PLOT
The secret life of bees is a novel that was written by the American author Sue Monk Kidd and was published in Italy in 2006 by Mondadori Editore. It has been translated into 36 languages and has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In 2008 a film adaptation was made directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. starring Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo.
Initially, we could think that this is yet another historical novel, but the author manages, through the voice of a fourteen year old, to talk about rather heavy themes with extreme lightness. The story is set in America in the early 1960s, at the time of the struggle for black civil rights, and stars Lily Owens, a teenager who lives with her father T. Ray on a peach farm. Her entire childhood was marked by the accidental death of her mother Deborah, following an argument with her father from whom she was trying to protect her. The only female figure who supported her during her growth is the black housekeeper Rosaleen, to whom she is very attached since she has shown her affection unlike her father, who is always very grumpy and violent. The event that pushes the two to run away from home occurs during the presidential elections, in which Rosaleen decides to register to vote but, while on her way to the city, she reacts to the insults of some white men and is taken to prison. T-Ray is furious about what happened and during the discussion he confesses to Lily that her mother had abandoned her by leaving home. Lily is very shaken by this news and after having managed to free Rosaleen from prison, the two head to Tilburon, South Carolina, a destination that Lily had found on the back of a photograph, which belonged to her mother, which portrays a black Madonna.Arriving in Tilburon, Lily notices that the depiction of that same Madonna is on the label of a jar of honey and discovers that three colored sisters named Boatrights are producing it. Lily and Rosaleen show up at their home, hoping to find information about their mother, and are hosted by August, May and June, who have been running a bee farm for years, which Lily will also have to take care of in exchange for hospitality. During their stay, Lily discovers that August had been her mom’s housekeeper years ago and that T-Ray had lied to her about her. For this reason she decides to spend the school year with the three sisters despite her father’s vain attempt to bring her home.
BOOK AND FILM COMPARISON
In general, the film is very faithful to the book, however, after careful analysis, some differences can be found. First of all, in the novel interpersonal relationships are described in a more detailed and vivid way as well as the setting, so much so that we perceive sounds and smells. Secondly, in the film, Lily’s need to obtain information about her mother prevails almost exclusively, while the book also gives space to her emotional sensitivity and personal growth that she goes through during adolescence. Furthermore, at the beginning of each chapter, the author has included short extracts on the bee society that she has extrapolated from specific manuals, which facilitate the reader to understand the choice of the title, as well as enrich and fascinate him.
THEMES
Many themes are adressed in this novel. First of all, violence, not only physical and against blacks in America, but also verbal and within apparently ordinary families of which T-Ray, his daughter Lily and his wife Deborah are the protagonists. Another recurring theme in the novel is that of forgiveness, which Lily seeks primarily for herself, for having accidentally killed her mother, for the latter for having abandoned her when she was little and finally for her father, for having always been little. thoughtful and violent with her. a great sense of emptiness derives from it that pervades Lily’s soul from an early age, which she tries to fill with the almost obsessive search for information about her mother, from whom she does not accept that she has been left. During her entire life, Lily matures the idea that she has never been loved by both parents, so much so that she is convinced that she cannot be loved by anyone. It will be during her stay in Tiburon that the love she needed so much from her new family will be returned to her.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is the female solidarity and the strong feeling of union that binds the three sisters, even though they are so different in character. August is the backbone of the house, with a good soul and kind ways, while June is frank and sometimes surly and finally May, the smallest and most sensitive. Another very fascinating aspect is the accurate description of the honey extraction process, especially the phase in which the impurities are removed using a specific tool and August’s consideration of the remote possibility of being able to do the same with people. The author metaphorically wants to emphasize this, the abysmal superiority of bees over human beings. Each bee in the hive carries out a specific task in such a way that there is harmony and the common good is achieved. All this is guaranteed by the industriousness of the worker bees but above all by the directives of the queen bee as their guide. And if we think about it for a second, it’s exactly the same pattern in the house. Each of the sisters performs a different task: Rosaleen and May take care of the housework, August and Lily take care of the bees, and June practices the violin . Everybody works for a common interest, spiritually guided by Our Lady of the Chain, to whom they are devoted.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS NOVEL
Honestly, the reasons that led me to choose to analyze this novel are numerous, in particular I let myself be intrigued by a completely female cast. I appreciated that the author emphasized the warrior spirit of women rather than sentimentality, but that she still kept them delicate in every little gesture. The female character that I most admired is Lily, who has carried for years a weight greater than her, that of guilt, but despite this she is able to carry it every day, as well as the worker bees, although they are more lighter than a flower petal, they lift weights much heavier than themselves.
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