Colin grew up surrounded by people always reinforcing his fragility. Here, the author creates a parallel between having a healthy mind and a healthy body, suggesting that if people constantly think of themselves as ill or crippled it will create poor health. When new beautiful thoughts began to push out the old hideous ones, life began to come back to him, his blood ran healthily through his veins and strength poured into him. That Archibald does not fully see his niece seated in front of him speaks to how his focus is still mostly in the past. Her description of his face expresses the grief he carries deep within himself, and that makes it almost impossible for him to connect with other people.
Mary makes an astute observation of her uncle at their first meeting. What an unhappy face he had! His black eyes seemed as if they scarcely saw her, as if they were seeing something else, and he could hardly keep his thoughts upon her. Thus we see a turning point where Mary is slowly starting to see her faults and become a better person. This blunt honesty first provokes Mary to fall into her typical irritation, yet the truth of Martha's statement can't be ignored. Martha has compared Mary to her own 4-year-old sister, Susan Ann, who she says can already dress herself. This moment comes after Martha points out that Mary is much too old to be dressed by a servant.
Mary had worn her contrary scowl for an hour after that, but it made her think several entirely new things. The voice of the robin is what makes Mary start to shed her disagreeable behavior and open up to the vibrance of life around her, helping her to realize she is never truly alone. The vastness of her space to roam initially frightens Mary, who has never before had to use her imagination.
This quote represents Mary's transition from her life in India, where she was constantly monitored by servants, to her new life in England where she is left to play on her own. She stopped and listened to him and somehow his cheerful, friendly little whistle gave her a pleased feeling-even a disagreeable little girl may be lonely, and the big closed house and big bare moor and big bare gardens had made this one feel as if there was no one left in the world but herself.
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