The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, bees are a recurring image in the story and epigraphs that provides guidance for Lily and symbolizes the important lessons she learns as well as her search for a mother.
Throughout the book, Lily uses bees to guide her choices when she lacks a sense of direction. At the beginning of the novel, Lily is upset with her father and unsure what to do. She collects bees in a jar and decides to let them free, however when she unscrews the cap they do not escape though they easily can. She remarks that “the bees remained there, like planes on a runway not knowing they’d been cleared for takeoff...I tapped the glass, even laid the jar on its side, but those crazy bees stayed put” (28). Lily believes the bees

Soon after moving in with the Calendar Sisters, Lily realizes the strength and power of women. The structure of the pink house is similar to one of a beehive. In a hive, “males are reared only at the times of year when their presence is required” (67). Similarly, the Calendar Sisters’ home is ran by women and thrives without the help of men. By living with examples of strong female leaders, Lily learns the true strength of women which ultimately helps her find the courage to stand up to T.Ray and thrive without his fathering. Lily also learns the important concept of communication, one of the necessary characteristics of bees. For a long time, Lily lacks the courage to ask June, August, or May about her mother. However, after seeing May use graham crackers to lure cockroaches out of the house, something her mother did, Lily finally decides it is time to confront May. By asking May about her mother, Lily finally receives the confirmation that her mother did know the calendar sisters. Similar to bees, Lily’s world “depends on communication– on an innate ability to send and receive messages” (165). She finally learns her lesson and uses this “innate ability”, and because of that discovers the answer to the question she was wondering for a long time. While Lily becomes older, she learns important values that help her mature which symbolize and serve as a parallel to the lessons of