Black Madonna and the Daughters of Mary: A study of The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Abstract

Religion plays an important role in the society as well as in literature. It sometimes falls upon us from birth or sticks into our mind in such a way that it becomes a soothing companion to us. The novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is the story of a young white girl named Lily, who lost her mother when she was a small child. She runaway with her African American maid Rosaleen from her abusive father to find the mystery behind her mother’s death and finds solace from three African American sisters called the Boatwright sisters. She witnesses a new way of life while living with these sisters. She encounters their Mother Mary, the Black Madonna where she experience a new way of worship. Lily tries to find peace and security from that Black Madonna which later becomes an archetypal mother for her. She practices these sisters’ ways of worshipping and becomes one among them. The Black Madonna, for these sisters, Lily and other African American women are a tool to appease their miseries and thus they create their own way of religion or custom.       

            Religion plays an important role in the society as well as in literature. Sometimes it falls upon us from birth or sticks into our mind in such a way that it becomes a soothing companion to us. Religion is a collection of beliefs based on a culture which is related to human being alone. Each religion will have a story based on its origin and some symbols to commemorate it. They have their own way of rituals and sermons.