How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I was the only one who knew that despite her sharp ways, her heart was more tender than a flower skin and she loved me beyond reason (1.73).
Growing up without a mother and with an angry/alienated father, Lily often feels unloved. However, she at least basks in the knowledge that Rosaleen loves her.
Quote #2
. . . Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and long pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates, while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved (5.72).
August is instructing Lily here on how to deal with the bees. There are clearly larger lessons here, though, in her reminder that "every little thing" wants to be loved. As we've known since the beginning of the book, Lily is one of those "little things" who desperately wants love.
Quote #3
The whole time we worked, I marveled at how mixed up people got when it came to love. I myself, for instance. It seemed like I was now thinking of Zach forty minutes out of every hour, Zach, who was an impossibility. I can tell you this much: the word is a great big log thrown on the fires of love (7.194).
Ah, the perversity of human nature—love only gets stronger when you're told you aren't allowed to feel it, in Lily's view.
Quote #4
'She's giving you a little warning,' August said. 'When they bump your forehead, they're saying, I've got my eye on you, so you be careful. Send them love and everything will be fine.' ' I love you, I love you, I said in my head. I LOVE YOU. I tried to say it thirty-two ways' (8.106).
Lily is starting to get a little tweaky about being around all the bees, and August reiterates that feeling love is the solution to stabilizing things and shaking off fear. Seems like there's a larger message here that goes beyond bee management . . .
Quote #5
Maybe my mother had cooed over me after all. Made embarrassing baby talk. Twirled my newborn hair like the top of an ice cream cone. Done it up with pink bows. Just because she didn't plan on having me didn't mean she hadn't loved me (12.175).
Lily thinks this immediately after learning that her mother got pregnant with her by accident. Because she has been so desperate for love since the beginning of the novel, this "evidence" (in her eyes) that she might not have been wanted is devastating, and she is trying to reassure herself.
Quote #6
I looked down at the picture, then closed my eyes. I figured May must've made it to heaven and explained to my mother about the sign I wanted. The one that would let me know I was loved (13.143).
Later, August brings Lily a box of her mother's things, which contains a picture of the two of them together. In it, her mother is staring adoringly at her. Lily feels that she has finally gotten the sign she always wanted that she was loved.
Quote #7
I ran up the stairs and grabbed Rosaleen from behind, stopping her with one foot poised in the air, searching for the next step. I wrapped my arms around her middle. 'I love you,' I blurted out, not even knowing I was going to say this (14.66).
As you can tell, the end of the novel is pretty much a big love fest. While Lily always knew Rosaleen loved her, here she makes sure that Rosaleen gets the same in return.
Quote #8
I had never known T. Ray to worship anyone except Snout, the dog love of his life, but seeing him now, I knew he'd loved Deborah Fontanel, and when she'd left him, he'd sunk into bitterness (14.149).
In a less tender moment, Lily realizes that T. Ray really did love her mother only when he goes into a murderous rage over the fact that Lily left him just like Deborah did.
Quote #9
I looked one last time at the highway. I remember thinking that he probably loved me in his own smallish way. He had forfeited me over, hadn't he? (14.215).
Similarly, Lily finds evidence of T. Ray's love for her in a surprising place: his willingness to give her up. What do you make of that?