The Secret Lwarfe Of Bees Character Analysis Essay

Throughout the duration of Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret LIfe of Bees, the characters of her novel undergo various difficulties. The novel revolves around Lily as she learns about her past and tries to discover more about her long-dead mother. Additionally, the novel features extensive character interaction as Lily and her companion Rosaleen take residence at a farm in Tiburon, South Carolina, and meet three sisters: May, June, and August. In order to give the reader insights to the personalities of these characters, Kidd incorporates the literary devices of indirect characterization, symbolism, and allusion, in her novel.

In order to express the brazen character of Rosaleen, Kidd incorporates indirect characterization. Throughout the novel, circumstances encouraging this analysis are frequently evident, principally due to

This is evident when August shares a tale with Lily and a group called the Daughters of Mary at a special service: “‘The people called her Our Lady of Chains. They called her that not because she wore chains… They called her Our Lady of Chains because she broke them’” (110). The story described how a group of slaves would “ask the Lord to send them rescue” (108), and how one day, it had appeared that God sent a statue in response. This figure, “Our Lady of Chains,” would serve to provide the slaves with courage, motivating the bold amongst them to escape. Additionally, when the statue was eventually taken from the slaves and locked away in chains, the statue constantly managed to disappear from these chains and reappear to the slaves, hence the title “Our Lady of Chains.” In the present time of the story, the statue continues to act as a source of strength and comfort for the characters, evident from the Daughter of Mary’s services held for the statue, as well as the comfort the statue provides