<i>The Secret Garden</i> and the Gaze

  • Emma Hayes Deakin University

Abstract

Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden (1911) suggests that acts of looking are seminal to the communication of ideals surrounding gender in the text. The acts of looking – which this paper refers to as the gaze – to which Mary Lennox introduces her cousin Colin Craven direct him toward a model of masculinity characterised by its emphasis on power but, in doing so, disempowers her in her agency in the story.

Author Biography

Emma Hayes, Deakin University
Emma Hayes is a PhD candidate at Deakin University, Australia. Her research focuses on representations of place – notably, representations of liminality – in Golden Age texts for children. Emma also works as a sessional tutor in Literary Studies at Deakin University, and has led tutorials in Children's Literature units focusing on both historical and contemporary texts.
Published
2016-07-21
Issue
Vol. 19 No. 1 (2016)
Section
Emerging Voices
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