The Secret Life of Bees Characters

The Secret Life of Bees is the story of how Lily, a 14-year-old girl from South Carolina, struggles to make sense of her relationship with her mother and father, the black community, and the people… read analysis of Lily Owens

The head of the Boatwright house in Tiburon, South Carolina, August Boatwright is a strong, charismatic, and enormously wise woman. August raises bees and runs her own business selling honey and beeswax products, and she… read analysis of August Boatwright

Rosaleen is a proud, middle-aged woman who works as a maid for T. Ray and Lily Owens in Sylvan, South Carolina. Shortly after Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, Rosaleen goes into town… read analysis of Rosaleen

Deborah Owens is T. Ray Owens’s wife and Lily Owens’s mother. She’s arguably the most complex character in the novel: because she died years before the time when the novel is set, she’s… read analysis of Deborah Fontanel Owens

The youngest and strangest of the Boatwright sisters, May is an odd, mentally disturbed woman who becomes deeply depressed whenever anything tragic happens to anyone. Whenever a tragedy occurs, May writes it down on a… read analysis of May Boatwright

A handsome, intelligent teenager who works for the Boatwrights. Zach is ambitious, and he plans to become a successful lawyer one day (even though he’s black, and so has many more obstacles to face in… read analysis of Zachary Taylor / Zach

The sister of May, August, and April Boatwright. Like August, June is an intelligent, educated woman, but where August welcomes Lily into their home with open arms, June is suspicious and contemptuous… read analysis of June Boatwright