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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 to register to vote, setting in motion the events of the novel. Rosaleen is an extremely strong, confident woman, and her refusal to “back down” when confronted by racist whites causes her to go to jail, and eventually run away from Sylvan with Lily. Lily is extremely close with Rosaleen: in the absence of a mother, she regards Rosaleen as a maternal figure. Critics have pointed out that Rosaleen recedes from view in the second half of The Secret Life of Bees—while she’s present for most of the key events in these chapters, it’s hard to think of a single thing she does. Nevertheless, Rosaleen is an important influence on Lily in the novel: when Lily doubts herself, or feels afraid, she can always turn to Rosaleen for love and support.
Rosaleen Quotes in The Secret Life of Bees
The The Secret Life of Bees quotes below are all either spoken by Rosaleen or refer to Rosaleen. 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:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
I used to have daydreams in which she was white and married T. Ray, and became my real mother. Other times I was a Negro orphan she found in a cornfield and adopted.
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Chapter 2
Quotes
“Well, if you ain’t noticed, she’s colored,” said Rosaleen, and I could tell it was having an effect on her by the way she kept gazing at it with her mouth parted. I could read her thought: If Jesus’ mother is black, how come we only know about the white Mary?
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“You act like you’re my keeper. Like I’m some dumb nigger you gonna save.”
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Rosaleen Quotes in The Secret Life of Bees
The The Secret Life of Bees quotes below are all either spoken by Rosaleen or refer to Rosaleen. 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:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
I used to have daydreams in which she was white and married T. Ray, and became my real mother. Other times I was a Negro orphan she found in a cornfield and adopted.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Unlock explanations and citation info for this and every other The Secret Life of Bees quote.
Plus so much more...
Get LitCharts A+
Chapter 2
Quotes
“Well, if you ain’t noticed, she’s colored,” said Rosaleen, and I could tell it was having an effect on her by the way she kept gazing at it with her mouth parted. I could read her thought: If Jesus’ mother is black, how come we only know about the white Mary?
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“You act like you’re my keeper. Like I’m some dumb nigger you gonna save.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
