Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe/Chapter 26

This chapter takes place in Whistle Stop on July 18, 1924. (Page 83) Ruth is awakened to Idgie knocking on her bedroom window. She invites Ruth on a picnic. When Ruth suggests they ask her sisters to come, Idgie tells Ruth she wants her all to herself. Besides, she already asked them and they don't want to go. Idgie tells Ruth she will meet her in the car, but doesn't mention that she stole Julian's keys and wants to be gone before he wakes up.

Idgie leads Ruth to an old oak tree and makes her promise not to tell anyone what she is about to see. Idgie walks up to the tree with a jar in her hand and sticks her arm into the hole in the tree. After being covered with swarming bees, she walks slowly back to Ruth. By the time she gets back to Ruth, the bees have flown away & Idgie is completely unharmed & offers the honey to Ruth. Ruth, however, breaks down crying, telling Idgie that she thought that she had gotten killed. Idgie apologies to Ruth & tells her that she didn't mean to scare her & tells her that she does this all the time & that she never gets stung. Ruth then hugs Idgie, telling her that she wouldn't know what to do if she had lost her & calls Idgie a bee charmer; the two then have there picnic.

Analysis
This chapter is the turning point for the relationship between Ruth & Idgie, up until now Ruth has been suppressing her true feelings for Idgie, putting them to just friends or sisterly. However, she is terrified the moment she thinks that Idgie may be dead & when she sees that Idgie is alive she hugs Idgie & tells her that she doesn't know what she would do if she lost her.

The two young girls then begin to have a romantic picnic, all the while Ruth seems to slowly become more & more aware of her feelings for Idgie, which seems to scare her more then anything.