Why was Mary so offended when...
...Martha thought she was a native of India? I never understood this part
shareI think it's because she views the natives as totally beneath her. In the book there are a few passages near the beginning that make me think this. For example she's not at all sad ther Ayah has died she's just mad that no one came to her. Also in the movie the way she behaves toward Martha the way she calls her servant. When she first arrives at the house in the movie she is so angry because of the "dissrespect" she feels everyone is giving her. In India the only natives she knew were servants and not worth much.
shareIn Colonial India, a lot of the natives were labourers or servants. So Martha saying that Mary was a native was like saying she was a common servant-girl.
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There is probably a racial element too. In the novel, when Mary becomes so offended, what Martha actually said was, "I thought you was a black."
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I don't come from hell. I came from the forest.
Here's the quote from the book:
Mary did not even try to control her rage and humiliation. "You thought I was a native! You dared! You don't know anything about natives! They are not people--they're servants who must salaam to you. You know nothing about India. You know nothing about anything!"
She was in such a rage and felt so helpless before the girl's simple stare, and somehow she suddenly felt so horribly lonely and far away from everything she understood and which understood her, that she threw herself face downward on the pillows and burst into passionate sobbing. She sobbed so unrestrainedly that good-natured Yorkshire Martha was a little frightened and quite sorry for her.
You can actually read the entire book here:
http://www.online-literature.com/burnett/secretgarden/1/
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It's so stimulating being your hat!
I think she reacted like this because she did indeed realize she was in fact Indian and therefor completely alone. It was the only culture she knew since she was born and raised there. And it was a culture with a strict unwavering caste system where "servants" knew their place. England was an alien culture to her despite her race or heritage.
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http://letterboxd.com/blakkdog/