Symbiotic Relationships In The Bean Trees By Barbara Kingsolver

Some people might seem amazing on the outside but there is often a man behind the curtain supporting them. In the novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, there are many characters involved in symbiotic relationships. While the relationships might seem one sided at times, both people benefit from the relationship. A symbiotic relationship is “a relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the other.”("symbiosis." The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. 09 Nov. 2014. <Dictionary.com). In this case the symbiotic relationships are beneficial to both parties. In the novel The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver conveys the

Edna is blind so her friend Virgie guides her and looks after her. “One of the women led the way and the other, who appeared to be the older of the two, carried the set by its handle, staggering a little with the weight like a woman with an overloaded purse” (Kingsolver, 103). Edna wouldn’t be able to function as well if she didn’t have Virgie. Virgie Mae compensates for Edna so well that it doesn’t even occur to everybody else that Edna is blind. Virgie buys Edna all red clothes so she is always matching, she also discreetly tells Edna what is going on in any new situation (145). She makes Edna feel more normal by not making it seem like she is blind at all, this influences both of them because if Virgie treats Edna kindly then Edna will do the same for her. Virgie’s personality is a little racist and judgemental but Edna tries to act as a filter. “We’re fine, Edna said, obviously accustomed to being Virgie Mae’s public-relationships department” (Kingsolver, 107). Without Edna, Virgie could make even worse impressions on people than she already does. The fact that Edna is blind and needs extra help

Lou Ann started out very insecure but as her friendship with Taylor grew so did her confidence. “No, I don’t want to know what I weigh. If the scale even goes up that high. I refuse to believe you’re overweight, that’s all I’m saying. If you say one more word about being fat, I’m going to stick my fingers in my ears and sing ‘Blue Bayou’ until you’re done” (Kingsolver, 100-101). Taylor often denies the bad things that Lou Ann says about herself and even though Lou Ann acts like it doesn’t make her feel more confident about herself it secretly does, Taylor is like her Rhizobia in that way. They both need each sometimes though, even though Taylor is strong and independent she needs a friend to help her out sometimes. “I cannot believe you’re just ready to roll over and play dead about this Taylor. I thought I knew you. I thought we were best friends, but now I don’t hardly know who in the heck you are” (Kingsolver, 175). Lou Ann knew that if she rattled Taylor up a bit, Taylor would snap out of her hypnosis of self doubt. She knows this because Taylor is always very assertive to Lou Ann about these things, they learn things from each other and that makes their bond stronger. By the end they learned to have a balance. In the last chapter Lou Ann gets a boyfriend, Taylor asks if she’s moving in with him, Lou Ann responds with a strong no because she wouldn’t leave her best friend. Taylor’s