Previous
Symbols
Lou’s clothing is carefully chosen in general to display her quirky, cheerful personality, as well as keep her safe from unwanted male attention. When Lou was three, she had a pair of bumblebee tights that she loved more than any other item of clothing, yet she regrettably outgrew them and cannot find another pair like them. These tights become a symbol of Lou choosing to do things for herself. Though no one else liked the tights, Lou wore them because they made her happy. Similarly, Lou cannot continue to make choices about her future based on what other people think is best for her. Will gives her a new pair of bumblebee tights for her 27th birthday, showing that he understands that Lou has to make decisions herself and herself alone. No matter what Lou’s mom, Josie, or boyfriend, Patrick, think of Lou’s choices, Will gives Lou license to make the choices that she truly wants. In Will’s last letter, he tells Lou to wear her stripy legs with pride, symbolically continuing to be true to herself in her future life and career.
Lou’s Bumblebee Tights Quotes in Me Before You
The Me Before You quotes below all refer to the symbol of Lou’s Bumblebee Tights. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 6
Quotes
“I have never found a pair of tights I loved like that again. They don’t do them anymore. Or if they do, they don’t make them for grown women.”
“Strange, that,”
“Oh, you can mock. Didn’t you ever love anything that much?”
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Chapter 13
Quotes
I ran out of the room and pulled on a pair in the hallway. I pointed a toe, admiring the silliness of them. I don’t think a present had ever made me so happy in my life.
I walked back in. Will let out a small cheer. Granddad banged his hands on the table. Mum and Dad burst out laughing. Patrick just stared.
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Epilogue
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Push yourself. Don’t settle. Wear those stripey legs with pride… you are scored on my heart, Clark. You were from the first day you walked in, with your ridiculous clothes and your bad jokes and your complete inability to ever hide a single thing you felt… Don’t think of me too often. I don’t want to think of you getting all maudlin. Just live well. Just live.
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Lou’s Bumblebee Tights Symbol Timeline in Me Before You
The timeline below shows where the symbol Lou’s Bumblebee Tights appears in Me Before You. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...to tell him something else. Lou tells Will about a pair of black and yellow bumblebee striped tights that she loved dearly when she was three, but could never find again...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...a present for her too, and Lou finds a package in his chair that encloses bumblebee tights. Patrick and her family are confused, but Lou is absolutely ecstatic, bubbling thanks to...
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Chapter 15
...two hours at the tattoo parlor, Lou leaves happily with a tattoo of a little bee on her hip. Will had seemed relaxed and happy in the shop, as the tattoo...
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