Pride In The Secret Life Of Bees

The novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd follows Lily, a white girl, after running away with Rosaleen, a black woman, to the Boatwright house. During the story, the insight that we should find love becomes increasingly obvious. To begin, we should find love because it builds resilience. Having the love of others helps in staying resolute during hardships. Toward the beginning of the book, Rosaleen tries to register to vote and ends up going to jail. Despite this, at the end of the novel Rosaleen goes with August to attempt to register to vote again: “ ‘I’m gonna finish what I started,’ Rosaleen said, lifting her chin. ‘I’m going to register to vote,’ “ (Kidd 281). Lifting one’s chin is commonly associated with pride, and so because

Rosaleen’s pride wants her to become a registered voter despite her experiences in the past because Rosaleen respects herself as an individual and believes she should have the right to vote. To respect ourselves, we have to love ourselves first; therefore Rosaleen’s deep and unwavering pride shows the presence of strong love for herself. Her pride, which stems from love, fortifies her mind and allows her to stay strong and resilient while making her decision to finalize her voting registration, demonstrating how beneficial finding love can be. However, the opposite is also true. When we feel unloved, our strength to overcome conflict dwindles. After Lily confesses to August that Lily was the one who killed her mom, Lily says, “You will hear a dark whispering spirit, a voice coming from the center of things. It will have blades for lips and will not stop until it speaks the one secret thing at the heart of it all… It said, You are unlovable, Lily Owens.” (Kidd 242). Lily created the dark spirit. It personifies her true feelings. Metaphorically speaking, dark spirits represent

With love, we can be accepted into a community, or accept ourselves. During a religious procedure where everyone gets to touch the black Mary’s heart, Lily states, “June kept playing while each of them came, until there was only Rosaleen and me left. May nodded to June to keep on with the music,” (Kidd 111). The Black Mary itself symbolizes maternal figures, representing strength and guidance. The Daughters of Mary put their belief and trust in Black Mary to guide them, shown by them touching her heart. When touching the Black Mary, the Daughters of Mary aren’t just putting their trust in a higher being, they are finding strength and love within themselves. To touch the Black Mary, they aren’t just being accepted into the community, they are using the love of the Black Mary to love and accept themselves. At this point in the story, Lily believes she needs her mother's love to accept herself, while Rosaleen already believes in herself. This is proven by Rosaleen being able to touch Black Mary’s heart while Lily isn’t. While teaching Lily about beekeeping, August says, “Act like you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved,” (Kidd 92). Saying that every little thing wants to be loved is hinting at Lily’s desire to gain the love of others, such as her mother. It is through love that Lily can be accepted into the Boatwright sister’s family, despite all