The Secret Garden — Chapter 20

About This Passage

Burnett stages Mr. Roach's approach to Colin's room as a quiet comic scene: the solid head gardener climbing a back staircase toward what the house has called 'the hitherto mysterious chamber,' being warned by Mrs. Medlock that he may find himself in 'the middle of a menagerie.' The word 'menagerie' is exactly right — not a zoo, but a private collection of strange creatures assembled around a single owner, which is what Colin's room has become. Mrs. Medlock is actually fond of the change, and her hint that their duties have grown easier is the servants' version of the orange parable — the household itself is breathing more easily now that the boy at the center is not screaming.

Narration Prompt

Summarize Chapter 20 as Colin's first real trip outside in years. Begin with the week of windy weather and the careful secret planning. Then describe Mr. Roach's visit — what he expected, what he found, and what he said about Dickon outside the door. Continue with the journey down the Long Walk, the whispered tour as Mary pointed out the key, the robin, and the door, Dickon's splendid push through the ivy-covered entrance, and Colin's first sight of the green veil and the pink-and-gold spring garden. End with Colin's shouted promise that he will live forever.

Discussion Questions

1. Mrs. Medlock warns Mr. Roach that he may find himself 'in the middle of a menagerie' with Dickon more at home than either of them. What does Mrs. Medlock's remark tell us about how the servants have come to see Dickon's role in the house? Why is her tone friendly and even approving, not complaining?
2. Colin becomes 'more and more fixed in his feeling that the mystery surrounding the garden was one of its greatest charms.' Why does he want the garden kept secret, even though the people closest to him already know? What does the secrecy itself give him that simply playing in a walled garden would not?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide