Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Symbolism

In the book, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the quotes at the begining of each chapter show facts about bees that represent struggles Lily has in her life and shows that in the "secret life" of bees, they go through many complex struggles much like hers.  For instance, Lily always feels an emptiness inside of her that she thinks can only be filled by her mother, who is dead. Lily can't get over the fact that her mother is gone, much like the way a hive can not operate correctly without their queen bee. Lily later finds out that similar to in a bee hive, the mother can be replaced. In Lily's own life, her mother is replaced by a number of different women: Rosaleen, August, June, and the rest of the Daughters of Mary. 

In addition, the Black Madonna, also known as Our Lady of Chains, is like a mother to Lily and like a queen bee, she is the "mother of thousands". She is like a mother because she will always be there and someone you can look to for help. In the Conversation with Sue Monk Kidd at the end of the book, Kidd said, "I pictured fabulous black women in grand hats dancing around her, coming to touch their hands to her heart. I understood in that moment that here was Lily's mother, a powerful symbolic essence that could take up residence inside of her and become catalytic in her transformation."

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