TRANSFORMING THE SECRET GARDEN: A CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF ADAPTATION SHIFTS ACROSS MEDIUMS

This study aims to investigate the adaptation shifts between Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classical children’s novel The Secret Garden, published in 1911, and the movie of the same name, which was directed by Marc Munden and released in 2020. To conduct the analysis, the model proposed by Katerina Perdikaki, who employs the model of intersemiotic translation for analysing adaptations, is used. This interdisciplinary approach has identified common features in both translation and adaptation studies. For a systematic analysis of the film adaptation, descriptive/comparative and interpretive perspectives are investigated. At the descriptive level, certain adaptation shifts in plot structure, narrative technique, characterization, and setting are examined. Considerable shifts occur between the novel and the movie in both descriptive and interpretive levels. To explain the reasons for the shifts, economic, creative, and social explanations are given as suggested by Perdikaki. Prominent shifts are observed in the movie since certain characters are not included from the novel. While modulation occurs when certain elements are highlighted or downplayed, modification indicates considerable shifts (radical changes) from the source material. Finally, mutation occurs when scenes from the source material are not included (excision) in the adaptation or when new scenes are added (addition).