Which character's emotional life is kept in a jar?

• A. August Boatwright
• B. Lily Owens
• C. June Boatwright
• D. May Boatwright

Answer: (D)

The question taps into symbolism around how a character handles deep emotion. In the story, May Boatwright literally keeps her emotional life in a jar on the Boatwrights’ shelf. This jar is May’s way of containing overwhelming feelings—grief, fear, longing—instead of letting them spill out and overwhelm her or those around her. She even writes notes or prayers and seals them inside the jar, using it as a boundary between her inner pain and the world outside. This image shows May’s vulnerability and her need to guard others from her own sorrow, while also revealing how fragile she can be when sorrow becomes too heavy to bear.

This distinctive image isn’t used for the other sisters in the same way. August is the nurturing, steady matriarch; June is more guarded and pragmatic; Lily is the seeker coming into a new life and family. The jar, as a concrete symbol of emotional containment, belongs to May and speaks to her particular coping style.