I have another question to add. How do you feel about minority characters in media, especially in film and books, being given a mystic quality? For example, Will Smith in "The Legend of Bagger Vance" and the three beekeeping sisters in this novel? This is a trend I've noticed recently and it kind of disturbs me, though I really can't say why. Has anyone else noticed this?

enygma | March 24, 2005 9:52 AM

Enygma, the term that comes to mind, after reading your question, is "noble savage". Civilized european white society, with the benefit of scientific education, is too removed from "primitive" rituals and earthy, unsophisticated spirituality. It is a demeaning archetype because the only way characters with those 'mystic qualities' seem to merit recognition or respect is when they are used to help/rescue the Great White Father. That paternal condescension may be what bothers you. Manda picked up on it in her comment about the white lawyer.

The sisters are noble because they are using their 'powers' to save the little white girl. Now if there had been a scene in which they were protest marchers in Selma or Montgomery....

However, I think that the author gives the sisters more depth than the stereotype allows.

barbara | March 24, 2005 12:56 PM

Any mystical quality given to the sisters was balanced by the portrayal of Rosaleen. I felt bad that she came off as ignorant and foolish.

I thought June was the most realistic of the charcters. She had real and believable emotions.

manda | March 24, 2005 8:17 PM

Thanks, Barbara, I had actually forgotten that term. It's true, the sisters aren't just caricatures because each one has her own personality, but you can't deny their mystical attributes, particularly because the name of their beekeeping venture is called, "Black Madonna". But, moving away from that, I thought it was interesting how Kidd more than hinted at a romantic interest between Zach and Lily. I don't want to sound all negative (because I do), but that seems a bit farfetched considering the time period. As Kate noted, the story was set in the same year the Civil Rights Act was passed, so racism and segregation was still a big thing down South. From what I remember of the story, Lily grew up with a strict father, who obviously did not like African-Americans. For Lily to have a definite affinity towards the three sisters and Zach seemed kind of odd, even if her mother had spent time with the sisters (sorry, I forgot their name). I understand that Kidd couldn't make Lily a white robe wearing KKK member, otherwise the story wouldn't work at all. However, I thought that a relationship between Lily and Zach would have been improbable, especially considering their conditioning. Friendship, yes; boy/girlfriend, not really. That's not to say that there weren't intercultural relationships back then.
Or am I just being too cynical and reading way too much into this?

enygma | March 24, 2005 10:10 PM

I agree that their relationship was improbable, but the author gets around that by having Zach tell Lily that they will be together in the future, after he makes it big as a lawyer. Paraphrasing there, because I don't remember the exact scene or words. Since they're around 14, by the time they are in their 20s an interracial romance would be possible.

Isn't it likely that Lily's affinity for the sisters springs from the fact that the only mother figure she has ever really known is a black woman, Rosaleen?

Eva | March 25, 2005 8:40 AM

1964. 41 years ago. Civil Rights. The South. Looking at the characters in the story through the prism of a suburban white yankee chick in 2005, it is very hard to evaluate Rosaleen's confrontation with the whites. How can I appreciate the power Rev. King had on his people? What is there in my own life experience that gives me any frame of reference? Nuthin.

I do know from reading An Hour Before Daylight, one of Jimmy Carter's memoirs, that there was a LOT of black/white interaction in the rural south that was not all ugly and brutal. But there was a very firmly set order, a very set sense of "knowing your place" and to some degree - it was accepted. One recollection Carter had was of a famous boxing match (Joe Louis?) broadcast on the radio in his home. His father set the radio near the window so the local black folks could gather outside and listen to it. Part of me says that is demeaning and racist treatment - but in that time period, I think it might have been a very cordial thing to do. Hard to say.

Given all that, I did find it a little hard to believe that a little orphaned runaway white girl was allowed to live with the sisters; that some gov't agency wouldn't have snatched her. Maybe the location was so remote that Lily stayed under the radar. But thank god - that child was desperate for the maternal love and nurturing she found there.

barbara | March 25, 2005 12:24 PM

You got me there, Eva. I had completely forgotten about Rosaleen.

enygma | March 25, 2005 7:37 PM

I totally agree with Eva. I think there was a definite chance for Lily to possibly slide into a romantic relationship with Zach because of her closeness with Rosaleen and the three sisters. I think they both had deep feelings for each other but knew that nothing could happen at this time.

Kate | March 26, 2005 8:44 AM

Re: black characters being portrayed mystically: I felt the same way as I was reading this book. What occurred to me is in so many novels written by white authors, the black characters are almost always written as more spiritual, more honest, harder working, better people than the whites. It's almost like they're afraid to have a black character that isn't superior in some way to the white folks that keep them down. On the other hand, in the Color Purple Alice Walker writes about black folks as they are: full of flaws and full of humanity. Is this a crucial difference between black and white writers?

Even in To Kill a Mockingbird you get the same kind of feeling - first off, there's very little portrayal of the black characters, and then the po' white trash are conveyed as vastly morally inferior. The good whites are portrayed as the protectors of the poor "mockingbirds," who never did anything but sing pretty. As much as I enjoy that book, I've always found that attitude kind of insulting. It's definitely another example of the "noble savage" thing.

maya | April 5, 2005 11:49 AM

You make GREAT comparison, Maya. Harper Lee grew up in a small rural town in Alabama. I imagine she wrote in reaction to the racial cruelty and mistreatment she probably witnessed. When you look at Life of Bees against Mockingbird, the latter feels much more authentic. But the narrator, Scout, has very limited chances to interact with the blacks in her town.
Sue Monk Kidd was raised in a tiny, rural southern town too- but inserts much more substantial black characters.

I think there are real limitations with writing across color lines. Authors seem to cross gender lines more believably.

barbara | April 6, 2005 1:20 PM

I think the reason why white authors are more generous regarding any black characters they create is because they don't want to be labeled as a racist. Stop me if this is too cynical.

enygma | April 7, 2005 9:35 AM

Enygma, I don't think that's too cynical at all, unfortunately. I think there's a real and valid fear for white authors of having their work condemned as racist if a black character is portrayed negatively. Sadly, I think it's also true that black characters are more often portrayed in the media/arts as criminals, impoverished, etc.

I'm curious how many white writers have managed this trick. Joe Lansdale comes to mind, but then, many of his characters are portrayed negatively anyway.

maya | April 14, 2005 6:16 PM