The Secret Life of Bees

Once she is alone in the honey house, Lily can’t sleep. In her anger and sadness, Lily smashes every bottle of honey until she, the honey house, the Black Mary statue are covered in honey and glass. Lily eventually falls asleep on the floor, where Rosaleen finds her the next morning covered in honey and blood from where glass has cut her hand. While Rosaleen is giving her a bath, Lily tells Rosaleen about her conversation with August, and Rosaleen is saddened, but not completely surprised, that Lily’s mother did in fact leave her. Lily is upset with Rosaleen for not telling her what she knew or what she heard, and Rosaleen responds that the last thing she would ever want to do is hurt Lily with the truth like that. Rosaleen and Lily clean the honey house together and get all of the honey off of Our Lady. The Daughters show up for the second day of the Mary festivities, during which they cover Mary in honey until her chains slide right off her. August explains to Lily that honey is a preservative and is actually good for the statue—that honey is as strong as it is sweet.

August gives Lily a box of her mother’s belongings that she left behind 10 years ago.