Secret Life of Bees Movie and the Story of Ruth

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Secret Life of Bees and its correlates with the story of Ruth
Conclusion
Bibliography
Footnotes

Introduction

Written by Sue Monk Kidd in 2002, The Secret Life of Bees is a chef-d’oeuvre book about love, betrayal, loss, and hope. Gina Prince-Bythewood adapted the book into an informative film in 2008 using the same title as the book. The story revolves around a 14-year-old girl known as Lily, the protagonist, who has to live in solitude after the death of her mother, Deborah. Lily’s father, T. Ray, is irresponsible, and thus the protagonist has to depend on her nanny, Rosaleen, for comfort and survival. The Secret Life of Bees correlates with the story of Ruth in the Bible in different aspects. For instance, the themes of loss and love stand out in the two stories. Other shared themes include motherhood¹, sisterhood, and religion among others. This paper explores the movie, The Secret Life of Bees, and its correlation with the story of Ruth in the Bible.

The Secret Life of Bees and its correlates with the story of Ruth

In the movie, Lily, the protagonist, resembles the biblical Ruth in different ways. In the Bible, Ruth suddenly becomes a widow after the death of her husband in the land of Moab, and she vows to stick with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth vows, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”² Therefore, Naomi assumes the role of a mother takes care of Ruth as her child. Similarly, Lily decides to stick to her nanny, Rosaleen, because her father is abusive. To show her commitment to sticking to her nanny, Lily breaks Rosaleen out of an infirmary where she is hospitalized following an attack by a group of racists.³ After the escape, the two head towards an unfamiliar town known as Tiburon, S.C. perhaps to lead a normal life. These occurrences evoke the theme of motherhood that stands out conspicuously in the movie and the biblical story of Ruth. In both cases, the protagonists, viz. Lily and Ruth, stick to women who act as mothers to them.

Both, Lily and Ruth, are accepted in homes where they do not belong. Upon reaching Tiburon, Lily and Rosaleen find the Boatwright’s residence where they are welcomed and accepted as part of the family. Rosaleen is assigned light duties in the house while Lily is allowed to learn the art of beekeeping through apprenticeship. Similarly, after Ruth and Naomi reach Bethlehem, their home place, Naomi is accepted into the Boaz’s field where she does not belong. Just as Lily is unsure of what to expect from the Boatwrights, Ruth cannot tell how Boaz will react after learning that she is gleaning on his field. However, just as August embraces Lily into her family, Boaz allows Ruth to glean on his farm. He even permits her to stay with his women servants working on the farm. Boaz say,

My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.⁴

Lily receives similar kind of favor in the eyes of August when she is allowed to learn the art of beekeeping using family resources.

Ruth and Lily share a similar love story in their lives. Lily is bereaved after the death of her mother, just like Ruth, who becomes a widow following the demise of her husband in Moab. After the loss, Lily finds love and comfort in the hands of her nanny, Rosaleen, who technically becomes her foster mother. In the same way, Naomi showers Ruth with love and support. Naomi could have refused to take Ruth in after the death of his sons, but she assumes parental responsibility and allows her daughter-in-law to accompany her on her way back to Judah. Lily immediately falls in love with Zach, one of the sons in the Boatwright’s household where she is hosted. Similarly, Boaz falls in love with Ruth almost immediately after their first meeting.

Naomi orchestrates the events that lead to Boaz marrying Ruth. Both Zach and Boaz work hard to get the love of their lives. Even though Zach’s efforts to win Lily are not outstanding, in different scenes he is seen trying hard to create time to be with her. On the other hand, Boaz approaches the man supposed to redeem Elimelek’s estate to carry out the transaction. However, Boaz’s intentions of executing the redemption by himself stand out clearly from the beginning. Perhaps he prays silently for the kinsman redeemer to fail to carry out the redemption. After the redeemer agrees to buy Elimelek’s land, Boaz is quick to remind him that he has to take in Ruth as part of the deal. The kinsman declines the deal after learning that Ruth is part of it, but Boaz is quick to execute it as the new redeemer. Boaz goes out of his way to marry Ruth, his efforts ultimately pay, and she becomes his wife.

Finally, the theme of the Christian religion stands out in The Secret Life of Bees and the biblical story of Ruth. In the movie, the Boatwrights worship a statue of “Black Mary”. The idea of “Mary” in this context is religious, and it is based on the biblical mother of Jesus. The statue gives the Boatwrights hope and consolation as they see it as a gift from God. Similarly, Christianity is at the center of Ruth’s story. According to the genealogy of Jesus, Ruth is his ‘great grandmother’ as she bore Obed, who in turn fathered Jesse, the father of David. From David, the genealogy tree spreads to Jesus. Therefore, the characters in the movie and the story of Ruth hinge on Christianity as the religion of choice.

Conclusion

The movie, The Secret Life of Bees, correlates strongly with the biblical story of Ruth in different aspects. For instance, the protagonists, viz. Lily and Ruth find love and comfort in ‘foster’ mothers. They are both welcomed in families where they do not belong before falling in love with one of the members of their new households. Boaz ultimately marries Ruth, while Zach is romantically involved with Lily. Finally, Christianity as a religion is common between the movie and the story of Ruth. Therefore, it suffices to conclude that the movie, The Secret Life of Bees, correlates with the biblical story of Ruth in areas of motherhood, love, and religion.

Bibliography

Harken, Amy. Unveiling the Secret Life of Bees. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2005.

The Secret Life of Bees. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Century City, CA: Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2008. Film.

Footnotes

Amy Harken, Unveiling the Secret Life of Bees (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2005), 60.
Ruth 1:16 (New International Version)
The Secret Life of Bees, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Century City, CA: Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2008). Film.
Ruth 2: 8-9.

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Secret Life of Bees Movie and the Story of Ruth

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