Post-Romantic Ecology and Theosophical Holism in Burnett’s The Secret Garden and The Land of the Blue Flower

• Main Authors: Ling-hsiang Cheng, 程鈴湘
• Other Authors: Patricia Haseltine
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/57972170283489268289

碩士 === 靜宜大學 === 英國語文學系研究所 === 98 === Abstract Frances Hodgson Burnett, a prominent of 19th century children writer in Victorian Age, was influenced by William Wordsworth’s Romanticism and Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophy, which are related to ecology. Her both of books, The Secret Garden, a realist novel, and The Land of the Blue Flower, an allegorical tale, are concerned with the interrelatedness between human being and nature and nature healing; both of books also present that the structural opposition of dualism is transformed into holism. Based on the historical context, this thesis explores Burnett’s The Secret Garden and The Land of the Blue Flower to find out how she has applied concepts from Wordsworth’s Romanticism and Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophy. Chapter One introduces Burnett’s historical background and discusses the similarities in different genres of two books. Chapter Two explains that the connection between Romantic ecology, Wordsworth’s Romanticism and the ideas of theosophy is concerned with the concept of holism. Chapter Three investigates children, language, local color and concept of the mother to show how Burnett portrays child characters and presents the relationship between children and nature in order to solve the problems faced by children and adults in the Victorian Age. Chapter Four discusses the communication between humans and nature and the presence of the spirit of the dead mother which shows healing as a process in order to find out how Burnett uses theosophical ideas in both of books. In conclusion, I assert that Burnett has her own ecological ideas and teaches her readers to respect and love nature, and that both of books present the concept of holism.