The Secret Life of Bees | Style
Religious Symbolism
In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily Owens is introduced to a group of women who formed a religious faith founded on the perseverance of their slave ancestors and a black wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. The symbols of their religion—not just the Madonna, but the honey from August's hives and the chains that represent a resistance to slavery—are important to them and to the novel as a whole. Lily has actually been aware of the Black Madonna since her childhood. One of the few possessions she has to associate with her mother, who died when Lily...
[The entire page is 957 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Tell a friend about The Secret Life of Bees at eNotes.
