The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

Bill Watterson once said, "There's no problem so awful, that you can't add some guilt to it and make it even worse." In each of our lives, we encounter problems that cause us pain or make mistakes that burden us with guilt. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd shows us someone who suffers a tremendous loss at her own fault. The protagonist, fourteen year old Lily Owens, accidentally shoots and kills her mother as a small child, causing her to loathe herself. Lily must face the tribulations of growing up without a mother, while also searching for a respite from the guilt she bears. Through Lily, Kidd wished to demonstrate that as humans we make mistakes, but we must forgive ourselves and refuse to let past actions define who we are. …show more content…
During the climax, T. Ray tracked Lily to the Boatwright's home in Tiburon, where Lily questions him about her part in her mother's death. In response to her inquisitions, T. Ray admits, " It was you who did it, Lily. You didn't mean it, but it was you," ( Kidd 299). When T. Ray tells Lily that she was the one that killed her mother, Lily is forced to take ownership of her fatal mistake for the first time. This reaffirms what she has believed for the past ten years. However, T. Ray also mentions to Lily that the shot she fired was an accident, helping her along the road to self forgiveness. Through Lily, Kidd exhibits to the reader that human nature leads each person to make mistakes, but that those faults are