The Secret Life of Bees
Normally, I would introduce the book and tell you about each of
the three character types. In this post, though, I want to focus on the
interaction between the mind and spirit characters in Sue Monk Kidd's
The Secret Life of Bees.
The book shows how three sisters, May, June, and August, work to transform a fourth character, Lily Owens. May is the body character, June is the mind character, and August is the spirit character in the story. In the following passage, August and June are discussing what to do about Lily, who has just recently entered into their care.
For those who are unfamiliar with the book or the movie, here is how the story develops up to the interaction I will be breaking down. Lily is a teenage white girl in 1960's South Carolina. Her mother was killed when she was young in a tragic accident, so she lives alone with an abusive father. She runs away with a black housekeeper, who is a fugitive from the law, and winds up with three black beekeeping sisters. Lily has lied about her past and her family but is searching for clues about her mother. Those clues led her to these three sisters. She's been with them for about a week when this interaction between August and June takes place.
Lily overhears August and June talking on the porch. Immediately, we see June's concern for "rules" and August's concern for "doing what is right."
"You know she's lying," said June. "I know," August told her. "But they're in some kind of trouble and need a place to stay. Who's going to take care of them if we don't... June said, "We can't keep a runaway girl here without letting someone know."
August then illustrates how telling someone about Lily would only lead to more trouble, so June changes the course of the conversation. She breaks down the facts of the case as they are currently known.
"What about this aunt she talked about?"... "What if her father didn't die in this so-called tractor accident?"...
August's response is not to argue any of the facts. She concedes that the aunt is probably a lie, but that doesn't matter to her. She just sticks with her initial gut feelings about Lily.
"I just have a feeling about this, June... I believe we can help her."
Unswayed by August's intuition, June is still trying to find out the truth.
"Why don't you just ask her point-blank what kind of trouble she's in?"
August, however, is more concerned about Lily's well-being than the truth for the time being.
"Everything in time," August said. "The last thing I want is to scare her off with a lot of questions..."
In the end, June doesn't understand why so much leeway is being given to Lily. She doesn't think it's fair to give Lily this kind of special treatment when all they really know about her is that she is a lying runaway.
"Let's see if we can help her," August said..."We owe her that." "I don't see that we owe her anything." June said.
This exchange between June and August illustrates one of the fundamental differences between mind and spirit characters. August wants to do what is "right," but June wants to do what is "smart." June wants the truth, but August wants to help, regardless of what the truth may be.
The book shows how three sisters, May, June, and August, work to transform a fourth character, Lily Owens. May is the body character, June is the mind character, and August is the spirit character in the story. In the following passage, August and June are discussing what to do about Lily, who has just recently entered into their care.
The Setup:
For those who are unfamiliar with the book or the movie, here is how the story develops up to the interaction I will be breaking down. Lily is a teenage white girl in 1960's South Carolina. Her mother was killed when she was young in a tragic accident, so she lives alone with an abusive father. She runs away with a black housekeeper, who is a fugitive from the law, and winds up with three black beekeeping sisters. Lily has lied about her past and her family but is searching for clues about her mother. Those clues led her to these three sisters. She's been with them for about a week when this interaction between August and June takes place.
The Analysis:
Lily overhears August and June talking on the porch. Immediately, we see June's concern for "rules" and August's concern for "doing what is right."
"You know she's lying," said June. "I know," August told her. "But they're in some kind of trouble and need a place to stay. Who's going to take care of them if we don't... June said, "We can't keep a runaway girl here without letting someone know."
August then illustrates how telling someone about Lily would only lead to more trouble, so June changes the course of the conversation. She breaks down the facts of the case as they are currently known.
"What about this aunt she talked about?"... "What if her father didn't die in this so-called tractor accident?"...
August's response is not to argue any of the facts. She concedes that the aunt is probably a lie, but that doesn't matter to her. She just sticks with her initial gut feelings about Lily.
"I just have a feeling about this, June... I believe we can help her."
Unswayed by August's intuition, June is still trying to find out the truth.
"Why don't you just ask her point-blank what kind of trouble she's in?"
August, however, is more concerned about Lily's well-being than the truth for the time being.
"Everything in time," August said. "The last thing I want is to scare her off with a lot of questions..."
In the end, June doesn't understand why so much leeway is being given to Lily. She doesn't think it's fair to give Lily this kind of special treatment when all they really know about her is that she is a lying runaway.
"Let's see if we can help her," August said..."We owe her that." "I don't see that we owe her anything." June said.
The Conclusion:
This exchange between June and August illustrates one of the fundamental differences between mind and spirit characters. August wants to do what is "right," but June wants to do what is "smart." June wants the truth, but August wants to help, regardless of what the truth may be.
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