[The Duchess of Mint]

Dear Secret Garden Fans,

SPOILER ALERT!




Lily Craven is usually portrayed as being a slightly strong-willed, super beautiful, ladylike type of woman, who is stereotypically nurturing, calming, etc. That portrayal sometimes makes me want to be sick!

I prefer to see Lily Craven as a strong-willed, unconventional woman. She fights against her sister's prejudiced ways, and she invites Archie to eat with her, when other women would just let him walk on past. She is playful, and she allows herself and Archie to indulge in their "Knight and Lady" fantasy, even though she knows that she's really much more adventurous than a lady who always needs to be rescued. She loves Archie and Colin more than anything, even though Colin hasn't been born yet, and she is so daring that she doesn't WANT to leave the tree, even though her adventurousness takes her away from Archie and Colin. She is frustrated with her husband, because she can't stand the way by which he's destroying his life. She doesn't like the fact that he's a deadbeat dad who won't bother to care for the child that they both planned for. She is super playful, wild, and daring, and she pushes almost every envelope which is thrown at her by conventional society.

When you think of "The Secret Garden," which type of Lily do you envision? Do you see an entirely different type of Lily?

Thanks in advance for your participation in the poll, and for your replies.

sl

[Melindaisy]

Your description of Lily is pretty much how I see her and how I tried to play her.
Because the small amount of dialogue she has is with Rose, we get to see Lily in juxtaposition with Rose, who is more a typical "lady" of the day concerned with what society thinks, and more worried about parties and dresses than loving her child.
It is only because Lily transcends this that she is able to reach out and help Mary, Colin, and ultimately Archie and Neville too.

[ConverseSneaker]

I can definately see your idea with Lily and I like it. It's a new twist on the classic Lily.


The only thing I would like to add is how lonely and well, ghostly Lily's ghost must be. Watching your husband stay gloomy and miserable, the garden being locked up, your child wasting away must have not been a pleasant ten years worth of haunting. I think she uses Mary and pushes her to where she needs to be to set the wheels in motion and being transforming them all again and then of course, she does the final bit by helping Colin walk and coming to Archie, leading him back to the garden.