The Secret Garden · Chapter
When the Sun Went Down explained
Colin, with the help of Dickon and Mary, plants a rose in the secret garden as the sun sets, demonstrating his newfound strength and determination.
What happens
Colin, with the help of Dickon and Mary, plants a rose in the secret garden as the sun sets, demonstrating his newfound strength and determination. He stands and walks without support, defying Ben Weatherstaff's earlier doubts, and declares the garden his own, insisting on secrecy. Ben reveals he has secretly tended the garden for years out of loyalty to Colin's mother.
Themes in this chapter
Transformation and Growth
Colin's physical and emotional transformation is symbolized by planting a rose and standing on his own feet.
Healing Power of Nature
The garden and its 'Magic' directly enable Colin's recovery, as emphasized by Dickon and Mary.
Secrecy and Discovery
Ben Weatherstaff's secret tending of the garden and Colin's insistence on keeping the garden a secret reinforce this theme.
Characters to notice
- Colin Craven
Stands, walks, and digs for the first time, planting a rose and asserting his health and authority.
- Dickon Sowerby
Supports Colin physically and emotionally, encouraging him with the 'Magic' of nature.
- Mary Lennox
Watches with breathless interest, silently urging Colin on with her mantra 'You can do it!'
- Ben Weatherstaff
Reveals his secret care of the garden over the years and expresses gruff admiration for Colin's progress.
Key passages
“Set it in the earth thysel’ same as th’ king does when he goes to a new place.”
Plant it yourself, like a king claiming new land.
Ben Weatherstaff encourages Colin to plant the rose as a symbolic act of ownership and renewal.
“Tha’s doin’ Magic thysel’. It’s same Magic as made these ’ere work out o’ th’ earth.”
You are performing the same magic that makes plants grow from the soil.
Dickon explains that Colin's own will and effort are part of nature's transformative power.
“I’m going to walk to that tree. I’m going to be standing when Weatherstaff comes here.”
I will walk to that tree and be standing when Weatherstaff arrives.
Colin asserts his determination to prove his strength to Ben Weatherstaff.