In the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the author uses epigraphs that reference bees at the beginning of each chapter to metaphorically describe the upcoming themes. For example, in chapter 1, the epigraph says that in a beehive the disappearance of the queen will cause distress throughout the hive, which is similar to the death of Lily’s mother which is the metaphorical queen. The mother’s disappearance affected Lily in the way that she “la[id] in bed and though about dying and going to be with my mother in paradise” while T. Ray was hurt so much that he “refused to speak about [her]” (3, 12). The lack of a mother has made Lily develop a desire for one while T. Ray resents her, which is similar to how a lack of a queen can cause problems