Themes In The Secret Life Of Bees

Secret Life of Bees Theme “People, in general, would rather die than forgive.” (Kidd 277) Though it might sound morbid, Sue Monk Kidd states the grim reality through a revelation of Lily Owens, the main character in her novel, The Secret Life of Bees. Lily must learn to receive and offer forgiveness as she matures throughout the novel, but as in all situations (and especially in her’s), forgiving is not easy. Growing up with her father, T. Ray, Lily has been the victim of abuse and negligence. To make matters worse, T. Ray has Lily to believe she was the cause of her deceased mother's death, and that her mother didn’t love her to begin with. The theme of needing to seek and offer forgiveness to find peace is shown through Lily’s attempts at repairing relationships with herself, her mother, and her father. The theme of The Secret Life of Bees is exemplified in Lily’s forgiveness of self. Lily finally confronts August about her mother, Deborah, and shares the memory of her death. As she admits it was herself who shot Deborah, Lily anguishes over how she doesn’t deserve …show more content…
Ray, to achieve relative equilibrium with all of her loved and not-so-loved ones. When T. Ray confronts Lily in the pink house, she understands from where T. Ray’s spite emerged. Hearing desperate tones in her father’s voice, Lily reflects, “I had never known T. Tay to worship anyone except Snout, the dog love of his life, but seeing him now, I knew he loved Deborah Fontanel, and when she’d left him , he’d sunk into bitterness” (293 Kidd). Similar to Lily, T. Ray was hurt by Deborah’s abandonment, but unlike Lily, he never forgives her, choosing to live a life of hate and animosity, projecting all his negative thoughts onto Lily. She shares this epiphany, and decides to choose forgiveness over spite. After T. Ray’s resolve crumbles, Lily is able to stay with the Boatwright sisters in the Pink house, and finally reconciles with all who needed