Demonstrate the persistence of Wordsworthian ideal of country folk Essay

Demonstrate the persistence of Wordsworthian ideal of country folk, childhood and natural education in the two texts that you have chosen. Critical Essay by Rachel Gowland. Wordsworth, as a poet of the romantic era, had several themes, which contribute to this title. This essay will be looking at these themes and discovering whether they have any relevance in the texts studied. These are, the Secret Garden and Goodnight Mr Tom. The preference for rural life and its people was at the height of fashion at the time of Wordsworth. Social reformers such as Rousseau talked about the â€Å"noble savage† and the rustic idyll was an accepted theme for artistes and poets alike. While the social revolutions may have changed by the time the texts were written, the ideals are still continued to some degree. Wordsworth had many sympathies with the victims and vagrants that wandered in the cities and the countryside. Many of his short poems were portraits of simple rural people, intended to illustrate the nature of these folk and their basic wisdom. Poems such as Michael (1880) have the characters almost fused with their natural surroundings. In Michael, patience and tenderness are the key features of the old man’s character. There is strength and a â€Å"natural affinity to the hills and fields in which he lived and worked.† 1 The Secret garden is almost a glorification of rustic folk and their simple way of life. Mary Lennox first encounters Martha, who gives her glimpses of a simple life quite alien to her. â€Å"There’s twelve of us an’ my father only gets sixteen shilling a week. I can tell you my mothers put to it to get porridge for ’em all. They tumble about on th’ moor an’ play there all day an’ mother says th’ air of th’ moor fattens ’em.† (Page 32) 2 Through Martha, she begins to emerge from her egotistical former self. She starts to think about others rather than herself. â€Å"Thank you. She said it stiffly because she was not used to thanking people or noticing that they did things for her† (Page 71) 2 Martha appears a particularly content and dignified individual, who takes pride in her work and her family. She treats Mary as an equal in many ways and is amazed by Mary’s colonial pride. Martha’s plain good sense is treated with respect throughout the book and her dialogues with Mary often bring about great changes in her young charge’s attitudes. â€Å"It was not the custom that Mistress Mary should do anything but stand and allow herself to be dressed like a doll, but before she was ready for breakfast, she began to suspect that her life at Missthlewaite Manor would end by teaching her a number of things quite new to her.† (Page 32) 2 Martha’s is described as an â€Å"untrained Yorkshire rustic† who was not trained to be subservient and had no notion that she should be. In this way she becomes an emboldened character, who helps Mary to grow through her plain sense. Martha was obviously trained well by her mother who also is a rustic woman. She is almost the guiding hand in the background, helping Mary, and later Colin, to transform. Her wisdom shines through Martha and Dickon and all the principles held in family life. Hers is the good mother, the mother earth in Wordsworth’s poems. The respect for her and her kind shines through in the text as it does in the poems, through the voice of the narrator. She is again a considered equal in the narrator’s eyes to all who she comes into contact with. This makes it possible for her to contact Colin’s father and speak to him about his charges. † I sent for you today because Mrs Sowerby said I ought to see you. † (Page 112) 2 The idea of simple sense and country wisdom is proved right in the text. It is the uneducated, untrained folk in the text who can see through the external ugliness of Mary and Colin’s characters to the beauty that lies beneath. And it is the country folk who unlock these children from their past to an almost redemption. This celebration of rural life and the people can also be seen in Good night Mr Tom. The events that occur in Will’s life in the city are overcome by the calm everyday life of the country and its folk. The main character in Wills life is Tom who exudes this country wisdom and good sense. Will takes to heart Tom’s thoughts when persevering with a new task like learning to ride a bicycle. He could hear his Dad’s words over and over again in his head. † Takes yer time, everythin’ ‘as its own time†. (Page 291) 3 Tom guides Will through his life events, helping him to come to terms with all that life throws at him. This is in marked contrast to the ideas of the psychologist, Mr Stelton, whom they both encounter in the hospital when Will is rescued. Tom’s ideas of healing through fresh air, hard work and simple country life are in conflict with the ideas of analysis and treatment. Even the appearance of Tom as a gruff, solid but warm-hearted individual is different to the description of Mr Stelton. â€Å"Tom was well into his sixties, a healthy robust, stockily built man with a head of thick white hair.† (Page 10) 3 In contrast to â€Å"The man was going bald and the hair that remained was of a thin texture. His skin was as white and shiny as a cloistered nun. He gave Tom a bland smile.† (Page 217) 3 The psychologist’s educated ideas appear foolish in response to Tom’s good sense. As in The Secret Garden the figures of authority and city education are made to look ignorant in response to the wisdom of characters such as Mrs Sowerby and Tom. The characters in the village of Little Weirworld are full of warmth and sincerity, with a genuine sense of community that includes everyone in their midst. Their simple pleasures and way of life helps them maintain a sense of calm dignity and practical sense, even in time of crisis. When Mrs Hartridge received a telegram, it was with care and concern that the villagers arranged for someone to be there when she received it. This contrasts sharply with the lack of interest shown by the people in the district where Will originally came from. â€Å"She keeps herself to herself. Bit of a madam. Thinks she’s a bleedin’ saint if you’ll excooth me languid. She does night shifts so I don’t never see her. I live next door yer see. Mind you, I don’t arf hear some funny noises. Very funny.† (Page 203) 3 Tom is ridiculed by the city folk for his accent and intention, but they appear very flippant and foolish when the full story is uncovered. â€Å"I’d like to git my hands on that women†, the warden growled furiously. His pride had been shaken badly. It was embarrassing to have them think he didn’t know his job.† (Page 207) 3 Again, it is the simple country folk in the text who can see through the external ugliness and weakness to the beauty that lies beneath. And it is the country folk who unlock Will from his past. Wordsworth and his contemporaries, viewed childhood as a time of great innocence and joy. A time when new experiences are welcomed and emotions and senses are at there most responsive There was a time when meadow, grove and stream The earth and every common sight, To me did seem Apparelled in celestial light, The glory and freshness of a dream. (Line 1-5) 4 They viewed the child as a redeemer of the adult with their innocence and freedom of mind and spirit. In the Secret Garden, the children can be seen to hold the key to all wisdom. Martha plays an important part in helping Mary to grow into a whole human being. â€Å"He wouldn’t like me.† Said Mary in her stiff, cold little way. No-one does.† Marta looked reflective again. â€Å"How does tha’ like thyself?† (Page 61) 2 In the same way Mary then passes on her newfound wisdom to Colin and they both look to Dickon to expand their experience. It is Dickon who becomes the real redeemer. He exudes healthy childhood wholesomeness. â€Å"A boy was sitting under a tree, with his back against it. He was a funny looking boy about twelve. He looked very clean and his nose turned up and his cheeks were as red as poppies and never had Mistress Mary seen such round and such blue eyes in any boys face.† (Page 92) 2 He makes Colin believe that he can get well and walk. His positive calm attitude clears the gloom from Colin’s mind and he begins to believe in himself. â€Å"When tha’ stops bein’ afraid tha’lt stand on ’em,† Dickon said with renewed cheer. â€Å"An’ tha’lt stop bein’ afraid in a bit.† (Page 206) 2 Once Mary and Colin finally learn to become children again they can then redeem Colin’s father. He begins to wonder whether he can have a relationship with his son but has many doubts. Colin changes this by becoming a positive character that is not afraid of the future or his health any more. In this way he heals himself and also his father. â€Å"It seemed actually like the laughter of young things, the uncontrollable laughter of children who were trying not to be heard.† (Page 272) 2 And â€Å"He said it all so like a healthy boy-his face flushed, his words tumbling over each other in his eagerness- that Mr Craven’s shook with unbelieving joy.† (Page 274) 2 The child as a redeemer can also be seen as a theme in Good Night Mr Tom. Will looks at Tom through the eyes of a child and as such does not see the gruff exterior that the villagers have seen for the forty years since his wife died. Will brings memories of his wife flooding back but with them comes healing. â€Å"Tom stood behind him and stared over his head into the shop. He remembered how Rachel used to spin with delight in there.† (Page 57) 3 Tom learns how to socialise again through necessity and becomes a member of the village community once more. Mrs Fletcher looked steadily into his eyes. His forehead had lost its old furrowed look. The deep pitted wrinkles had softened outwards. Behind his scowling manner was a kindly old man and if it hadn’t been for the arrival of a rather insipid little boy, she might never have known, nor might anyone else for that matter.† (Page134) 3 He responds emotionally to Will in ways that have been closed off for a long time. â€Å"He called me Dad,† he whispered croakily into the darkness. † He called me Dad.† And although he felt overwhelmed with happiness, the tears ran silently down his face. † (Page 288) 3 In the same way, Will has his own redeemer in the shape of Zach, who teaches him to like himself and believe in his own abilities. As Martha and Dickon, Zach is a positive thinker who believes anything is possible. Will had lived all his life with criticism and blame, and Zach and Tom gave him back his self-esteem. â€Å"Willie almost dropped the clod of earth he was holding. No one had ever said they liked him. He’d always accepted that no one did. Even his mum said she only liked him when he was quiet and still. For her to like him he had to make himself invisible.† (Page 77) 3 In this way both Mary Lennox and Will are similar, in that they have to learn to love themselves before they can be loved in return or learn to respond to others around them. It seems clear that the theme of natural education is persistent in both texts. In the Secret Garden there is a distinct lack of formal education in all the children encountered. Mary had a series of governesses but learnt by her own volition, because she chose too. Her education almost begins again when she reaches Misstlethwaite Manor. Through Martha and Dickon she learns how to explore, imagine and play. She begins to discover the simple pleasures of play. â€Å"The skipping rope was a wonderful thing. She counted and skipped, and skipped and counted, until her cheeks were quite red, and she was more interested than she had ever been since she was born.† (Page 71) 2 At first alone and then with Colin she explores the garden and her curiosity and thirst for knowledge begins. The awakening of the garden itself mirrors her awakening. They learn through this almost holistic approach, that through the garden and nature they become physically, socially and emotionally aware. Again it is Dickon who inspires them with his positiveness and his knowledge. Dickon, has little formal education but has a wealth of knowledge which appears to be much more useful than the facts leant in a classroom. He is a pure Wordsworthian invention. â€Å"Do you understand everything birds say?† said Mary. â€Å"I think I do and they think I do,† he said. â€Å"I’ve lived on th’ moor with ’em so long. I’ve watched ’em break shell an’ come out an’ fledge an’ learn to fly ‘an begin to sing, till I think I’m one of ’em.† (Page 95) 2 His mind is unfettered and unspoilt by a formal education, especially one that almost encourages passive learning i.e., the vessels to be filled approach, over active exploration and discovery. Mary and later Colin learn to become independent and active thinkers. â€Å"Colin saw it all, watching each change as it took place. Every morning he was brought out and every hour of each day when it didn’t rain he spent in the garden. He would lie on the grass â€Å"watching things growing,† he said. â€Å"If you watched long enough you could see the buds unsheathe themselves.† (Page221) 2 This positive attitude to learning and education can also be seen in Goodnight Mr Tom. Will has a formal education, but has to grow in spirit to progress in the mind. Again it’s the positiveness of the people and surroundings that help him to a new confidence. â€Å"We’ll begin this evening,† he said sharply. â€Å"That do?† â€Å"Wot?† â€Å"Learnin’ to read and write. I’ll teach you to write yer own name for a beginnin’.† (Page 102) 3 His times of growth and change correspond to when he is with nature. He makes friends and begins to learn how to interact whilst picking blackberries. He becomes more relaxed and confident whilst on holiday by the sea. Again there is this almost holistic approach as Will improves physically, mentally and emotionally. He is able to express himself through art and then acting as his confidence grows. Finally through nature and physical expenditure he is able to come to terms with the grief and loss in his life. In both texts the children are changed by the country folk around them and the ideals and life that they uphold. These rustic folk become educators and healers through their wisdom and plain good sense. The children bloom through a newfound confidence and most importantly an acceptance of oneself. Once this happens they can then consciously and unconsciously redeem the adults around them. In these ways the Wordsworthian ideals are prevalent throughout the texts. Bibliography ENGLISH ROMANTIC VERSE;PENGUIN BOOKS;1986. FROM BLAKE TO BYRON; BORIS FORD; PENGUIN BOOKS; 1982. THE SECRET GARDEN; FRANCES HODGESON BURNETT; PENGUIN CLASSICS; 1995. GOODNIGHT MR TOM; MICHELLE MAGORIAN; PUFFIN BOOKS; 1981. ROMANTIC CRITICAL ESSAYS; DAVID BROMWICH; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS; 1987. BEYOND ROMANTICISM; ROUTLEDGE; 1992. LITERATURE, EDUCATION AND ROMANTICISM; ALLAN RICHARDSON; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS; 1984.