How does May die in The Secret Life of Bees?

May Boatwright commits suicide by drowning. Though it comes as something of a shock, May's death is hardly a surprise. On the basis of the available evidence, it would seem that she was suffering from depression. Although May's family were always very sensitive to her condition, and always tried to create the best possible environment for her, there would always be a limit as to how much she could cope with the world and all its ups and downs. Sadly for May, the arrest of Zach for a crime he didn't commit is just too much for her, and pushes her over the edge.

There's something deeply symbolic in the manner of May's death. She weighs herself down with a heavy rock just as the world itself always weighed heavily upon her shoulders. There's also something ironic about someone with the name of Boatwright committing suicide by drowning. A boatwright is someone who builds boats, which are of course used to navigate rivers, along with other bodies of water. Despite being a Boatwright, May could never successfully navigate the choppy, turbulent waters of life.

How does May die in The Secret Life of Bees?

May drowns herself by weighing herself down with a stone.  Since the terrible death of her twin, she has had a difficult time dealing with the sorrows of the world. She had strategies to deal with her tendency to take on the world's sadness, for example, singing, and placing "messages" at her Wailing Wall. But when Zeke is imprisoned, it finally becomes too much for her. Many readers guess that she will kill herself before the event actually occurs.  You might want to look through the book to see what kinds of foreshadowing the author creates.  She is so tender-heartened, it seems impossible that she can survive the turmoil of the South in the Sixties.

Interestingly, a famous author, Virginia Wolfe, who probably suffered from bi-polar disorder, did commit suicide in a similar way.  She weighed her pockets down with stones and walked into the river.  This event was a rather famous literary suicide, and it seems likely that Sue Monk Kidd was thinking about Wolfe when she wrote about May's suicide. 

In The Secret Life of Bees, how does May's death affect the characters?

Suicide is a devastating event and is particularly difficult to accept for those who live with the feelings of loss and the emotions that accompany it including anger, depression and disbelief. Guilt is often accompanied by an unshakable numbness that prevents acceptance and so it is easy to judge when someone takes their own life as it is essentially one of the most potentially selfish acts. In The Secret Life of Bees, this is one of the reasons why May never comes to terms with April's death. Being her twin sister would also have intensified the feelings. However, it is not fair to judge the person who takes his or her own life and so, although the act itself is never justified, the person committing the act obviously feels that there is no other way. May, never quite coping with April's death and being particularly sensitive to the suffering of others, especially when it is undeservingly-racially-motivated, knows what it is like to be the one left behind and yet she still takes her own life.

The racially-motivated arrest of Zach, May's godson, which the sisters try to hide from her, has an enormous impact on her when she finds out anyway and the sisters, and Rosaleen and Lily, find her body in the river. Despite the terrible loss, May's suicide letter does reach out to August who interprets her words "It's your time to live. Don't mess up" as being directed at June. June is then encouraged to accept Neil's proposal, despite her fears, having been left at the altar once before. Zach, who supports the civil rights' movement, is inspired to make the most of himself and promises Lily that they will both achieve their dreams. He wants to be a lawyer more than ever, so he can fight against racial prejudice. He does promise Lily that he will not change in his fight against racism. He will be instrumental in the actions taken to integrate the high school after deciding to attend the "white" school.

May's death raises other important issues and eventually Lily finds out the truth about her mother and understands her connection with August. Lily also maintains May's tradition and prays in front of the wall. She is beginning to learn to forgive and move forward and feels accepted despite her white skin. Rosaleen eventually registers to vote, moving forward after her own racially-motivated suffering.