Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden

Who is Mary Lennox?

Mary Lennox arrives at Misselthwaite Manor as a thin, petulant child abandoned by indifferent parents and shaped by neglect in colonial India. Sent to her uncle's gloomy Yorkshire house after a cholera outbreak, she initially reacts with sour self-absorption and impatience with the blunt servants. The new climate, the moor, and encounters with plain-speaking Martha and the robin awaken her curiosity. Finding an iron key, Mary locates and secretly opens a long-locked walled garden and begins to work in it, taking pleasure in digging and coaxing bulbs to life. Her solitary toil brings her physical vigor and a softening of manner. She befriends Dickon, who teaches her about animals and plants, and through Mary’s insistence Colin Craven learns of the garden and is brought there; Mary helps soothe and encourage him, becoming an active agent in his recovery. Over the course of the chapters, Mary shifts from an angry, entitled child to a compassionate leader of a small, secret community centered on the garden’s revival.

In the book: We first meet Mary as a neglected British girl in colonial India, sour-tempered and used to being waited on. After a cholera outbreak leaves her alone, she’s sent to her distant uncle’s vast, gloomy Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, where her prickly curiosity starts pulling her out onto the moor and into the shut-up corners of the house.

Personality

Curious

She explores the manor’s long corridors and forces open doors to find where the faint crying comes from (Chapter 6).

Stubborn

After being told she will be kept to two rooms, she resolves to discover why someone is crying and later insists on keeping the garden secret (Chapters 3, 18).

Resourceful

She finds a half-buried iron key in a turned patch of soil and fits it to the hidden lock to open the secret garden (Chapters 7–8).

Empathetic

She soothes Colin to sleep with a Hindustani chant and vivid descriptions of the garden, calming him after tantrums (Chapter 13, 17).

Leaderly

She organizes the plan to bring Colin secretly to the garden and stands beside him when he first enters and is transformed (Chapters 20–21).

Character arc

Mary begins as an isolated, self-centered child shaped by neglect and accustomed to being waited on; she reacts with indifference to her parents' deaths and resists the blunt practicalities of Yorkshire servants. Arrival at Misselthwaite and exposure to open air, Martha’s plain talk, and the robin’s companionship stir a new appetite for activity and interest in the world. Finding the iron key and opening the secret walled garden marks a pivotal shift: physical work makes her stronger and cultivates patience and pleasure in nurturing life. Meeting Dickon teaches her gentleness toward animals and collaboration. Her discovery of Colin and their subsequent relationship completes her transformation from lone intruder to courageous, loyal friend and conspirator: she comforts him, shares the garden’s hope, and helps plan his first visit. By the end, Mary is an active, loving presence whose curiosity and steady care are central to Colin’s healing and the garden’s revival, having grown emotionally warm, responsible, and socially connected.

Relationships

• Martha Sowerby Plain-speaking housemaid who teaches Mary practical self-care and introduces her to local life, sparking Mary’s curiosity.
• Dickon Sowerby Martha’s brother and kind moor boy who becomes Mary’s gardening ally and friend, teaching her about animals and plants.
• Colin Craven Her sickly cousin who is comforted and encouraged by Mary; she brings him hope and helps orchestrate his recovery in the garden.
• Ben Weatherstaff A gruff gardener softened by Mary’s presence and the robin’s antics; he becomes an ally in preserving the garden’s secret.
• Mrs. Medlock The stern housekeeper whose blunt orders Mary initially resists but whose supervision frames Mary’s constrained life in the manor.
• Archibald Craven Her distant uncle whose grief-created isolation at the manor sets the stage for Mary’s exploration and later witness of Colin’s change.

Quotes by Mary Lennox

“It sounds as if there were no one in the bungalow but me and the snake.”

Chapter 1Mary’s observation captures the eerie silence after the cholera strikes and emphasizes her isolation.

““I’m lonely,” she said.”

Chapter 4Mary unexpectedly confesses loneliness to the robin, revealing a crack in her imperious exterior and sparking emotional change.

“‘Do you hear anyone crying?’”

Chapter 5Mary first detects a faint, childlike crying inside the house—an eerie sound that propels the chapter’s suspense.

““There was someone crying—there was—there was!””

Chapter 6Mary repeats the mysterious sound she heard, which becomes the chapter’s central mystery and her personal resolve.

““Look at the moor! Look at the moor!””

Chapter 7Mary wakes to an unusually brilliant blue sky and cries out in wonder, showing her emotional reaction to the changed landscape.

““Perhaps it is the key to the garden!””

Chapter 7After finding the old buried key in freshly-turned earth, Mary immediately imagines it may open the secret garden, creating the chapter's pivotal moment.

Why Mary Lennox matters

Mary embodies the book’s themes of renewal through nature, the transformative power of care, and the moral growth that comes from connection. Her physical and emotional awakening in the garden models how fresh air, purposeful work, and friendships counteract neglect and inwardness. By moving from spoiled isolation to active empathy and leadership, Mary shows how personal agency and compassion can heal both individuals and a broken household, making the garden a living symbol of rebirth and the restorative effects of communal nurturing.

Chapters with Mary Lennox

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• Chapter 26
• Chapter 27

More The Secret Garden characters

• Dickon SowerbyMajor character
• Mrs. MedlockMajor character
• Martha SowerbyMajor character
• The RobinMinor character
• Ben WeatherstaffMajor character
• Colin CravenMajor character
• Archibald CravenMajor character
• Lilias CravenMinor character