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.
Welcome!
This blog is not a summary of Helen Humphreys' great novel, The Lost Garden, but rather it is an exploration of themes, characters, confict, and the poetic style of writing. Do not let this blog influence your opinion of the novel for that is your's to discover on your own. Only consider what I have to say about this great Canadian novel.
I will dig even deeper into Helen Humphreys novel and analyse her characters so closely I will know them as well as I know myself. In this blog, I made many predictions about the novel, and as I read on, I either learned I was correct, or incorrect (which was disappointing for certain aspects). This blog will be a window into the symbolism, the deep and troubled characters, and the beautiful gardens the "potato girls" work on.
I will dig even deeper into Helen Humphreys novel and analyse her characters so closely I will know them as well as I know myself. In this blog, I made many predictions about the novel, and as I read on, I either learned I was correct, or incorrect (which was disappointing for certain aspects). This blog will be a window into the symbolism, the deep and troubled characters, and the beautiful gardens the "potato girls" work on.
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