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Why does Lily break Rosaleen out of jail?
Lily breaks Rosaleen out of jail because T. Ray tells her that one of the men Rosaleen poured chewing tobacco juice on, Franklin Posey, hates Black people and will likely kill Rosaleen. Lily has already watched Rosaleen suffer violence in front of Mr. Gaston and realizes the police will not protect Rosaleen from violence. Lily’s fear for Rosaleen’s safety also coincides with her decision to run away from home. It’s likely that Rosaleen’s comforting presence for the journey is a secondary motivation for Lily.
Why doesn’t Lily tell the Boatwright sisters who she really is?
Lily attempts to hide her identity from the Boatwright sisters because she’s afraid they will send her back to Sylvan and that they won’t love her anymore. Although Lily running away and breaking Rosaleen out of jail are acts of love, Lily knows that in the eyes of the law they are wrong. She therefore sees them as signs that she is a bad person, along with her lying, and her mother’s death. Lily worries the Boatwright sisters will also see her as a bad person if they know the truth about her.
What is the purpose of Mary Day?
Mary Day is the Daughters of Mary’s version of the feast for the Assumption of Mary, where they reenact the story of Our Lady of Chains and celebrate community, determination, and harvest. Lily learns the truth about her mother in the midst of the Mary Day festivities, and this knowledge allows her to reenact her own version of the statue’s story. When she learns her mother left her, she is trapped in loneliness, like the chained Mary statue. However, by the end, she is brought back amongst the community of the Daughters of Mary, where she belongs.
What is the real reason August tells Lily the story about Sister Beatrix?
August tells Lily the story of Sister Beatrix to help her understand that even without her literal mother figure, she has had Mary as her symbolic mother her entire life. Up until this moment, Lily has felt deficient because she has no mother, and worse still because her mother abandoned her. The realization that Lily can find love and mother figures without her biological mother allows Lily to accept the love that she has all around.
Who killed Deborah?
The book ultimately leaves some ambiguity over who really shoots Deborah. Although T. Ray’s parting words affirm Lily’s fear that she killed her own mother, Lily notes he does often lie. The book’s unwillingness to completely pin down the truth behind Deborah’s death emphasizes that the truth does not have bearing on who Lily is as a person, whether she is loved or lovable, and what kind of person she will become.
