Writing Resources
Throughout history the moon has been used as a symbol of femininity and motherhood In her novel The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd uses the symbol of the moon to show that humans need a mother figure in their lives Throughout the novel the protagonist Lily searches for answers about her mother who died when she was young The moon is always present in the story whenever Lily thinks about her biological mother or any of the other motherly figures that enter Lily s life during her journey Throughout the story Kidd uses the moon to represent a motherly figure and how such a person can help Lily as well as the other characters of the novel find their way in life Because Lily has lived most of her life without a mother she recognizes this absence and seeks out answers about her mother s past This leads her to leave her abusive father who does not provide any answers and constantly belittles Lily s mother behind and run away with her housekeeper and nanny Rosaleen the only mother figure she has had for most of her life Lily finds a picture that belonged to her mother that has the location Tiburon South Carolina written on it so she decides to check there for answers Along the way she has a dream In her dream I Lily could see a huge round moon in the sky It looked so perfect up there Next I heard a sound like ice breaking and looking up I saw the moon crack apart and start to fall Kidd 81 82 Lily s dream represents her past
