An Ecofeminist Study Of The Secret Life Of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees is a best-seller of African American female writer Sue Monk Kiddwhich has been getting more attention from readers and scholars since its publication in2002.The novel maintained its position on New York Times best-seller list for two and a half years andwon many awards. The story is a classic ecofeminist novel of female coming of age which isabout a white girl, Lily who grows to maturity and become an intelligent, loved and lovingwoman through a journey of searching for love by returning to nature.Ecofeminism is born from the union of ecological thinking and feminist which explores theenvironmental consciousness, dealing with problems reflected in literature about the exploitationand oppression of women and nature, and also racism and other social inequalities. It exploresthe interconnection between sexism and the domination of nature, working against theinterconnected oppressions of gender, nature, race and other vulnerable groups. Ecofemninistsadvocate a harmonious and interdependent relationship between man and man, man and nature.This thesis attempts to interpret The Secret Life of Bees from the perspective of ecofeminism byanalyzing the characterization and the significance of themes and imageries of the novel toexplore ecofeminist consciousness in the novel.First of all, on the part of characterization, the characters in the novel mainly include theprotagonist Lily and her family and friends. Lily and her mother Deborah, also her nannyRosaleen and Boatwright sisters represent the great female characters that bravely resist theoppression of patriarchy. The novelist eulogizes a group of women images who are close to andlove nature deeply, praising the strong power of female community and their unity and universalfraternity and the spirit of resisting the oppression of patriarchy. It creates male characters frompros and cons in the novel. T. Ray as the representative of patriarchy is autocratic and brutal whosuppresses his wife and daughter that lead to Deborah’s death and make Lily run away fromhome. While diligent Zach and honest Neil who embody the perfect male characters are thepositive figures that Kidd attempts to create.Secondly, in respect of theme, Kidd criticizes the exploitation and destruction of nature bywhite people and the cruel racism. Set in1960s’ America, the novel mentions the historic eventsof the invention of atomic bomb, Apollo Program and Vietnam War. The development oftechnology and economy brings about the great ecocrisis and pose mental anxiety and panic tohumankind. The Civil Right Acts sets fire on racists’ hatred and outrage to black people. Thenovel clarifies that nature is the source of love and the importance of returning to nature toconstruct spiritual home through Lily’s journey of searching for love. Lily’s living in harmonywith the black sisters makes clear that the Kidd’s ecofeminist consciousness of working against the patriarchal system and race discrimination and establishing a harmonious relationshipbetween man and man, man and nature.In addition, this thesis analyzes the metaphors of the imageries in the novel.“Moon” and“the Black Mary” which take obvious feminine traits embody the ecofeminist stance of the novel.The secret life of bees is similar to the secret life of Lily which suggests that the human society islike a bee farm. The Wailing Wall is made by August by imitating the Jewish which records thesufferings of May and the sufferings of black people being oppressed and exploited. To sum up,The Secret Life of Bees as a classic ecofeminist novel with abundant ecofeminist thinkingexpresses Kidd’s wish of eliminating gender discrimination and racism, and constructing aharmonious homeland.The thesis contains six parts: Chapter One introduces the life and career experiences of theauthor Sue Monk Kidd, and summarizes the main plot of The Secret Life of Bees and thebackground of the study, the framework of the thesis.Chapter Two gives a brief literature review on ecofeminism: the development and basicviewpoints of the theory, ecofeminism as literary criticism and do researches on The Secret Lifeof Bees at home and abroad.Chapter Three starts with the analysis of characterization to praise the love of nature bywomen and their spirit for freedom, and analyzes the male characters pros and cons.Chapter Four starts on theme to expose the exploitation of nature and the oppression ofwomen by men in patriarchal society and criticize the destruction of nature by industry andtechnology and the deceptiveness of white people and the cruelty of racism.Chapter Five interprets the metaphors of imageries to expose the ecofeminist awareness inthe novel.Chapter Six concludes the ubiquitous ecofeminist consciousness in the novel. Lily, whobravely says no to patriarchy, runs away from home from home to search for love. With the helpof her black friends and surrounded by mother nature, Lily lays down the resentment to her cruelfather and recovers from guilt of killing her mother, maturing into a young woman. The blackwomen who support and care about Lily help her to realize the strong power of the femalecommunity. The unfair treatments the black people have suffered in the novel reveal the crueltyof racism, and their intelligence and goodness subvert the race discrimination. With Lily’s story,the author illustrates her wish to abolish the patriarchy, eliminate gender discrimination andracism, advocating returning to nature and reconstruct the spiritual homeland.