The Help

Skeeter returns home from college and finds herself in a community in which she no longer quite belongs. She has always stood out because of her physical features; she is “painfully tall” (57) with frizzy blond hair, and pale skin. Her appearance has always garnered her mother’s criticism. Mrs. Phelan sees Skeeter’s main purpose in life as finding a husband. Beyond her physical characteristics, Skeeter stands out from the Jackson society ladies because of her personality. While the other women hang on Hilly’s every word and treat the help with inferiority, Skeeter stands up to Hilly and, although she still has a lot to learn, treats the help with some measure of kindness and humanity. She speaks her mind on her first date with Stuart and has enough self-respect to refrain from jumping at the chance to get back together with him after they break up.

Stockett shows one of the main influences in Skeeter’s life that made her different from the other girls: her maid Constantine. Skeeter’s memories of Constantine show the way Constantine accepted her the way she was, in contrast with Skeeter’s mother who was always trying to change something about her that wasn’t good enough. Constantine also taught Skeeter to decide her beliefs for herself rather than blindly following the crowd.

Over the course of writing the book with Aibileen, Skeeter transforms. She gradually recognizes her own prejudice and comes to value the work of the maids in a new way, genuinely thanking her family’s new maid, Pascagoula, for the first time. Her realization of the danger involved in writing the book—for both herself and the maids—grows gradually as well. As she learns of beatings and Black people being thrown in jail, Skeeter understands not only the immense risk the maids are taking, but also because of the risk, sees how important it is for them to tell their stories. The changes in Skeeter’s perspective lead to monumental life changes as well. The society ladies begin treating her as an outcast at Hilly’s bidding, she loses her position as League newsletter editor, and even loses the prospect of marrying Stuart. With nothing left for her in Jackson, she leaves at the end of the novel to begin a writing job in New York. By the novel’s resolution, Skeeter’s new wardrobe and hairstyle reflect the changes that took place internally. She can clearly see the racism and bigotry of Jackson and has sacrificed everything she used to value to follow her convictions.

Minny is short, but what she lacks in stature she makes up for in attitude. Her voice of narration is direct, sassy, and brutally honest. She remembers all the rules her mother taught her when she started her first job as a maid, and the hardest one for her to follow has always been “no sass-mouthing” (39). Because she can’t always control her temper, Minny has been fired no less than 19 times in Jackson. However, her excellent cooking skills have been in high enough demand that she has never remained unemployed for long. In fact, cooking is one of the skills of which Minny is proudest. She finds satisfaction in talking about food (in the interviews with Skeeter) and in feeding others, an example being when she gets recognition from Mister Johnny for her delicious meals.

Although Minny is considerably younger than Aibileen and at a different stage of life raising five children, the two women share a strong friendship. They are present to pick one another up in life’s darkest moments. Despite her tough and sometimes intimidating exterior, Minny constantly puts others before herself. For example, she puts herself at great risk by including the Terrible Awful about Hilly in the book. She knows it will protect everyone else, even though it means making herself an even bigger target for Hilly. Minny’s strong and sassy exterior also hides her fearfulness. She is scared of fighting back against Leroy when he abuses her, and afraid to take the kids and leave him. However, as she faces some of her other fears by helping with the book, she eventually gains the courage to leave him at the end of the novel.

Another transformation in Minny is her relationship with Skeeter. When Minny first agrees to help with the interviews, she has specific stipulations for Skeeter because Minny doesn’t trust her. She is bothered that Skeeter, a white woman, is writing down the maids’ stories, and with good reason. However, even though Minny has every reason not to trust Skeeter, her desire to tell the truth of what she’s been through in her life compels her to take the risk. Over time, she comes to trust Skeeter, indicated in small ways such as looking Skeeter in the eye and encouraging her to go to New York at the novel’s end. Although white women have disrespected Minny all her life, she still has the ability to trust and care for others.

Celia is known to the Jackson society ladies as a “white trash” girl from Sugar Ditch (309). Her country accent, fake blond hair, and propensity for dressing her curvy body in tight, tacky clothes don’t help improve her standing in their eyes. Although Celia is clearly different than the League ladies, she doesn’t recognize their prejudice towards her at first. She constantly phones them, and when they don’t return her calls, she checks the phone line to make sure it’s working. Celia also differs from the other white ladies in the way she treats Minny, her maid. Rather than observing the usual unspoken rules of separation between the white employer and the Black maid, Celia treats Minny as a friend, dining at the same table with Minny each day and talking to her as an equal.

Beyond her difficulty making friends in Jackson, Celia also faces the hardship of several miscarriages. She carries this burden alone until Minny finds out. Celia’s relationship with Minny contributes to her character transformation during the novel. Minny becomes her closest friend, and after Celia learns about the lies Hilly spread in Jackson about Minny, Celia stops begging Hilly and the rest of the Jackson white women for friendship. By the novel’s end, Celia rediscovers the strong girl from Sugar Ditch who has been dormant inside of her. She stops subjecting herself to the rejection of the society ladies, comes clean to Johnny about the miscarriages, and faces the probability that she will never be able to have children.

Elizabeth is skinny, with thin, brown hair that she constantly teases to make it appear fuller. Just as her hair and body lack substance, so does her personality. Elizabeth is so concerned with how others perceive her that she willingly follows Hilly’s every command, even to the point of shunning Skeeter and firing Aibileen.

Elizabeth is so used to putting up a false face for her friends that she doesn’t even recognize herself in Aibileen’s chapter of the book. Just as Elizabeth attempts to hide the Leefolt’s lack of wealth by sewing covers for worn or out-of-style household items, she covers up her lack of love for Mae Mobley around her friends. Only Aibileen sees the kind of mother Miss Leefolt is to Mae Mobley—cold, critical, and unfair. Elizabeth is so out of touch with her daughter that she doesn’t even get Mae Mobley’s favorite cake flavor right for her birthday. Mae Mobley begins to think of Aibileen as her real mother; even though she’s young, she feels the scorn of her mother in contrast with the unconditional love Aibileen gives her. Sadly, Elizabeth’s character does not change. By the novel’s end, she is still so wrapped up in maintaining her façade to society that she can’t see her own life clearly.

Hilly has freckled olive skin and wears her hair in a beehive style. According to Aibileen, her clothes are more suited to a little girl rather than a young mother, and she’s grown “heavy in the bottom” as of late (5). As the queen bee of the Jackson society ladies and League President, Hilly knows just how much power she has to influence others, and she uses it to manipulate people. She loves to feel power and control, and makes sure others feel inferior so she can maintain her place of power.

On several occasions in the novel, Hilly uses lies to get her way. For example, she spreads rumors that Minny is a thief in an attempt to leave Minny no other option but to work for her. She also exaggerates the worth of the ring stolen by Yule May and makes sure Yule May receives the longest jail sentence possible. Although the majority of the white women in Jackson harbor racist views, Hilly is the ringleader. In fact, by the end of the novel, it becomes evident that many of the society ladies are simply following Hilly’s lead, rather than genuinely agreeing with her bigotry.

Despite Hilly’s role as the novel’s antagonist, Stockett occasionally gives the reader glimpses of her humanity. For example, when Hilly helps Skeeter get ready for her date with Stuart, she is shown to be a kind and faithful friend; she really does want Skeeter to find a guy to be happy with. Furthermore, Aibileen notes that Hilly truly loves her children. Finally, at the end of the novel, when Hilly is stripped of her confidence and cool demeanor, the reader can see the great embarrassment she feels at the thought of the pie story getting out. Her disheveled appearance reflects the distress she feels on the inside. However, at this point, Hilly has done too much evil to garner the reader’s sympathy. She has brought about her own demise by her cruelty to others.

Skeeter’s mother is a traditional southern woman who sees Skeeter’s primary role in life as becoming a wife and mother. As a result, she prioritizes Skeeter’s physical appearance, criticizing her wardrobe choices, physical features, height, and mannerisms at every turn. Because of her critical nature towards Skeeter, her relationship with her daughter suffered during Skeeter’s adolescence. Even now that Skeeter is an educated adult, Skeeter keeps several secrets from her mom to shield herself from even more judgment.

Skeeter’s mother also exemplifies the racist mentality of Jackson’s white citizens. The account of how Constantine was fired depicts Mrs. Phelan’s choice to place social standing above human kindness. Several other comments from Skeeter’s mother about Black employees show her prejudiced mindset. She makes sweeping statements about Black people, calling them “those people” and stereotyping them (362).

Despite her cruelty to Constantine and critical nature, Mrs. Phelan also shows another side. Her rapidly declining health keeps Skeeter—and the reader—from staying angry with her for long. Some of her comments help redeem her character, such as when she encourages Skeeter to maintain her self-respect rather than get back together with Stuart. Overall, Mrs. Phelan’s character acts as an example of the mixture of good and evil that characterizes humanity. She is not a villain, nor is she a hero; she lies somewhere in between the two.