot points of The Hauntinf of Hill House. In addition, the wallpaper and general aesthetic of Misselthwaite that Anthony has envisioned does look pretty similar to the sets of the Netflix series.
Image from an episode of The Haunting of Hill House. The designs of the carpet and general aesthetic of the house is similar to what Anthony had in mind for the Misselthwaite set pieces of The Secret Garden.
Another topic Anthony wanted me to research was the Sixth Cholera Epidemic (the event that claims the lives of Mary's parents and her servants in the beginning of the play). Cholera is a bacterial infection of the intestine and some of its symptoms include: diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps, and severe dehydration (this is how the disease usually kills its victims). Although treating the disease is fairly easy in developed nations nowadays, in the developing world (specifically in India and countries in West & Central Africa) it still can be very fatal. Even today, it is estimated that cholera causes approx. 130,000 deaths a year, and it poses a significant threat to communities and individuals in areas of the world that lack easy access to advanced medical care. During the time of The Secret Garden, medical treatments for cholera had yet to be fully developed, so its mortality rate was much higher.
Historically, there have been seven major Cholera Pandemics. The Sixth Cholera Pandemic occurred from 1899-1923. It began in India, specifically in the cities of Calcutta and Bombay. It later spread all over many other parts of the world, including Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa. In total, it killed over 800,000 people.
“There were 189,955 cholera deaths in India in 1904. Between 1905 and 1908, there was an average of about 526,000 deaths each year; there were nearly 150,000 deaths in the 1906 Kumbh Mela at Allahabad during this phase and the mela is also considered to have contributed to the epidemic.” (Dasgupta 104).
A mela is a cultural event in India similar to a fair or large gathering, and the term is used to refer to a wide variety of different types of gatherings. The Kumbh Mela is specifically a very major Hindu religious festival. It is celebrated once every 12 years and it involves being ceremonially dipped in a river; it’s widely believed that exposure to that bacteria, especially at such a densely-populated festival, is one of the major ways this outbreak spread.
French map of the spread of the Sixth Cholera Epidemic in Europe, the Middle East, and West Asia, circa 1911.
I'll speak more on my research in later posts, but, for now, I also wanted to talk a little bit about my experience sitting in on rehearsal for the show and how it relates to my dramaturgy project. The first time I sat in on a rehearsal for The Secret Garden was on Feb. 17th. They performed a full run of the show, with a keyboard accompaniment for the music. First of all, I was very impressed with the vocal talent of all of the cast, as well as the acting talent of the principles. The majority of students in the show are from the Music department, and I simply hadn't had the opportunity to see what they could do on stage before. There were a few technical difficulties with holds during some of the set changes, but other than that, the show looks to be in good shape.
I certainly noticed parallels between the thesis I had envisioned for my dramaturgy project and the show. The general sense of growth and rejuvenation that Colin and Mary feel throughout the show is very evident. I also think it can be applied to Archibald, and even Ben Weatherstaff and other more minor characters. Even Dr. Craven goes through a certain degree of rejuvenation and positive change at the end of the show. The general aesthetic of the Misselthwaite set pieces certainly reminded me of the decorum from the house in The Haunting of Hill House, and the parts of the show where they talk about the cholera epidemic (although brief) do allude to it spreading through the water and rapidly killing large numbers of people in Mary's house in India.
The chants and mystical elements of the garden that feature most prominently in the second half of the show certainly do call to mind parallels with the beliefs of the Christian Science & New Thought movements. Dickon, Mary, and Colin all do a magic chant together in the garden at one point, and it seemed very reminiscent of what I understand of the faith healing rituals and other occult-like rites that are associated with Christian Science & New Thought.
As I attend more rehearsals, I'll continue to post more of my research here, along with the parallels I see between it and the show itself.
Link to my full presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZI-3fSLGWC-OwZQaBiZghaxdnRQ4tBzqaJJOtOeJi5E/edit?usp=sharing
Bibliography for this post
1. Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. M. L. Kirk, 1911.
2. Dasgupta, R. “Time Trends of Cholera in India: An Overview .” INFLIBNET, shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/19328/7/07_chapter%203.pdf.
3. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “New Thought.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1 May 2018, www.britannica.com/event/New-Thought.
4. The Haunting of Hill House. Created by Mike Flanagan, season 1, episode 1-10, www.netflix.com/title/80189221.
5. Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House. Viking, 1959.
6. Norman, Marsha, and Lucy Simon. “The Secret Garden.” 1989.
7. “What Is New Thought?” New Thought Beliefs, New Thought Facts, New Thought History and New Thought News = New Thought INFO about New Thought Today -, New Thought Library, 2015, www.newthought.info/what-is-new-thought.htm.
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