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The Secret Life Of Bees Character Analysis

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Love is an involuntary factor that many people have come across in life. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, the main character Lily, has an internal conflict with her mother which affects how open she is to love. Lily grew up with her father and the culpability of her mother's death.(more info) She was raised with a harsh understanding of love due to the lack of love given to her all throughout her life, for she was more open to love because she hasn't doted as a child.However, Lily found love through the Daughter of Mary, the Boatwright sisters, and Rosaleen, who later taught her how to love herself. Paragraph 1 Lily's form of love was altered due to how she was raised. Without a mother and a true fatherly figure in her life, Lily did not receive the love she needed. She suffered by …show more content…

Rosaleen has made a big impact in Lily. Rosaleen kept her love alive. She continuously cared for Lily, as if she was her own child. Lily had a profound love for Rosaleen, “I ran up the stairs and grabbed Rosaleen from behind, stopping her with one foot poised in the air, searching for the next step. I wrapped my arms around her middle. 'I love you,' I blurted out, not even knowing I was going to say this” (Kidd 294). Rosaleen was always there for Lily, supporting her ideas and ambitions. Although, Lily disregarded Rosaleen when it came to meeting the Boatwright sister and the Daughters of Mary. Lily was in search for a connection wither her mother, which made Rosaleen irrelevant in finding that connection. Lily constantly jumps from one love to another. Until, eventually, she found and equal love for all, “And there they were. All these mothers. I have more mothers than any eight girls off the street, the moon is shining over me”(Kidd 436). Rosaleen kept Lily’s love alive making her able to expand her love for others.

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