Secret Life of Bees: The Not-So Secret Life of American Racism
The 2003 novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd could be subtitled: 'the not-so secret life of American racism.' Set in the deep south during the Civil Rights era, the novel chronicles the childhood of the motherless Lily and her coming-of-age to a greater state of emotional maturity. At the beginning of the novel, Lily is being raised by an abusive father and the only maternal figure in her life is Rosaleen, the family's maid. Lily comes to form a connection with Rosaleen and other African-American women that is deeper than that which exists with her own flesh and blood. The novel suggests that race is only skin deep, and that individual human connections are more important than the divisions that are created by politics and social constraints. The novel continually draws parallels between the oppression all women suffer at the hands of men, and the oppression that blacks suffer at the hands...
Early on in the novel she strives to gain the right to vote, and is punished for her efforts. Lily and Rosaleen decide to run away because of their mutual suffering: Lily at the hands of her father and Rosaleen at the hands of whites. Lily's decision to break the law in search of her personal freedom parallels Rosaleen's struggle for justice and civil equality. Rather than portraying Lily's decision as bad or self-indulgent, the novel suggests that the young adolescent's actions are a necessary part of finding herself, just as necessary as Rosaleen's agitation for the right to vote. The abuse Rosaleen suffers at the hands of the authorities also parallels the abuse Lily's mother suffered at the hands of Lily's father until Deborah unsuccessfully tried to leave him.
Female connections become even more important later in the novel, as Rosaleen and Lily take shelter amongst a…
