The Secret Garden is the story of a young English girl called Mary who has been spoiled her whole life. After her parents die, she is now a 10-year-old orphan and is sent to live with her mysterious uncle at his estate in Yorkshire. At first, Mary does not even know how to dress herself and do things herself because she is used to being waited on her whole life. She is mostly ignored and spends her time wandering in the gardens. There are many secrets and rumours to her uncle’s estate including one of a mysterious garden that is locked up on the day of the death of her aunt and the year of Mary and her cousin Colin’s birth. Mary will discover the garden’s secrets which will bring her happiness and save her cousin, Colin, from an illness he has. I came across this quotation in the nineteenth chapter of the book when the doctor was visiting Colin.
Much more surprising things can happen to anyone who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable, determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place (p. 170)
This is a meaningful quotation because it mentions that you have the power to control your mindset by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. I think that the final sentence, ‘Two things cannot be in one place’, means that both positive and negative thoughts cannot be in your mind at the same time because just by thinking of one, slowing removes the opposite. This particular copy of The Secret Garden that I read is a hard-backed copy that was given to my mum on her 9th birthday by her grandmother. It was a special gift because it was a hard time in her family’s life. Her single mother and six children were poor homeless living in Oxford and were going between friends and relative’s homes. My mum was a shy child during this time and receiving this book was a special gift which also connects to the quotation I chose. I first read this book about five years ago and it has lasted in our family ever since.