The Animated Secret Garden

The Animated Secret Garden Is a 1991 Japanese anime, transposition of the novel The Secret Garden written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is the story of Mary Lennox, a little orphan who goes to live with her uncle in England after the death of her parents and who discovers a wonderful secret garden near the castle.

## Plot

After the death of her parents from a cholera epidemic, little Mary Lennox from far away India goes to live in Yorkshire in England, in the castle of her uncle Arcibald Crawen. Mary is initially a grumpy and spoiled girl and immediately clashes with Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper of the castle and commissioned by her uncle to give her an education worthy of a girl from a good family. Mary also makes the acquaintance of sweet Martha, the maid of the castle, who helps her to fit into the life of her new home, and of Dick, brother of Martha, a boy of her age who loves animals, who becomes her companion. of games and adventures.

The most extraordinary encounter, however, will be with the fortune teller and fortune teller Camilla, who lives in a remote place on the moor, banned from the community, feared and avoided by all. The first time Mary sees Camilla she almost mistakes her for her lost mother and a deep empathic relationship is immediately established between her and the young woman.

Over time Mary with the help of her friends begins to understand the rhythms of life in the castle and on the moor and gradually realizes that those places are permeated by great mysteries that everyone is aware of but which no one dares speak. What is the truth about the death of Lilias Craven, wife of Arcibald and aunt of Mary, which occurred under dark circumstances 10 years earlier? Is there really the "Secret Garden" that is talked about in the terrified whispers of the servants and to which all access is precluded? And whose is that desperate cry that echoes in the castle at night? But above all, who really is Camilla, "the witch", "the messenger of the devil", as she is nicknamed in the village? Why does she have a butterfly-shaped clasp identical to Mary's and which is the only memory of her mother? And what role did it play in the mysterious death of the young castellana?

The life of the castle and of the community has come to a halt after the terrible events of 10 years earlier, and Mary understands that only by revealing all these mysteries can life on the moor resume as before. But we must not ask for the secrets to be revealed, as Camilla will tell her one day. All the mysteries will reveal themselves at the appropriate time.

## The main characters

Mary Lennox

At the beginning of the story he is about 9 years old. He lived in India until his parents died of a cholera epidemic. She has always been neglected by her parents, too busy with business and social life and practically raised by servants. Upon her arrival in England in the castle of her uncle to whom she was entrusted, at first she struggles to fit in and to follow the strict discipline of Mrs. Maddlok, the housekeeper. However, she will become very friends with the maid Martha, with Dick, her brother, with Camilla, the mysterious fortune-teller and with Colin, the cousin who lives in the castle hidden by everyone. After having found the access to the mysterious "Secret Garden", Mary and her friends will decide to recover it by planting flowers and taking care of the plants, to make it return to its former glory.

Martha

She is the second of twelve brothers and works as a maid at Arcibald Craven Castle. Very sweet and patient with everyone (except with his little brother Dick to whom he does not forgive any pranks) he will become a great friend of Mary and will help her to fit into the life of the castle and the troubled friendship with her cousin Colin.

Dick

He has a deep and intense relationship with the nature of the moor, even coming to understand and talk to animals. Together with Colin, he will become a great friend of Mary and her companion in adventures and will help her to understand the great mysteries that surround those places.

Colin

Son of Lilias and Arcibald Craven and cousin of Mary, he lives in the castle immobilized in his bed and unable to walk due to a serious illness. He believes he is hated by his father for being the cause of his mother's death at his birth and the sense of guilt due to this fact causes him to punish himself by preventing himself from healing. With Mary's help, Colin will discover the true cause of his mother Lilias' death by regaining self-confidence and finally being able to walk.

Camilla

A great friend of Mary, she is nicknamed by the priest and the villagers "the witch" and "the messenger of the devil". Expelled from the community and isolated from everyone, she lives on the edge of the moor collecting medicinal herbs and reading the future in the cards. Fifteen years earlier when she was about 10 years old, after her mother's death she had been welcomed to the castle and had become Lilias Craven's lady-in-waiting and his great friend despite the difference in age. After the mysterious death of Mary's young aunt, she had been thrown out because she was wrongly held responsible for the tragic event. Despite everyone's ostracism, she continues to live on the moor, perpetually awaiting the return of her fiancé, who has also been chased from the castle, to whom she has promised to wait for him.

Lilias Craven

Young wife of Arcibald Craven Mary's uncle, she died ten years before the beginning of the story giving birth to Colin prematurely, after a mysterious incident in the "Secret Garden". After her death, life in the castle will never be the same and her husband, desperate, will forever block access to the "Secret Garden" by hiding the key underground.