Love and Empathy

          I'm sorry everyone I know we are studying coming of age and growth & development of young characters but I couldn't help but write about one of my favorite characters of the book 
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk-Kidd, May Boatwright. Oh and.. *SPOILERS*

          I love May because of all her depth and complexity. The character of May Boatwright is known for feeling the world's sorrows so deeply that most sadness crumbles away at her. After May’s twin sister April died, something in May died too. "It seemed that the world itself became May's twin sister," When nothing has upset her she is lovely, always caring for Lily, Rosaleen and all of her sisters even though she herself is so unstable. May is care-free, carrying the weight and innocence of a child, but very broken when pulled into the throws of her sorrows. Her sisters, August and June, bathe her and hold her to calm her down. They are always standing by to help carry May's weight.

          When an unpleasant or sad topic would be brought up in a room, she would hum, "Oh Susannah" with such feverish intent. She built a wailing wall as a catharsis for her pain, but she struggled so much under the literal weight of the world. May has an outstanding capacity for empathy. This characteristic isn't shown in the book as a weakness. It's implied that she is almost stronger than everyone else because she is able to feel so deeply and care so fiercely for others. That May can carry her heart on the world's ragged sleeve and go on shows incredible strength.

          I like to think that the way to combat the pain was to surround May with love. The same love that August, the oldest Boatwright sister sends her bees that she keeps, love whenever she can. As ashamed as I am, there is a small part of my being that firmly believes that love can overcome any force of nature or mortal corruption. I think that through May's condition the sisters have learned how to love more fiercely than anyone. They send love to the tiniest leaves and the oldest buildings. Love sets the sisters free from worries and the cruelties of their lives, it protects them from whatever harm, whatever problem may come.

          What I love most however, about May is how much she teaches the inhabitants of the pink house. Lily, that out of death good things can also come, and May's death causes August to embrace the concept of rebirth. And at last when May is gone she will have taught them more than they could even learn, to live.