The Secret Garden Chapter 13 Summary

Summary

Mary wakes in the night to a storm and lies awake miserable until she hears faint crying coming from the corridors of Misselthwaite Manor. Braving the dark, she follows the sound through familiar passages to a tapestry-covered doorway and finds a dimly lit bedroom where a pale, sickly boy lies crying. They startle one another; the boy first thinks Mary may be a ghost but then introduces himself as Colin Craven. Mary answers that she is Mary Lennox and that Mr. Craven is her uncle, and the two begin to talk.

They exchange questions about their lives: Colin reveals that he has been kept mostly in this room, that his mother died when he was born, and that his father dislikes looking at him. He explains that people expect him not to live to grow up and that he is used to being waited on and indulged. Mary tells him about arriving from India and about the secret garden she has been exploring talk about—how it has been locked up for ten years and hidden. Colin becomes intensely interested in the idea of a locked garden and at first declares he would make the servants open it, but Mary persuades him that a secret garden kept from everyone would be better. She paints a vivid picture of bulbs pushing up and birds nesting; Colin, who has little contact with the outside world, responds with wonder. Before Mary leaves, Colin has her draw back a silk curtain to show him a picture of his mother; he explains he sometimes dislikes seeing it because it reminds him of what he has lost. He then lets Mary soothe him to sleep by stroking his hand and singing a soft Hindustani chant, and she slips away when he falls asleep, agreeing to come again when Martha can let her.

Key events

1. Mary is awakened by rain and hears faint crying in the corridor.
2. She follows the sound through the tapestry door and finds a boy in a dim room.
3. The boy reveals his name as Colin Craven; Mary states she is Mary Lennox.
4. They talk about their lives—Colin's illness and isolation, Mary's arrival from India.
5. Mary tells Colin about the secret locked garden and persuades him to keep it secret.
6. Colin shows Mary a portrait of his mother and falls asleep as Mary soothes him.

Analysis

This chapter is pivotal for the novel's development of intimacy and secrecy. Structurally it functions as the moment Mary moves from solitary discovery to human connection: the secret garden, previously her alone, becomes a shared possibility. Narratively, the midnight discovery uses atmosphere—the storm, the tapestry door, dim firelight—to create a private, almost magical space where frank conversation can occur away from adult control. Thematically, the chapter deepens motifs of secrecy, isolation, and rebirth: Colin is literally and emotionally walled off like the garden, deemed unfit for life by others; Mary, who has been learning tenderness, becomes the catalyst for Colin's curiosity about the world. The portrait of his mother and the boy's admission that his father hates to look at him introduce family grief and distance as driving forces behind both Colin's illness and Mr. Craven's avoidance. Symbolically, the silk curtain pulled back to reveal the mother's picture echoes the chapter's larger action of uncovering hidden truths—the hidden child, the hidden garden, and the possibility of revealing and healing. The narrative voice balances bleakness with budding hope by ending on a quiet, tender note as Mary lulls Colin to sleep, signaling that relationships rather than directives will likely spur change. The chapter also reveals character contrasts: Colin's spoiled, imperious expectations versus Mary's blunt resourcefulness and secretive protectiveness; these contrasts establish dynamics that will shape the protagonists' moral growth.

Important quotes

““I am Colin.””

Colin CravenColin abruptly names himself when Mary first questions who he is, marking the start of their intimate exchange.

““It sounds just like a person lost on the moor and wandering on and on crying,””

Mary LennoxEarly in the chapter, Mary compares the wind and rain to a lonely cry, which draws her into investigating and discovering Colin.

““She is my mother,” said Colin complainingly. “I don’t see why she died. Sometimes I hate her for doing it.””

Colin CravenColin reveals his raw grief and anger about his mother's death when Mary uncovers the portrait, exposing family pain behind his illness and isolation.

Characters in Chapter 13

• Dr. Craven
• Lilias Craven
• Martha Sowerby
• Dickon Sowerby
• Mary Lennox
• Mrs. Medlock
• Ben Weatherstaff
• Colin Craven
• The Robin