How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
'Egg laying is the main thing, Lily. She's the mother of every bee in the hive, and they all depend on her to keep it going. I don't care what their job is—they know the queen is their mother. She's the mother of thousands' (8.100).
Once again, August is reinforcing the mother-centric structure of bee life. She emphasizes the queen bee's ability to take care of thousands of bees, which is a pretty powerful thing, no? If that's not an example of girl power, we don't know what is . . .
Quote #8
I live in a hive of darkness, and you are my mother, I told her. You are the mother of thousands (8.234).
Here, Lily is talking to the statue of Our Lady of Chains, accepting her metaphorically as a kind of mother. In this moment, the novel draws a clear line between the Daughters of Mary's Mary-centric form of worship and the bee symbolism that pervades the novel. Mary and the queen bee are both maternal and powerful symbols, and Lily clearly combines them here.
Quote #9
'Good riddance,' he said, and moved toward the door. We had to open up our little wall of women to let him through (14.202).
When T. Ray comes to get Lily, she and August convince him to let her stay there. Because August had called the Daughters to serve as backup in case T. Ray presented a problem, T. Ray has to break through this "wall of women" to get out the door. The image conveys the strength and power of this group.