Set on the Yorkshire moors in the 1900s, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden is a beloved children’s book. However, the novel is also undeniably imbued with and shaped by pro-British ideologies that strongly contrast the Indian other with the supposedly superior influence of British country life and nature. In this seminar, we will read The Secret Garden and explore the ideologies hidden within the narrative, some of which are used to characterise India as a topological and racial other, others to promote active discipline and a life close to nature for children.
Students will need to acquire and read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. No specific editions are needed. A selection of critical texts and further sources will be made available to participants via a Moodle course. |
