Works Cited

Chemin, Peter, and Helen Humphreys. Helen Humphreys. 20 Mar. 2009 http://www.hhumphreys.com/.

Humphreys, Helen. The Lost Garden. Toronto: HarperCollins Ltd, 2002.

Johnson, David. "The London Blitz, 1940." EyeWitness to History. 20 Mar. 2009 http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/blitz.htm.

Livesey, Margot. "Green Gwen Grows Riper." The New York Times. 13 Oct. 2002. 20 Mar. 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/13/books/green-gwen-grows-riper.html?scp=1&sq=the%20lost%20garden%20helen%20humphreys&st=cse.

Richards, Linda. "January Interview Helen Humphreys." January Magazine. 20 Mar. 2009 http://januarymagazine.com/profiles/humphreys.html.

Sawka, Karma. "Helen Humphreys' "The Lost Garden"" MOSTLY FICTION Book Reviews. 20 Mar. 2009 . Humphreys, Helen. The Lost Garden. Toronto: HarperCollins Ltd, 2002.

"Symbolism & Color." All-American Rose Selections. 20 Mar. 2009 http://www.rose.org/symbolism-and-color/.

Tancock, Kat. "Interview with Author Helen Humphreys." Canadian Living. 20 Mar. 2009 .

WIllmott, Ellen. "The Genus Rosa." Darvill's Rare Prints. 20 Mar. 2009 .

Explication

Helen Humphreys' "The Lost Garden" has some of the most detailed, realistic and emotionally troubled but beautifully created characters of any novel I have ever read. Gwen Davis, the main character, is especially fascinating because the story is told through her eyes. As a reader, one can take notice of every thought that runs through her mind, every emotion she feels. Gwen is a character that experiences many "obstacles to love", one of Georges Polti's thirty-six dramatic situations. Because of certain events in her life, previous to the life she leads in the gardens of the estate, Gwen never acquired any sort of confidence within herself, no love for herself. She "is clearly a lonely woman, never having experienced love of any sort" and because of this, she "longs for human contact: emotional and physical"(Sawka). Having had no true experiences with love growing up, even with her own mother, it is no wonder she feels she will never find love.

One very significant obstacle to love Gwen encounters is her lack of confidence. She often feels sad, lonely and as if a dead flower possesses more beauty than herself. This yields way to having no chance at love. Her mother seems most responsible for her insecurities because she would ask Gwen, "Why are you such an idiot?" (Humphreys 44) or say to her, "At least you have beautiful hair" (Humphreys 28). Some people may be able to brush off comments like those of Gwen's mother, but Gwen could not. At one point in the novel, Helen Humphreys makes Gwen's insecurities so obvious when Gwen asks her friend Jane about how she looks and almost starts to cry because she feels so unattractive (58). So hearing negative comment after negative comment has taken a toll on Gwen's life. Aside from the verbal harassment, rarely did her mother display any sort of physical affection towards Gwen. She tells us the only time her mother touched her was when her mother "rubbed [her] chest with liniment...when she spanked [her]...[and] when she slapped [her] hand away from the cakes at tea" (Humphreys 28). So it is no wonder why Ms. Davis has difficulty finding love when she was never given any as a child. She was never given an opportunity to experience love or build confidence and as a result, she can not exactly just go out and find love for herself.

Gwen finds a considerable amount of "comfort in the weight of her massive volume of Ellen Willmott's Genus Rosa, which she sets on top of her chest and imagines is the weight of a lover"(Sawka). Her two friends, Jane and Captain Raley are the two people who help Gwen find love. Jane helps Gwen find love within her, and both Raley and Jane share love with Gwen. Gwen develops a close friendship with Jane, a younger women who works for Gwen in the garden, but also, she seems to develop a different sort of relationship with a Captain Raley. Helen Humphreys leads her readers to think Gwen and Raley fall for each other by adding in small clues every once in a while. Gwen once imagined the weight of The Genus Rosa was Raley lying on top of her. Also, while in a quite room alone with Raley, Gwen says, "I gently push a lock of hair away from [his eyes], the way my mother once brushed the rain from my forehead. And he lets me" (Humphreys 93). This action of Gwen's is surprising because Helen Humphreys introduced her as the most shy, insecure women so even the slightest bit of human contact she has, even as small as her action of pushing a man's hair to the side of his face, is a breakthrough: something so unexpected yet lovely. Even more exciting, is when Gwen says "I touch his lips, gently, so gently, and then I kiss him. I kiss him and he lets me. Then he kisses me back. We push against each other..." (Humphreys 195). At this point, it seems as though one can not deny their love for each other. Soon after, however, Humphreys reveals to us that Raley was in love with his friend Peter who recently passed. This becomes one of the most shocking events in the novel because just when Gwen seems to discover true love, she finds out it isn't exactly what she thought it was. Though Gwen never seemed to have the best of luck with love, her relationship with Raley still taught Gwen to love. They still loved each other. So in the end, she still overcame many obstacles to love. She opened herself to her friend Jane, and to a man: Captain Raley.

Without a doubt, Helen Humphreys has successfully used Georges Polti's "obstacles to love" in her novel "The Lost Garden" in order to make for a more interesting main character. One feels more compelled to read on to discover the outcome of Gwen's confusing, insecure, and at first, loveless life. Watching Gwen break down those "obstacles to love" is one of the greatest aspect of Humphreys novel.

Apologia

Helen Humphreys' novel, "The Lost Garden" tells the story of a young horticulturist who leaves London, England during "a period of intense bombing" (Johnson) to work in the gardens of an old estate in the Devon countryside. There she forms two very close bonds with a man and a woman, both of whom become more important figures in her life than her own mother. This novel has been named "The National Bestseller" of its time, won itself a spot in the Canada Reads selection of books of 2003, and has been named A New York Times Notable Book of the Year (Chemin). A significant book in the canon of Canadian literature, “The Lost Garden” would quite possibly improve the impression all its readers have of Canadian literature.

Much attention should be paid to this novel and for certain, it would be an enjoyable to read for many ages. It appeals to all Canadians in a heritage sense with regards to the Second World War and though it is fiction, it displays very realistic situations that many people would have experienced first hand in the war. Today, one is taught in school about the war, what battles occurred and what they were like, but one does not learn much about how lovers of the soldiers were affected or how personal struggles their families would have experienced. This novel so brilliantly describes how relationships formed because of the war as well as how they were broken or lost because of it. Also, it is quite interesting how Helen Humphreys' uses many of her own relatives' experiences in the war in the novel. In an interview with Linda Richards, Helen says "Both my parents were in the Blitz in London...[and] my father's father was in the RAF and he disappeared in 1941 and they never found him again" (Richards) which parallels Jane's situation in the novel. So not only does Helen use "a lot of details from [her] parent's life,"(Richards), but she tells us of the same experiences many Canadians' would have some relation to whether it was their own experience during the war or a relative's. The book is a part of all Canadians' history which makes it so significant to all of their lives. More so, because Humphreys researched while she wrote (Richards), the history is so accurate and as a result, it makes her novel seem even more realistic that readers are able to take so much more from the book. As well, her descriptive writing helps readers to feel the emotion of the characters and the love, but also heartache they feel in their lives.

Disregarding history completely, this novel would still be most worthy of its high ranking in Canadian literature. The New York Times Book Review describes her work as "A finely wrought novel...Meticulous, lucid prose" and The Kingston Whig-Standard said no worse when describing it as "an ivory carving,...delicate and almost mythic in its symbolism and strength" (Humphreys). Helen's use of symbolism is so developed and well placed within this novel one could read her beautifully written, almost poetic story many times and discover more deeper meanings and decode more symbols each time. For example, each seasonal garden represents different themes within the novel such as faith, loss and longing(Humphreys 206) and even more symbols lie within each of those gardens, hiding amongst the peddles of the sad, drooping peonies or the white roses Raley dreams of which represent reverence and humility (Symbolism). Rhetorical questions about the many different themes in her novel and the extensive use metaphors make for more interesting writing to read and they reveals a tone which heightens the emotion in the novel and the emotion within the “sharply drawn” (Richards) characters. Overall, Humphreys describes the lost and forgotten gardens in her novel as "a very human metaphor...a metaphor for the generation of people that go to war" but also for the people that are left behind (Richards). Another huge symbol in “The Lost Garden” is The Genus Rosa. Gwen, the main character, often lies on her bedroom floor beneath the two volumes of this encyclopedia, "one of the definitive and most beautiful works on roses" (Willmott), "imagining that the weight of the books is that of the lover she has never had"(Livesey). Stuffed full of symbolism and poetic writing, “The Lost Garden is an almost impossibly beautiful book…with so strong a charge (Richards).

A story connected to Canadian history as well the author's family history, it is no wonder why this novel has become one of Canada’s favourite reads and so significant in the canon of Canadian literature. Helen Humphreys has created this "beautifully crafted and bittersweet coming of age story" (Humphreys) with such poetic sensibility. “The Lost Garden” should be on every Canadians’ ‘list of books to read’. Wonderful!

Personal Reflection

Reading Helen Humphreys' "The Lost Garden" has opened me up to a completely new world of Literature: Canadian. I was never opposed to reading Canadian novels but at the same time, I never headed straight for the 'Canadian Authors' section in the library or book store. Normally I would visit the science fiction or fantasy section searching for books about escaping to alternate worlds or traveling through time. Personal stories never seemed appealing to me, but after reading this beautifully descriptive and poetic novel, I feel more compelled to read autobiographical stories as well as Canadian literature in general.

I felt so many strong emotions while reading this novel; more emotions than I had ever felt before while reading a book. Possibly, this is because Helen Humphreys' novel is more realistic than a book based on warped time or being able to breathe underwater. Her characters seemed so realistic, and their emotions seeped from the pages of this elegant novel into myself, affecting me more than I imagined they ever would. This story, told through the eyes of Gwen Davis, gave me the wonderful opportunity to see directly into her thoughts, actions and strong emotional connection to the other characters. I never thought I would crack a huge smile while reading a book because a character displays great humour, or trying to calm myself from laughing so hard while reading in public, or even getting choked up because of certain circumstances within the novel. Tellingly, this novel, thanks to Helen Humphreys' beautiful writing and believable characters, I was able to feel as though I was in the story, observing every minute detail of the characters actions and thoughts. This book has inspired me to branch off into a wider range of subject matter and has taught me how effective writing can be in conveying emotion. It excites me!

Aside from my great discovery in finding enjoyment in a novel that is not fantasy based, this independent study, I feel, has greatly improved my ability to write in both a creative sense and technical sense. Especially in my four journal responses, the blog took off many pressures I usually feel when being assessed on my writing. Writing more freely and confidently, I was able to develop my own style of writing using my own voice. Also, I felt far less restricted which allowed me to play around with different writing styles. For example, I tried to vary my sentence length to emphasise certain ideas and to add variety. Some sentences were long. Some short. I never thought I would say this, but I feel as though writing in my spare time, if I ever find any spare time, will be something I do more often and enjoy. Because of this project, I feel compelled to read and write more. Actually!

The name of this project, an "Independent Study" automatically made me feel a little scared at the beginning, however, in the end, I realized I probably spent more time worrying about it than actually working on it. A more appropriate title may have been a "Discovery Project" because really, I discovered so much: the potential of Canadian literature, a new and satisfying subject matter to read, and my ability to improve as a writer by simply practicing it, like I have because of this independent study. Overall, this project has been satisfying to complete and I feel like I have achieved something great with a satisfying outcome.

Response 4

The last portion of the novel made my heart ache. Though it probably did not ache nearly as much as some of the characters in the book, my heart felt as though someone was applying a great deal of pressure on it. However, aside from the great pains in my heart, I was also warmed by the beauty in this novel.

I was pleased to see that both Gwen and Jane filled in their section of curtain. Gwen's idea was continuously creative because her section changed weekly containing different themes and Jane's section of curtain was beautiful and also innovative. What a wonderful idea it was to cut out a square of the once boring black curtains, creating a window into the world outside: one which curtains would usually hide from the inside world.

The symbolism Gwen uses in the garden becomes so significant in the last section of this novel. She finally figures out the "foreign script" she once didn't understand and finally understands the language of the garden. My favourite symbol from the garden is probably the peonies which represented loss and grief. Peonies are one of my favourite kinds of flowers and I too, along with Gwen have noticed how they fall over because they can not bear their own weight. Sadly, such an extravagant beautiful flower can not stand tall and last forever. I see so much truth in what Gwen has to say about these flowers. When she says, "I look at the heads of the peonies, fallen to ground under the weight of themselves, under the weight of a grief too heavy to bear. How they become their own grief and then can no longer bear it..." I can do nothing but agree with her and feel sad. It maded me feel so sad because it relates to the great relationship I thought Gwen and the Captain had that was filling with love but then it fell quickly, like the peonies in the garden fell as soon as they blossomed.

So I was correct in predicting loss as the next theme. Jane finally found out she lost Andrew in the war, and Gwen lost Raley. She lost him in love, but also in the war. He left with all of the other soldiers. I never wanted to believe he would be posted but it was no surprise to me when he was. What truly was a great surprise was Jane's death. I had no idea she was about to die. I found her skinny, frail body enough of a twist in the novel that I did not expect her to die off completely. This deeply saddened me for she was one of my favourite characters in the book. On page 206, I read, "Jane has discovered the garden backwards, with only the roses still in bloom. Faith to Loss to Longing," which further proved the gardens did represent themes present in the novel.

Helen Humphreys, I thought, added a fairly good ending to her novel. It made me think about gardens and life in a much different way. She ended the story but opened a door in my mind allowing the novel to go on in some sense. She makes the sad but interesting statement, "every story is a story about death," but then she lightens it with a hopeful statement, "but perhaps, if we are lucky, our story about death is also a story about love," which I believe is quite possible. Every moment of life is closer to death than the previous moment but love can grow while all of this occurs. Her ending was rather sad but quite beautiful. I loved on page 21o when she reminds me of the tree Gwen planted with Raley. It was nice to know that even though Raley was killed in the war, a part of him would live on through the life of that tree. She also reminded me of the beautiful image Raley shared with Gwen about throwing his coat into the sea with his friend.

"Raley was killed at Dieppe in 1942, but the tree Raley and I planted
continues to grow. Every spring it loses its fragrance to the earth in one
reckless gesture, like a young boy standing at the railing of a ship and
saying to his friend-- Let us take our coats off and throw hem in the sea."

Helen Humphreys retained much beauty within her sad ending which lightened the feeling of death. For example, the quote above was so sad but at the same time so beautiful and captivating. She made me see the beautiful parts of death and love in the end of this novel which made for a more attractive ending rather than one only describing the depressing feelings associated with death. At the end of her novel, she made me choked up but at the same time she made me smile. I felt sad about the deaths but happy about the love.

Throughout the novel, I made it quite clear how excited I was about Gwen and Raley's relationship. I thought for sure they would end up together even if he got posted in the war and then, when they were alone in the secret garden, they kissed! This was probably one of the most exciting moments in the book until Raley explained to Gwen that Peter was once his lover. However, I still feel as though Raley did love Gwen even if it wasn't in the same way I had hoped for. I am quite certain they still shared a very close relationship but if they didn't, well then I must say I would be highly disappointed with Helen Humphreys' misleading words.

This was a great read and I would be more than happy to recommend it to many people. It was beautifully written with lots of tasteful symbolism and imagery and there were many mysteries that kept me reading. The only direct connection to Canada was the fact that Raley came from Toronto, Ontario however, almost ever aspect of this novel can relate to Canada. I am sure many Canadians shared similar situations to those of Gwen, Raley and Jane. But most importantly, reading this book opened an entire new world of literature to me: Canadian. I now know I can enjoy a good book that was born in my home country that is nothing like the fantasy books I am used to reading.

Response 3

Though I hope no one finds them self at a great loss in this novel, I feel as though the next theme will be loss. Gwen's secret garden displayed or represented both of the other themes and now she tells me "The Garden of Loss blooms in May," leading me to think loss will become the central theme. Thankfully no one has recently experienced a great loss, however, Gwen, Captain Raley and Jane have all lost someone in their life so maybe Helen Humphreys' will further explain their losses rather than creating new ones. I hope so anyway.

Also, I believe Gwen is starting to solve the mystery of her secret garden. She tends to decode the meanings of the plant names, revealing clues to the readers. She has made it quite obvious that Ellen Willmott could have planted the secret garden because many of the plants' names contain the name Willmott. I love the way she analyzes all of the plants in the garden trying to pick out a deeper meaning. I really hope Gwen continues with this and solves the great mystery in the end. This allows for excellent description and deeper meanings to evolve.

I am also so glad to see that Gwen is getting along with all of the girls. Everyone seems so much closer than they did in the beginning of the novel. Gwen just needed to settle into her new home and not worry about making friends. If anything, it was the worrying that prevented her for so long from becoming close to the rest of the gardeners. I felt as though the girls sort of became one when they were ploughing the field. I could tell Gwen started to feel more connected to all of them when they stuck up for her while Mrs. Billings ("The Beetle") was harassing Gwen, speaking words such as "You don't own this place," and "You don't live here."

Soon after this ploughing event, May Queen came up with the fabulous idea of drawing on the curtains. I feel as though these curtains greatly symbolized the gardeners and Gwen coming together. Every representation of the girls was displayed together on the curtains: all but Jane's which I'm curious to find out about.

Response 2

I wish I could sprawl all of my thoughts onto this webpage in seconds so I could get back to reading this book right away! Within the last chapter so many exciting things have arisen.

First of all, it looks like Gwen and Captain Raley are going to fall for each. I am just thrilled at this thought for the two of them seem so well suited to each other. The possibility of this occurring became so obvious to me on page 93 when Captain Raley was speaking about lying next to a loved one when all of a sudden Gwen leaned over and caressed his hair! Oh my! This truly was a breakthrough for Gwen! I feel she finally let go. She then went on to explain how "the room [became] hot and it suddenly [became] hard to breathe," so that is a clear sign she has feelings for this charming man.

Another aspect of this novel I am curious to find out about is this "ghost" that keeps appearing and disappearing. At first Gwen only shrugs at the idea of this but now, in almost every chapter of the book this mysterious figure is either mentioned by Gwen or moving amongst the shadows of the buildings at night. Also, Gwen thinks of the ghost as the longing feeling she keeps experiencing. Maybe the ghost is just a feeling of emptiness rather than an actual figure running about the gardens or quite possibly it could be a man just grabbing a late night snack from the gardens. Who knows but I must find out!

I feel as though the theme has shifted from love to this sense of longing Gwen keeps speaking of. First she finds the rock in the secret garden with the word "longing" on it but then it really starts to affect her. I feel both themes are still present in the book because she is longing for love but this new theme seems to be affecting her more than love directly. For example, when Gwen is washing the dishes she explains how the word longing comes back with such force that she falls against the sink. Also, after thinking about Captain Raley, she says she thinks she might die of longing. She longs for this man!

Aside from her obvious love towards this man, I am quite pleased about the love that has grown between Gwen and Jane. Jane helps Gwen but Gwen also helps Jane. These two characters are indeed different from the other potatoes in the sack. I enjoyed the fact that Jane told Gwen she likes how she is complicated and not easily defined like the other girls.