Themes in "The Secret Life of Bees"

Paper Summary:

This paper shows how Sue Monk Kidd's "The Secret Life of Bees" uses themes such as racism, egality and the relationship between nature and spirituality to portray a journey that enables Lily, the main character, to establish self-identity and grow into womanhood. The paper focuses on how the natural world, and in particular the life of bees, play a significant role in Lily's journey into womanhood.

From the Paper:

"Central to "The Life of Bees" (2002) is Lily's motherless state and the way in which this has left her with "unmistakeable signs of queenlessness" (p.1). The loss of her mother, which is one of the most profound traumas a child can face, is compounded not only by her father's unloving and insensitive nature, but also by the knowledge that she was somehow responsible for her mother's death. As such, Lily exists in a barren wilderness in which she creates elaborate fantasies about her mother, which are primarily based on receiving her mother's forgiveness, but which also portray her need for a mother's tender love. When dreaming of seeing her mother in heaven, for example, Lily longs for her mother touch: " ... and she would kiss my skin til it grew chapped, and tell me I was not to blame. She would me tell me this for the first ten thousand years" (Kidd, 2002, p. 3)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. Published by Viking Press, 2002.

More papers on Themes in "The Secret Life of Bees":

• Analytical Essay # 58389 : "The Secret Life of Bees" and Identity"
• Analytical Essay # 60411 : "Sue Monk Kidd's "Secret Life of Bees"
• Book Review # 118321 : "Spreading Her Wings in Search of the Queen Mother"

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