The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a novel about Lily, who runs away from home to Tiburon, after she and Rosaleen, her “stand-in mom” were arrested. Lily killed her mother at a young age, and she feels guilty about it. When Lily and Rosaleen are at Tiburon, Lily finds a picture of The Black Madonna at a store, which was the same picture that Lily’s mom had. This leads them to a pink house, where they meet August, June, and May. August is the oldest and is seen as the leader of the house. Before each chapter of the novel, there is a quote. In chapter six, the quote “The queen must produce some substance that attracts the workers and that can be obtained from her only by direct contact. This substance evidently stimulates the normal …show more content…
‘That’s a terrible, terrible thing for you to live with. But you’re not unlovable. Even if you did accidentally kill her, you are still the most dear, lovable girl I know. Why Rosaleen loves you. May loved you. It doesn’t take a wizard to see Zach loves you. And every one of the Daughters loves you” (Kidd 242). August makes Lily feel better and clears her conscience about her mother. Later in the story, Lily gets confirmation she did kill her mother from T-Ray, but, because August talked to Lily, she was not completely distraught. In conclusion, August impacts Lily in a good way and helps her with her mom. Lastly, August gives Lily a new perspective on Deborah, her mother. When Lily encounters the three sisters, she lies about who she is out of fear that they would know her mother. One of the sisters, May, confirms this when Lily asks if she knew Deborah. Later on in the story, August has a talk with Lily and reveals that she knows who Lily is. Lily finds out that Deborah did run away, and Lily becomes angry. “I’d spent my life imagining all the ways she’d loved me, what a perfect specimen of a mother she was. And all of it was lies. I had completely made her