The Secret Garden Colin Craven Colin Craven

The Secret Garden: Colin Craven

Colin Craven Colin is Master Craven's ten-year-old son. He was born in the same year in which Mary was born and the secret garden locked shut. Colin's father cannot bear to see him, as Colin reminds him of his late wife; the boy, because of his strange gray eyes, greatly resembles her, and was born only shortly before she died. Archibald Craven is ashamed of how sickly Colin is, and has forbidden the servants to speak of him. Everyone fears that he will become a hunchback and die before he reaches adulthood. Colin himself hates to be looked at, because he thinks that he looks disgusting. He refuses to leave the manor house, and spends all his time shut up in his room. Like Mary, he has become fantastically tyrannical, since all his servants have been instructed to obey all of his commands without question. Heydon Prowse

Mary And Colin The part of the book where Mary first meets Colin is “I Am Colin”. On a rainy day at night she hears “a far-off faint sound of fretful crying” and goes to find out what it was. Mary learns that it was Colin having a tantrum. He appears to be a pale weak grey-eyed little boy who, as Mary understands later, needs help. He’s a hysteric selfish child. Mary's meeting with Colin is extremely good for him, because she is bold enough (and unsympathetic enough) to contradict him when he says that he is going to become a hunchback and die an early death. It is essential he have his negative thoughts contradicted, so that positive ones may be put in their place. Jennifer Laporte

A Hysteric Child Calling Colin an "hysteric" therefore feminizes him—he is weak, and frightened, and bedridden (all things a boy, presumably, should never be). Colin is positioned as Dickon's opposite: Dickon is extremely strong, masculine, and vigorous— he is of the moor, while Colin is often compared with the feminized Indian Rajah (who is described as having limp hands and being "covered with jewels").

The Ones Who Needs Protection Colin symbolizes the problem of parents and children. Colin almost didn’t see his mother and his father rejects him. He is left all by himself ill and alone. He don’t know how to live in this world and what to do because he is a little boy and he is inexperienced in life. He can’t get through it himself. He can only fall into a tantrum and lie all day in his bed crying. He needs help and love. He needs someone to care of him. The problem is that every child should be loved and have his both parents caring of him and loving him. This is a nowadays’ problem because there is more and more selfish people in the world and having children is “not in fashion”. The point is that it is serious and everyone should think about it himself.

“As Strong And As Straight As Any Boy In Yorkshire” Colin’s lucky and his contact with Mary and Dickon, as well as his work in the secret garden, masculinizes and redeems Colin—he becomes "as strong and as straight as any boy in Yorkshire. “ He makes his special “Magic” and everyone helps him. He realizes that he won’t die and will cure from his illness. It also reunites him with his father, who immediately embraces his son when he finds that he is healthy.