That's the day you remember," (p. 97). Thus, both stories keep alive the romantic vision of love as a positive and enduring force.
The most extraordinary aspect of both of these stories is the way in which love is portrayed realistically. Love is never easy, whether between interracial couples, between parents and children, or between lovers. For example, "The worst mistakes I've made have been the ones directed by sweet-natured hopefulness," suggests that love is often over-idealized (Baxter, p. 80). In Feast of Love, marital infidelity is dealt with and so are other forms of betrayal including the perceived betrayal of death. Similarly, death is dealt with deftly in Secret Life of Bees. When May commits suicide, the grieving process is an extraordinary expression of love by her sisters and also by Lily and Rosaleen. As Lily states, "People who think dying is the worst thing don't know a thing about life." (Kidd p.2). Romantic love and other kinds of love both ensure pain and obstacles ranging from societal barriers to personal resistance to change.
Although both stories present thorough and well-developed themes related to love's complexity, I personally prefer the Secret...
The main reason for my preference is that the Secret Life of Bees incorporates race and the culture of the South into the story. For example, Lily doesn't understand that African-Americans can be lawyers when she states, "I've just never heard of a Negro lawyer, that's all. You've got to hear of these things before you can imagine them," (p. 108). After that, Zach responsds. "Bullshit. You gotta imagine what's never been," (p. 108). The racial dimension in the novel adds complexity, and the story therefore seems fuller and richer than the one that takes place in modern Portland. Portland is in fact a fairly neutral setting. The city has a reputation of being fairly liberal and is a politically neutral place vs. The Jim Crow South. Therefore, I did not particularly appreciate the setting in Feast of Love, which prevented the story from having that added dimension that the Secret Life of Bees has. Similarly, the Secret Life of Bees addresses death and religion with greater depth than Feast of Love. Still, both stories were entertaining and enjoyable.
Works Cited
Feast of Love. (2007). Robert Benton (Director). Portland, or
The Secret Life of Bees.
