Mary and Colin's character arcs mostly focus on their growth and transformation from “unhealthy” people (literally in Colin’s case and more metaphorically in Mary’s) into healthy ones.
The problems they each have are shaped by their parents, and the secret garden itself, (both literally and symbolically) represents the cure for their ailments.
Colin is literally sick (or at least he believes he is). He believes that he is unable to walk and that he will develop the same condition as his father. This is compounded by his father’s obsessive fear that he will lose his son like he lost his wife. In the play, Dr. Craven also plays a part in Colin's continued stagnant and lack of progress in his medical recovery. By locking Colin away in his room and not permitting him to go outside, Dr. Craven stifles Colin's road to recovery. He continually asserts that Colin is very ill when medically, he is actually fine.
This is what is known as a "psychosomatic" disease. A person can develop psychosomatic medical conditions if they psychologically reinforce to themselves that they are legitimately sick. In Colin's case, his father, Dr. Craven, and, to a lesser extent, the staff that tend to him all reinforce to him that he is still ill over and over again, and this leads to Colin's body actually believing he has developed these symptoms.
Whether or not Colin was actually born with some physical birth defect that prevented him from walking isn't exactly clear (I don't exactly trust Dr. Craven's medical assessment of Colin), but what I think is evident is the fact that Colin is medically healthy at this point. He simply has been conditioned to believe that he cannot walk.
Artist's rendering of Mary and Colin in Colin's room. Oil painting by Tasha Tudor, 1962.
Colin needs to be freed of this negative psychological environment, and Mary helps him realize this by bringing him to the garden. In the garden, he learns to be independent from his father’s neuroticism and become his own person, which allows him to discover he can walk.
Mary is physically fine, but she has some psychological issues. She was raised in an environment which fostered in her an over-inflated sense of self-importance. Her parents had servants tend to her every whim and wish in India. This is why acts in a very spoiled manner for a lot of the play, especially in the first half.
The lack of attendants obeying her every command in Misselthwaite is a rude awakening for her. Ben, Dickon, and Martha in particular all help her learn to respect people of lower classes. Instead of doing things for her, they often teach her how to do them (like when Dickon teaches her to speak to the bird).
Child neglect is known to be a major setback in the development of a child’s psychology. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Lawrence Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development, and Sigmund Freud’s research on psychology all note that neglect can have a major negative impact on a child’s morality, ego, sense of belonging, and general psychological well-being. The sense of belonging and positive mental outlooks that Mary and Colin both develop by the play’s end are results of them healing from the child neglect they suffered by finding value in interacting with one another.
Another important component of Mary’s and Colin’s healing is their new-found sense of companionship. At first, they are often at odds with one another, and they have a number of spats. But, as they get to know one another better, they each begin to grow from their friendship. By developing a healthy, mutual friendship, Mary and Colin grow as people and are able to better themselves. What Mary needs is to learn how to be selfless and to care for someone else. What Colin needs is someone who actually cares for his physical and mental well-being without projecting their own fears and insecurities onto him. Interpersonal relationships and social connection are recognized by many psychologists as vital parts of healthy psychological development in children (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs places it in the middle of the pyramid, as the third-most important stage).
Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow's theory proposes that a person must psychologically "ascend the pyramid" in order in order to attain self-actualization. Each rank represents a new stage in psychological development.
The garden itself is, once again, a metaphor for their neglect. As they heal and their friendship blossoms, so too does the garden. For Mary, the garden represents a place where she can be free and learn to take care of herself. For Colin, the garden is a place where he can both physically and psychologically heal from the trauma and neglect of his early years.
The garden is also a vital part of Archibald's character arc. For the entire play, he is haunted by Lily's ghost, and he is unable to let go of her memory. As a result, he is often very depressed and spends almost no time with his son. It reaches a point where he has to leave Misselthwaite just because Mary's eyes remind him of Lily's.
Artist's rendering of Dickon, Mary, and Colin in the garden. Oil painting by Inga Moore, 2010.
Archibald seals off both the garden and Colin after Lily's death, because they each remind him of her too much. Only when he returns to Misselthwaite at the end of the play and enters the garden does he fully heal from the loss of Lily. In the final scene, Archibald learns to let go of the past. Instead of mourning the loss of Lily, he celebrates her memory by finally embracing both her garden and his son.
Bibliography for this post
1. Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. M. L. Kirk, 1911.
2. Kim, Sanghag, et al. “From Parent-Child Mutuality to Security to Socialization Outcomes: Developmental Cascade Toward Positive Adaptation in Preadolescence.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bentham Science Publishers and BioMed Central, 10 Aug. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4840872/.
3. Maslow, Abraham Harold. "A Theory of Human Motivation." Psychological review 50.4 (1943): 370.
4. Minuchin, Salvador, et al. "A Conceptual Model of Psychosomatic Illness in Children: Family Organization and Family Therapy." Archives of general psychiatry 32.8 (1975): 1031-1038.
5. Norman, Marsha, and Lucy Simon. “The Secret Garden.” 1989.
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