Song of Solomon is a novel written by Toni Morrison. As research is done further, into the bible, the title refers to a book from the Old Testament. A major theme of the book in the bible is love. It is about honor and loyalty. This is similar to the theme of love and protection in the book by Toni Morrison.

Three female characters that portray this best are: Pilate, Ruth, and Magdalene called Lena. In the book, they are women that try to protect the people they love from men in their family. In the bible, they hold similar roles of devotion to those that they love.

In Song of Solomon, Pilate is a strong-willed and independent woman. The reason that Ruth goes to her, is to protect her child. The first time that Ruth needs help is because of the way that Macon maltreats her (125-6). She is scared of Pilate because of her abnormalities and what Macon has said about her(138). Ruth ignores her fear and goes to Pilate for help in protecting her child from Macon's abuse (131). The second time that Ruth comes to talk is when she finds out about Hagar trying to kill Milkman (134-8). In the bible, Ruth has a chance to go and protect herself and find a husband, but she stays with her mother in law. She has a chance to help herself, but she does the honorable thing and stays with Naomi (Ruth 1:10-14).

Even though Pilate is seen as very powerful, she cannot always protect everything that is precious to her. She attempts to help Hagar and prevent her from killing Milkman (129). Pilate loves both Hagar and Milkman and tries to protect them both. Despite her efforts Hagar cannot be controlled. She tries numerous times to hurt Milkman and does not stop until her death. Pilate knows that Hagar is slowly hurting herself and can only be stopped by Milkman, but she cannot make Hagar understand (130). Hagar is so demented that she kills herself because of her obsession. In the bible, Pilate is also ambiguous about what to do. He knows that Jesus is innocent, but he also knows that it will bring him trouble if he disobeys the people ( John 19:12).

Not much attention is given to Magdalene called Lena, but she is always seen as the quiet caregiver that holds things together and protects. When Milkman was young, Lena took care of him when no one else would (34-5). When she sees that her sister is being hurt, she goes to confront those that cause the pain (214-6). Milkman had no good reason to tell Macon about Corinthians's relationship with Porter. Because he does so, Corinthians is forbidden to see the man that she loves and is very deeply hurt (214-5). In the bible, Mary Madgalene is seen as being a devoted follower of Jesus who believes that he will come back (Luke 24:7-10 ). She is the one that he first appears to (Mark 16:9). Even though she had demons chased from her body, she is seen as good by being faithful to Jesus and loving him to the end ( Mark 16:9).

Through out Song of Solomon and the bible, these three characters hold similar roles and personalities to their counterparts. Pilate, Ruth, and Magdalene are characters that are devoted to those that they love and try to help and protect them from harm. As the Song of Solomon book in the bible, the women of the novel love and care for their family members.