No one really knows the exact origin of fairy tales, in fact they seem
             to have originated in that timeless realm of their subjects (Harischandra
             Pp). J.R.R. Tolkien describes the realm of fairy tales as "wide and deep
             and high and filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are
             found thereâ€beauty that is an enchantmentâ€there it is dangerousâ€to ask too
             many questions, lest the gate should be shut and the keys be lost" (Tolkien
             pp). Fairy tales generally have elements of good and evil, often portrayed
             by evil stepmothers and fairy godmothers, and usually a fair maiden as the
             protagonist. Burnett modernized the fairy tale motif in "The Secret
             Garden." Rather than the female being rescued by the male, here it is the
             The main protagonist in Burnett's story is Mary Lennox. She has been
             sent to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven, at Misselthwaite Manor in
             Yorkshire, England. Mary was said to be the most disagreeable-looking
             child ever seen, "little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair
             and a sour expressionâ€her hair was yellow and her face was yellow because
             she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another"
             (Burnett pp). Her parents found her too tiresome and hideous to spend time
             with, so Mary was cared for by an Indian servant until her parents died
             during a cholera outbreak. She was then sent to the Cravens. However, the
             Craven household is not any more loving than her own was. Mary's uncle
             cannot bear to look at his son because he reminds him of his wife, who died
             shortly after Colin's birth. Thus, Colin, like Mary was, is looked after
             by servants and rarely sees his father.
             Two protagonists, one female and one male, who have near identical
             backgrounds, Mary and Colin are the Cinderellas' of Burnett's tale. Both
             are unloved, both are sickly, both are lonely, a
             ...