Relationships In A Little Princess And The Secret Garden

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Children are resilient; their spirits are strong and not easily broken. When encountering issues they can find simple solutions and quickly bounce back. Children adapt to their surroundings; they take new situations in stride. For example, moving to new places may frighten them; however, they find a way to fit in and make a place for themselves. Through close relationships, character similarities, and altercations of the main characters in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s, The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, we see each girl find inner strength in the face of adversity. The first relationships we form as young children, greatly influence our lives. These relationships are usually those with our mother and father. In A Little Princess, Sara Crewe loves her father greatly; due to his constant presence, he never left her feeling lonely especially after the death of her mother. When he must leave on a business venture, she is heartbroken “ [She loves her father] more than all the world ten times over, that is what [her] pain is. He has gone away ”(Burnett 30). Whereas in The Secret Garden, Mary Lennox does not possess a strong relationship …show more content…

A nanny or maid that lingers in the background, may assist with childcare or provide a comforting figure in the children’s lives, leading to the formation of a close relationship. In A Little Princess, Sara Crewe, incredibly spoiled by her father, but “she is a sensible little thing” (Burnett 14) and they never required the use of a nanny. However, throughout the duration of her stay at Miss Minchin 's Seminary for Young Ladies, she makes her fair share of friends, one of them named Becky. Becky, “a dingy little figure”(45) of a maid “with a smudged face”(45) receives little respect from the others staying at Miss Minchin’s. Becky suffers alongside Sara after she is left permanently in the care of Miss Minchin; they form a close bond throughout their time of