The Secret Life of Bees

What is David Thoreau's "Walden Pond" effect on Lily?

in the secret life of bees

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Lily loves the solitude of the pond that Thoreau has described to her. She longs for the peace and tranquility that seems waiting for her beneath the pages. Lily's life at home, under her domineering father, makes the tranquility of the pond that much more attractive, that much more of an escape. After reading about Walden Pond Lily has,

"fantasies of going to a private garden where T. Ray would never find.... (she) started appreciating Mother Nature, what she'd done with the world."

On Lily's escape with Rosaleen, she discovers a natural setting that takes her breath away. The water and the mist evokes memories of a place that only exists in her mind; it is place that she ran away to many times to bask in the glory of nature.

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The Secret Life of Bees