Black Madonna of Częstochowa

A mother would fix everything for Lily and “she was all [Lily] wanted. And [she] took her away” (8). Her hate is angled toward herself and readers see the guilt she deals with internally every day. She learns from not only from the Boatwright sisters but also from the Black Mary statue how to forgive herself and others. Lily would pray before the statue and “started asking Mary for her special help” (136). Readers see Lily change when she describes how “[she] wanted to touch [the statue’s] vanishing red heart, as much as anything [she had] ever wanted” (163). The concealed guilt Lily had held onto for so long lead her to the black Mary and as she told the statue “you are my mother… You are the mother of thousands” (238). Lily accepts the past and forgives herself. Lily started to understand that she has a mother who loves her and Lily didn’t need to resent herself anymore for what happened in her tragic past. Understanding forgiveness is the key to moving forward, by accepting the love of the Virgin Mary, Lily finds herself through the…