Tom's Midnight Garden

Hatty is the Victorian girl whom Tom meets and befriends in the midnight garden. She is described as having a “bright and steady” gaze and “red cheeks and long black hair” (72). Like Tom, Hatty is lonely. As Tom gets to know her, he also discovers that she has survived significant trauma. Orphaned at a young age, she was taken in by the Melbourne family but never accepted as an integral part of it. She is ignored or teased by her cousins and is treated cruelly by her aunt. Though Hatty is a naturally active and curious child, she is confined to the house and garden, preventing her from meeting new people or seeing new places. In addition to these restrictions, Hatty is conscious that many activities she enjoys, such as tree climbing, are regarded as “unladylike” in Victorian society.

Despite her challenging circumstances, Hatty demonstrates resilience, transcending harsh reality through her rich imagination. Tom realizes that while her fantastical stories are often invented, they contain a grain of truth. Her claims of being imprisoned by an evil aunt reflect her physical and social confinement. Furthermore, while she is not an actual princess, “it [i]s true that she ha[s] made this garden a kind of kingdom” (80). Hatty expresses her longing for freedom in her fixation on the river and the many places to which it flows. During Tom’s visits to the garden, she matures from a girl to a young woman. Her courageous skating expedition to Ely on the frozen river symbolizes how she seizes the greater freedoms this allows. While Hatty continues to value Tom’s friendship, he cannot follow her into adulthood, meaning that he gradually fades from her view.

In the present timeline, Hatty is the landlady, Mrs. Bartholomew, having returned to her old home after a happy marriage to Barty. Tom does not guess her identity since, through the other characters, he gains the impression that she is “an unsociable old woman of whom people [a]re afraid” (102). When Tom finally learns who she is, it emerges that Mrs. Bartholemew is the source of the midnight garden. The manifestation of her dreams represents the human ability to time travel through memory, developing the theme of The Impact of History on the Present. It also demonstrates that her childhood experiences remain vividly alive, even as she grows older. While Mrs. Bartholomew is “old and small and wrinkled, with white hair,” Tom recognizes her dark eyes “and the way they look[] at him” (214). The novel’s ending, as they renew their friendship, emphasizes that, although elderly, Mrs. Bartholomew is still the little girl Tom knew. Her character serves as a reminder that adults were once children.

Tom is reluctantly sent to stay with his aunt Gwen and uncle Alan when his parents want to protect him from his brother Peter’s measles. His separation from his home and relocation to an apartment that lacks a garden and other children is the novel’s inciting incident, and the author gently satirizes Tom’s subsequent resentment of the Kitsons. While he wants to argue that the Kitsons are unsuitable guardians, Tom fails to think of valid reasons to support his claim. Alan does not beat him, and Gwen is “worse, because she’s a child-lover, and she’s kind” (3).

The Kitsons are a well-meaning couple but inexperienced in entertaining children. Gwen, in particular, tries to create a welcoming atmosphere for Tom, cooking rich meals and preparing his room with books and fresh flowers. Her desire to make her nephew happy is emphasized when she smiles “at him, begging him with her eyes to like staying here” (6). However, her efforts go largely unappreciated.

Alan’s good intentions are demonstrated when he buys Tom a postcard of the tower of Ely Cathedral, attempting to compensate for his nephew’s inability to climb it. At the same time, he is portrayed as overly rigid and authoritarian, exemplified in his insistence that Tom must stay in bed for 10 hours, despite his inability to sleep. Alan’s character illustrates The Contrast Between Childhood and Adulthood, as his conversations with Tom often end in mutual frustration. His disbelief in the fluidity of time represents how adults frequently become distanced from the world of childhood and the imagination.

Abel is the Melbourne family’s gardener in the Victorian era. He is described as “a large-framed young man, with a weather-reddened face, and eyes the colour of the sky itself” (50). His weathered complexion and sky-blue eyes highlight the gardener’s connection to the natural world.

Abel is the first person whom Tom sees in the midnight garden. The gardener’s failure to react to Tom’s presence suggests that he cannot see him. However, it later emerges that Abel ignores Tom because he believes him to be an evil supernatural entity. The Bible in the gardener’s shed and his prayers asking for protection from the devil indicate that he is a devout Christian.

Abel’s ability to see Tom suggests that he remains open to the imaginative realm of childhood. Meanwhile, his actions demonstrate a deep affection and compassion for Hatty. As Grace Melbourne’s employee, he feels unable to intervene in her cruel treatment of her niece. However, he does what he can to prevent Hatty from being punished, quickly mending the greenhouse pane she breaks and trying to conceal her role in the invasion of the geese. Other than Tom, he is Hatty’s only reliable ally.

Abel’s shifting view of Tom in the novel reflects his realization that they both care about Hatty. At first, the gardener assumes that Tom is a malign influence on Hatty and intends to lead her into trouble. However, his perception changes when he registers Tom’s genuine concern for Hatty after she falls from a tree. Eventually, he progresses to winking at Tom, demonstrating his approval of the transformative power of Tom and Hatty’s friendship.

Grace is the novel’s antagonist. Hatty’s wealthy, upper-class aunt reluctantly takes her niece in when she is orphaned at a young age. However, “her charity [is] as cold as her heart” (96), as she makes it clear that she does not consider Hatty a worthy member of the household. Grace demonstrates the devastating effects of adult power when it is abused. She is emotionally cruel to Hatty, referring to her as a “charity-child” and a “pauper.” Raising her sons to believe that they are superior to their cousin, she does not intervene when they alternately ignore or tease her. Hatty’s initial claim that her aunt keeps her a prisoner seems improbable, but it is not far from the truth. Grace ensures Hatty’s continued isolation by confining her niece to the house and garden, claiming that she is “unfit” for polite society.

James, Edgar, and Hubert are Hatty’s cousins. During Hatty’s childhood, the bond between the Melbourne boys only heightens her loneliness as she is excluded from their activities. The boys’ freedom, as they roam the garden with a shotgun and “swarm” Tricksy, sharply contrasts with the restrictions placed on Hatty, who is scolded for muddying her clothes and for “unladylike” behavior.

Edgar shares his mother’s cruel and spiteful traits. He enjoys taunting and bullying Hatty and deliberately gets her into trouble, revealing that she is responsible for the geese entering the garden. James is more thoughtful and kinder, leading Tom to hope that they can be friends. As a boy, he comforts Hatty when she falls, but he soon forgets her, returning to activities with his brothers. As Hatty approaches adulthood, James is instrumental in widening her social circle. He secures his mother’s reluctant agreement by pointing out that if Hatty does not find a husband, she will remain her aunt’s responsibility. Hatty’s outings with James lead to her meeting her future husband, Barty.