Most people would assume that humans are superior to insects. This self-centered idea is a harmful aspect of humanity, as people do not try to learn from creatures that are regarded as inferior. However, in “Honeydew,” by Edith Pearlman, Alice Toomey, the strict headmistress of Caldicott Academy, and Emily Knapp, an insect-loving student, are the human exceptions who recognize the virtue insect communities are built around: selflessness.
The admiring repetition of insects, Alice’s transformation into an open individual, and the symbolism of honeydew suggest that Alice and Emily, through Alice’s metamorphosis and Emily’s obsession with insects, replace their human attribute of being self-centered with the selfless character of insects. The positive repetition of insects in the story reveals Emily’s determination to prove that people can become more charitable by learning from superior insects. Emily’s seemingly bizarre monomania for observing dead, repulsive insects is justified by their qualities of being open handed and doing what is best for the overall community.
Emily’s statement that “she loved to draw her relatives [Coccidae]” (165) highlights her intimacy with insects. Coccidae consist of an outer-layer shell and are commonly perceived as disgusting creatures. That Emily “[loves] to draw” them proves that she, unlike an ordinary person, is able to look past the repulsive appearance of an insect to try to find its hidden beauty. Emily’s acknowledgement of Coccidae and insects as her relatives shows that she has immersed herself in their lifestyle to the extent where she feels she has a personal connection with them.
When Emily delivers a lecture to the class on the ant’s stomachs, her assertion that “the ant’s collective pouch is the most advanced device that evolution… has come up with” (168) suggests that she finds the communal sharing between ants to be more impressive than human intelligence. Emily has the conscience to recognize that an ant, despite its small size and seemingly little intelligence, has a built-in device whose sole purpose is to help the entire community survive, not just itself. She minimizes the technical advances people have made in favor of this selfless instinct of insects.
These repeated references to insects emphasize Emily’s obsession to find the appealing qualities of insects that people overlook but can learn from. Furthermore, Emily not only feels distant from the human species but regards it with contempt. Emily’s mockery of the human brain that “it evolved to make money and war” (168) demonstrates that she chooses to focus only on the negative outcomes of the brain and is almost oblivious to the advancements of people. “It” being italicized demonstrates Emily’s disgust for the human brain, and her detachment implies that she lacks a human brain and the self-centeredness that accompanies it.
Both money and war lead people to suffer for their personal desires, and Emily’s distance from the human brain suggests that she has the control to be self-denying. Similarly, Emily’s belief that “Ghiselle had no concern for the superorganism” (169) demonstrates how Ghiselle is inherently detached from her role in the greater human race. The superorganism refers to the human community, and Emily believes that only charitable beings, such as ants, are evolved enough to understand that communities survive only when each member contributes and sacrifices for each other.
Ants are typically seen as unevolved, much less charitable, and this argument again reveals the profound ability of Emily to recognize that ants exemplify the traits people lack. Emily has evolved more than Ghiselle, as Emily is disconnected from the greed and self-centeredness of people and has developed to recognize the selfless morality of insects. Emily argues that insects are superior, or more evolved than people because insects are selfless and able to see the greater picture, whereas the seemingly advanced people are too absorbed in their own personal lives to care for the greater society.
Alice also evolves into an insect, and her development in the final stages of the story reveals that she is metamorphosing from a strict, self-centered headmistress into a tolerant character, one who embodies the insects’ characteristic of selflessness. Alice’s transformation into an insect is portrayed through her original scornful use of insect terminology into her honorable insect-like behavior. Alice’s human ignorance is highlighted when she describes Emily as being “covered in a … carapace” (172). A carapace is the hard shell of an animal, such as a crab or turtle.
Alice still regards insects as inferior to people, so her comparison between Emily and a carapace demonstrates Alice’s exasperation towards Emily for refusing to eat. Alice’s selfish need for some reassurance of competence, not a genuine concern for Emily’s safety, causes her frustration towards Emily. Therefore, this description of Emily refers to Alice’s personal issue with insects and Emily as well as Alice’s inability to look beyond her own problems. However, the description of Alice “crawling on toes and ingertips, her limbs as long as … a nymph” (172) implies that Alice is now almost an insect and is gaining its innate selflessness. Alice’s “crawling on toes and fingertips” presents the image of an insect-like Alice connecting with Emily, who has already evolved into an insect. Alice has lost the human ability to walk on two legs and has lost the human trait of being selfish and close-minded. Furthermore, a nymph, an insect in the middle stage of its metamorphosis, strengthens the image of Alice developing into a tolerant insect.
Alice’s attempt to empathize with Emily indicates that Alice has finally overcome her personal issues and now can evolve into a charitable insect. Alice has reached the final stage in her metamorphosis when she advocates for tolerance, and her new open-mindedness directly contrasts the immorality of Richard. Alice’s assertion that “Caldicott’s most important rules… were tolerance and discretion” (173) demonstrates that she has learned to respect the beliefs of others from her development into an insect.
Ants are incredibly tolerant creatures, as their second stomach benefits the whole community even if certain ant members disagree with each other. Intolerance leads to people disregarding each other’s contrasting opinions and focusing on themselves only, and this dangerous trait leads to the decline of humanity, for then no person would look out for each other. Alice must be discreet to protect her community members from feeling embarrassed and separated. By being indiscreet, or unwisely revealing another’s private information, one is deliberately betraying the trust of another person for one’s own personal gain.
The insect community is built around trust and will collapse if each of its members do not feel comfortable sharing their own beliefs. In contrast, that Richard “replaced Alice” (173) with another girlfriend indicates that he behaves in the same superficial and selfish manner Alice used to conduct herself in. Instead of trying to love Alice, Richard decides to focus only on his sexual needs, just like how Alice originally was more concerned about her reputation as a headmistress than the actual well-being of Emily.
Richard’s cold-heartedness and inability to remain virtuous highlights how Alice has grown throughout the story into a person who advocates for tolerance to sustain a community. Alice’s metamorphosis is finally complete when she discovers that obsessing over one’s own problems and not empathizing with others leads to the decline of humanity, but trusting the members of a community to act accordingly may elevate society into the insect’s community of selflessness. Encompassing the core values of insects, the symbolism of honeydew demonstrates how Emily and Alice have become enlightened, tolerant characters of society.
The story of manna from the Book of Exodus represents how people naturally assume that God is their savior, as they cannot imagine any other creature being this influential in their lives. Emily’s revelation that “manna… was thought to be a miracle from God, but it was really Coccidae excrement” (165) verifies her belief that people, since the writing of the Bible, have never understood the full process for which they relied on for survival. In Exodus, the starving Israelites subsisted on God’s gift of manna for forty years until they reached Canaan, not realizing that they were cherishing the excrement of a seemingly worthless insect.
Manna, known as honeydew, was the “miracle from God,” as God allowed the people to survive, yet the true miracle was God blessing the Israelites with the ability to live on the humble insect’s feces. According to Emily, that “insects came to their [the Israelites] rescue” (165) demonstrates how the Israelites could not comprehend the power of such a small insect to make a difference in their lives. The Coccidae’s rescuing of the Israelites reveals the humility of people. Emily has learned that the Israelites were extremely humble because they were forced to entrust their lives to a lowly creature with little worth.
Honeydew represents the fact that people cannot rely on only themselves for survival; they require the assistance of inferior creatures. Honeydew has led Emily to reconsider the dominance of people and to realize that they are part of the greater community of life on Earth. Additionally, honeydew represents Alice and Emily doing what is not expected of them for the better good of the community. When the nurse tries to persuade Emily to eat, that Emily replies, “Honey, do” because “her work was calling her” (169) indicates that Emily’s insect-like traits has caused her to value her work over her personal problems.
Emily’s mocking “Honey, do” references her own individual refusal to eat more and gain weight, yet her “work” refers to her obligation to spread the ideals of insects to improve human nature. Therefore, Emily’s work for the overall group exemplifies honeydew and the selflessness of insects to help the community. Emily’s actions eventually lead Alice to regard the other rules of Caldicott Academy as honeydew (173), and this defense of the students at the academy reveals Alice’s dedication to the core virtues of insects.
These extra rules contrast the previous meaning of honeydew as humility and value hidden in a worthless creature, since these rules are meaningless to Alice’s new philosophy. Instead, Alice has shifted the meaning of honeydew to refer to any action that benefits the common society and makes a positive impact on a person’s life. Honeydew is a reflection of the morality of insects to always be selfless and to always find ways to improve society. Alice and Emily have applied the teachings of insects to their own lives to become more open-minded and to move the human community forward.
