The Secret Life of Bees- Female Power

Female Power in The Secret Life of Bees All throughout history, women have been looked down upon lower and not as good as men. They are the ones who do all of the dirty work and care for the children. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd depicts women as possessing much strength that does not have the chance to shine through in reality because men have all the authority and control. Rosaleen, a very strong woman mentally and physically, stands up for what she believes in, no matter what the consequence. She takes actions to defend herself, such as spitting on white men’s shoes when they taunt her, standing firm when T-Ray is rude and barking orders, only to be put behind bars. She has a caring personality and even though she is a big woman, she would not hurt a fly. August Boatwright is much like Rosaleen in many ways. August ‘s personality is so strong about her beliefs that nothing can really bring her down, or gets by her. She is constantly trying to make her bad days into good days, and always helping the people surrounding her. Her faith is very strong and dedicated. For example when May commits suicide, she believes May’s soul goes to heaven and has an important ritual commemorating and wishing her dear sister a joyous time in the Kingdom of God. She is an extremely intelligent woman in general. She figured out within days that Lily was Deborah’s daughter with out anyone telling her. August is compassionate and comforting to all and eventually becomes Lily’s mother figure. Lily is awfully determined for being a young teenager. While carrying the heavy burden of murdering her mother by accident (as a young child), her father also resents her. He abuses her and does not even care for/about her. Through her years of being treated like dirt, she builds up her courage and determination, runs away from home, and then later breaks Rosaleen out of jail and the hospital. When she found the Boatwright sisters, they resented her at