Question #30

After reading the text, try answering the questions below:

Mary had looked at her mother from a distance, and had always thought her very pretty, but as she knew very little of her, she could scarcely have been expected to love her or to miss her very much when she was gone. She did not miss her at all, in fact, and as she was a self-absorbed child she gave her entire thought to herself, as she had always done. If she had been older she would no doubt have been very anxious at being left alone in the world, but she was very young, and as she had always been taken care of, she supposed she always would be. What she thought was that she would like to know if she was going to nice people, who would always be polite to her and give her her own way as her Ayah and the other native servants had done.

She knew that she was not going to stay at the English clergyman's house where she was taken at first. She did not want to stay. The English clergyman was poor and he had five children all nearly the same age and they wore shabby clothes and were always quarrelling and snatching toys from each other. Mary hated their untidy bungalow and was so disagreeable to them that after the first day or two nobody would play with her. On the second day they had given her a nickname which made her furious.

Questions:

1. Mary is probably selfish and bossy because...

• She was born that way
• She has not been brought up well
• She lives with the servants

2. Did Mary miss her mother when she was gone?

3. Describe the English clergyman.

4. Why did Mary presume she would be taken care of in the future?

5. What did Mary think of her mother?

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett, p9-p.10