This summer I didn't get to read as many books as I usually would, but I did read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Pride and Prejudice (obviously) by Jane Austen, part of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, part of Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, and part of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (I have a lot of unfinished reading projects!) :)
I found The Secret Life of Bees to be very captivating and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. As the novel deals with a number of serious issues such as abuse, racism, violence, and death, it would have been very easy for it to have slipped into a depressing and stagnant state; however the mystery that envelops the novel and the presence of characters like August and Zach keep the book on a lighter (though still serious) and more positive and inspirational note.
The mystery in the novel is based around the secrets that the various characters carry with them throughout the book. Driven by the mystery of her mother's past and the nature of her death, Lily Owens, the potagonist of the story, takes off on an adventure to discover her mother through her secret past. As Lily searches for the truth about her mother, she meets several characters who are like her adopted mothers to her. Although several women have motherly-type relations with Lily, the primary and most significant of these is August, an older black woman living with her two sisters who raise bees.
The theme about mothers in this novel is illustrated by the picture of the Black Madonna that labels August's honey and that also led Lily to find August and her sisters. Eventually we find that August was a nanny to Lily's mother, and so like her mother as well as Lily's. This "substitute mother" concept also breaks down racial barriers, as Lily and her mother are white and being mothered by a black woman. Since the novel takes place in 1964, this racial integration within a home is quite novel and revolutionary. However, in finding a mother in August, Lily also discovers the universal mother, mother of all mothers, in her encounter with the Black Madonna residing in August's home. During her stay with the sisters, August introduces Lily to the Black Madonna and their personal form of Christianity. From the statue of the Black Madonna, Lily senses strong feelings of empowerment, inspiration, and comfort. August explains how they all can draw strength from the Black Madonna, and so Lily discovers not only a physical mother in August, but a spiritual or internal mother in the Black Madonna. Through the Black Madonna, Sue Monk Kidd shows how everyone is in need of a mother and searching for the comfort and care of one somewhere or another. In the end, we see how the image of the Black Madonna pulls the story together, resolving Lily's search and tying the themes together. Not only does the image represent everyone's need for a mother, but it breaks race barriers and represents the secrecy/mystery that envelops the book.
The End! :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Natalie--you do a nice job tying together the different levels of this lovely little novel. The "search for the father" is a very old theme in literature, going all the way back to Telemachus and Odysseus, so using a similar theme in a story about relationships between women of different races is a welcome and meaningful update. I like the way you describe how you thought of the novel.
Post a Comment